After waiting nearly two years for the final season of Game of Thrones, it’s fair to say that the finale was bittersweet. Some loved it but, while the show remained as cinematically fantastic as ever, many dubbed season eight a disappointment, citing everything from the downfall of basically all female characters to the controversial winner of the Iron Throne as their biggest issues with the show.

Of course, it’s not unusual for a show with a fan base as large and devoted as that of GoT to spark criticism. What is unusual, though, is the fact that the show’s stars have also expressed their upset with the final season – including Cersei Lannister’s Lena Headey.

Speaking to The Guardian, the actor has said that she “wanted a better death” for her character. 

“Obviously you dream of your death,” Headey said. “You could go in any way on that show. So I was kind of gutted. But I just think they couldn’t have pleased everyone. No matter what they did, I think there was going to be some big comedown from the climb.”

Headey received four Emmy and a Golden Globe nominations for her portrayal of the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. But even that wasn’t enough to stop her character from facing an anti-climatic end, with the evil Queen simply being crushed by rubble rather than facing her comeuppance. 

She wasn’t the only star left flat (pardon the pun) by the finale. Maisie Williams, AKA Arya Stark, has also spoken about the ending she wanted to see, telling Enterainment Weekly: “I wanted Arya to kill Cersei even if it means [Arya] dies too”.

Luckily, the so-called “lacklustre” final series of GoT hasn’t tarnished the experience for them. Indeed, during the Guardian interview, Headey described the experience as “amazing”. And while we all know that the we all know the Williams and Turner love story continues, it seems the rest of the cast remain in contact too: “We’re all on a giant WhatsApp group which is a daily pile-on,” she said. “It’s hilarious. You can tell who’s been drinking on that one.”

We wish we could see the drunk messages sent on the finale night…

Image: HBO