It’s been nearly seven years since the final episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones aired, but the firestorm over its controversial ending still burns hot. Now, Kit Harington—the actor who brought Jon Snow to life across all eight seasons—has spoken out in unusually blunt terms about the fan backlash and the infamous petition demanding a complete remake of the show’s last chapter.
In a candid interview with The New York Times published January 11, 2026, Harington didn’t mince words about his frustration with the petition, which called for Game of Thrones Season 8 to be redone by “competent writers.” The petition, hosted on Change.org, has amassed over 1.8 million signatures since its creation, making it one of the most visible and contentious fan movements in television history. “That genuinely angered me. Like, how dare you?” Harington said, his voice tinged with disbelief and hurt. “Sorry, that’s just how I feel. I think it was a level of idiocy that can only come about through social media.”
The roots of the controversy trace back to May 2019, when the final episode aired to massive anticipation and, almost immediately, widespread disappointment. Many fans were vocal about their dissatisfaction: storylines felt rushed, beloved characters met abrupt ends, and plot twists—like Daenerys Targaryen’s rapid descent into villainy and her subsequent death at Jon Snow’s hand—left viewers reeling. The backlash was so intense that the final episode scored just 4.0 out of 10 on IMDb, a stark contrast to the show’s earlier critical acclaim, as reported by Today.
The Change.org petition, which remains live to this day, didn’t pull any punches. It accused showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss of being “woefully incompetent when they have no source material to fall back on,” referencing the fact that the series had outpaced George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Martin’s next installment, The Winds of Winter, is now more than a decade overdue, leaving the show’s writers to chart their own course for the final seasons. The petition’s rallying cry was direct: “This series deserves a final season that makes sense. Subvert my expectations and make it happen, HBO!”
Harington, who played Jon Snow from the show’s 2011 premiere until its conclusion in 2019, has repeatedly addressed the controversy. In a 2024 interview with GQ, he offered some sympathy for fans who felt let down, admitting, “I understand some people thought it was rushed, and I might agree with them. But I’m not sure there was any alternative. I look at pictures of me in that final season and I look exhausted. I look spent. I didn’t have another season in me.”
While Harington’s comments have drawn attention, he’s not the only cast member to weigh in on the ending and its fallout. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister, called the petition “annoying” in an interview with The Independent. He acknowledged the challenge of wrapping up such a sprawling story in a way that would please everyone: “I absolutely think people are entitled to whatever opinion they have, but it’s a television show. Someone told you a story, and you didn’t like the ending. It’s really annoying. But how are you ever gonna make an end that’s gonna satisfy everyone? That’s a very difficult thing.”
Other cast members, too, have reflected on their characters’ fates. Emilia Clarke, who portrayed Daenerys, told The Sunday Times that she was “annoyed that Jon Snow didn’t have to deal with” the consequences of killing her character. She also believed the show could have continued beyond Season 8 to give the story more room to breathe: “We could have spun it out for a little longer.” Meanwhile, Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark, told The Direct she was one of the few cast members happy with her character’s arc, saying, “I feel that I was very happy with the way Sansa ended her story in Game of Thrones, and no one else was really happy with their ending. I feel like I got a good one, and so I don’t know if I could revisit it.”
Despite the noise, HBO never seriously considered remaking the season. As Casey Bloys, HBO’s chief content officer, told Variety, “The petition shows a lot of enthusiasm and passion for the show, but it wasn’t something that we seriously considered.” The practicalities alone would have been staggering: Season 8 reportedly cost just shy of $100 million to produce, making a do-over both financially and logistically unfeasible.
Harington’s relationship with the Game of Thrones universe has grown complicated in recent years. He was briefly attached to a Jon Snow spin-off series in 2024, but that project fell into “development hell” and was ultimately scrapped. Reflecting on the idea of returning to Westeros, Harington was unequivocal. When asked if he’d reprise Jon Snow in a full cast audiobook, he replied, “No, god no. I don’t wanna go anywhere near it. I spent 10 years doing that. Thanks, I’m alright.”
The saga of the Season 8 petition is, in many ways, emblematic of the modern relationship between creators and their audiences. Social media has given fans unprecedented power to voice their opinions—and, sometimes, to demand changes to stories that don’t align with their expectations. For actors like Harington, who poured years of their lives into the show, the criticism can feel deeply personal. “It was an insult to the writers and the cast who had given their lives to the series,” he told The New York Times. “It was a level of idiocy that can only come about through social media.”
Yet, the ongoing debate also underscores just how much Game of Thrones meant to its audience. Few shows have inspired such intense devotion—or such passionate disappointment. Nearly a decade on, fans are still dissecting every plot twist and character arc, a testament to the series’ enduring impact on popular culture.
For now, Game of Thrones remains available to stream on HBO Max, where new viewers can experience the journey from Winterfell to King’s Landing—and perhaps form their own opinions about the ending that continues to spark conversation and controversy around the world.
