# Game of Thrones season 8

The eighth and final season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones, produced by HBO, premiered on April 14, 2019, and concluded on May 19, 2019. Unlike the first six seasons, which consisted of ten episodes each, and the seventh season, which consisted of seven episodes, the eighth season consists of only six episodes.
The season was filmed from October 2017 to July 2018 and largely consists of original content not found in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, while also incorporating material that Martin has revealed to showrunners about the upcoming novels in the series, The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. The season was adapted for television by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.
The season was met with mixed reviews from viewers and critics, in contrast to the critical acclaim of previous seasons, and is the lowest-rated of the series on the website Rotten Tomatoes. While the performances, production values and music score were praised, criticism was mainly directed at the shorter runtime of the season as well as numerous creative decisions made by the showrunners regarding the plot and character arcs. Many commentators deemed it to be a disappointing conclusion to the series.
Despite the mixed reception, the season received 32 nominations at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards, the most for a single season of television in history, and ultimately won twelve, including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Peter Dinklage.

## Plot

The final season depicts the culmination of the series' two primary conflicts: the Great War against the Army of the Dead, and the Last War for control of the Iron Throne. In the first half of the season, Jon Snow, Daenerys Targaryen and many of the main characters converge at Winterfell to face the Dead. During the battle, Bran lures the Night King into the open where Arya destroys him; the army of White Walkers and wights crumbles. Meanwhile, Cersei Lannister remains in King's Landing and strengthens her forces to set traps for a weakened Daenerys.
The second half of the season resumes the war for the throne as Daenerys suffers losses until she finally assaults King's Landing upon Drogon, her last dragon. She burns and massacres the entire city, including Cersei and her brother Jaime. Succumbing to madness, Daenerys vows to continue her crusade and "liberate" the whole world. Unable to sway her from her destructive path, an agonized Jon kills her. Drogon flies away with her body, but not before destroying the Iron Throne with dragonfire. The leaders of Westeros choose Bran Stark as King, who grants the North independence and appoints Tyrion Lannister his Hand. Sansa Stark is crowned Queen in the North. Arya sails west, and Jon leads the Wildlings north of the Wall.

## Episodes

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 68 | 1 | "Winterfell" | David Nutter | Dave Hill | April 14, 2019 (2019-04-14) | 11.76 |
| Upon reaching Winterfell with their combined armies, Jon and Daenerys learn the Army of the Dead has breached the Wall and the Night King commands the undead Viserion. The Northern Houses and the Vale rally around Winterfell but distrust Daenerys and doubt Cersei's pledge to send troops. Euron returns to King's Landing with the Golden Company and entices Cersei to consummate their union. Cersei, through Qyburn, hires Bronn to assassinate Tyrion and Jaime. Theon rescues Yara, who then sets out to retake the Iron Islands, while Theon returns to Winterfell. There, Jon is reunited with Arya. Jon and Daenerys ride the dragons and deepen their bond. Daenerys wants to reward Sam for saving Jorah before realizing that she executed his father and brother. Sam tells Jon that he was born Aegon Targaryen and is the true heir to the Iron Throne. At House Umber, Tormund and Beric encounter Edd and other Night's Watch members. The castle's occupants dead, and the wight of Ned Umber is left as a gruesome message. Jaime arrives at Winterfell where Bran awaits him. |||||||
| 69 | 2 | "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" | David Nutter | Bryan Cogman | April 21, 2019 (2019-04-21) | 10.29 |
| Jaime reveals Cersei's deception to the Targaryen-Stark alliance and joins them after Brienne vouches for his honor. Jaime apologizes to Bran for crippling him; Bran replies he harbors no anger and says they are no longer the same people. Daenerys no longer trusts Tyrion's judgment for his having believed Cersei, but Jorah asks that she forgive Tyrion's mistakes. Citing their mutual love for Jon, Daenerys tries to gain Sansa's trust, but Sansa says the North vowed never to bow to anyone again. Theon, Edd, Tormund, and Beric arrive at Winterfell, with the latter three reporting the undead army's impending arrival. Bran proposes he lure out the Night King, who intends to destroy the Three-Eyed Raven. Theon and the Ironborn will protect Bran. Arya seduces Gendry, wanting to experience sex before they die. Jaime formally anoints Brienne as a knight. Jorah fails to dissuade Lyanna Mormont from fighting, and Sam presents Jorah with House Tarly's ancestral sword. As the Army of the Dead approaches, Jon reveals his true lineage to Daenerys, who recognizes his claim to the Iron Throne. |||||||
| 70 | 3 | "The Long Night" | Miguel Sapochnik | David Benioff & D. B. Weiss | April 28, 2019 (2019-04-28) | 12.02 |
| The living meet the Army of the Dead outside Winterfell. The initial Dothraki charge is destroyed and the Unsullied are quickly overwhelmed, despite the dragonfire. Edd is killed saving Sam and survivors retreat into the castle. Melisandre ignites the fire trench surrounding Winterfell to delay the advancing horde. Jon and Daenerys aerially engage the Night King on their dragons. The wights invade Winterfell, overpowering the defenders; Lyanna Mormont is killed destroying a giant wight; Beric dies defending Arya, and Melisandre tells Arya what she must do. Jon and Rhaegal knock the Night King off Viserion, and Daenerys and Drogon burn him with dragonfire without any effect. The Night King raises the slain Winterfell soldiers and the dead entombed in the Stark family crypt, who attack those sheltered there. Wights pull Daenerys from Drogon and Jorah is fatally wounded defending her. The Night King kills Theon as he protects Bran. Arya ambushes and stabs the Night King with her Valyrian steel dagger, shattering him, his White Walkers, Viserion, and all wights. Her purpose served; Melisandre allows herself to die of old age. |||||||
| 71 | 4 | "The Last of the Starks" | David Nutter | David Benioff & D. B. Weiss | May 5, 2019 (2019-05-05) | 11.80 |
| The survivors mourn, burn the dead, and then celebrate their victory. During the somber feast, Daenerys uplifts the mood by legitimizing Gendry as a Baratheon, naming him Lord of Storm's End. Arya gently declines Gendry's subsequent marriage proposal while Jaime and Brienne become lovers. To protect her claim to the throne, Daenerys asks Jon to conceal his true parentage. Bronn arrives and threatens Jaime and Tyrion but spares them in exchange for being promised Highgarden castle. Jon reveals his true parentage to Sansa, Bran, and Arya, swearing them to secrecy. Wanting Jon as king, Sansa tells Tyrion, who informs Varys. Arya and the Hound head for King's Landing, separately bent on revenge. Tormund returns north with the Wildlings, taking Ghost at Jon's request. Daenerys and her fleet set sail for King's Landing, while Jon leads the Northern army. At Dragonstone, Euron's navy ambushes Daenerys' fleet, killing Rhaegal with ship-mounted ballistas. Missandei is taken hostage and Daenerys considers seizing King's Landing using dragonfire. Varys and Tyrion debate whether Jon would be a better ruler than Daenerys. Jaime leaves Winterfell to return to Cersei, despite Brienne's pleas to stay. Cersei rejects Daenerys' demand to surrender and has Missandei beheaded before an enraged Daenerys and Grey Worm. |||||||
| 72 | 5 | "The Bells" | Miguel Sapochnik | David Benioff & D. B. Weiss | May 12, 2019 (2019-05-12) | 12.48 |
| Varys urges Jon to advance his claim to the throne but Jon refuses to betray Daenerys. After Tyrion reveals Varys' plot, Daenerys executes Varys by dragon-fire. Jaime is captured but Tyrion releases him so Jaime can persuade Cersei to surrender the city and then escape Westeros together. Jaime, Arya and the Hound each infiltrate King's Landing. Riding Drogon, Daenerys destroys the Iron Fleet and most of the city's defenses, allowing her army to enter. Cersei's forces are quickly overwhelmed and the city signals its surrender. Giving in to rage and insanity, Daenerys levels the entire city, burning soldiers and civilians. The allied army follows her lead, slaughtering anyone in their path, horrifying Tyrion and Jon. Jaime kills Euron but is mortally wounded. The Hound convinces Arya to abandon her vendetta against Cersei and save herself; then he confronts the Mountain. The brothers, battling each other, ultimately perish after falling from a tower into flames. Cersei and Jaime reunite but are killed as the Red Keep collapses on them. Jon calls for a retreat as frantic civilians flee the devastation. Arya barely escapes alive. |||||||
| 73 | 6 | "The Iron Throne" | David Benioff & D. B. Weiss | David Benioff & D. B. Weiss | May 19, 2019 (2019-05-19) | 13.61 |
| Jon is appalled when the Unsullied execute captured soldiers upon Daenerys' orders. Tyrion finds Jaime and Cersei dead in the ruins. Daenerys rallies the Unsullied and Dothraki, proclaiming she will lead them to liberate the entire world. Tyrion resigns as Hand of the Queen and is imprisoned for treason. Arya and Tyrion separately warn Jon that Daenerys is a threat to him, House Stark and the people. Jon confronts Daenerys. Unable to halt her destructive path, an agonized Jon kills her. Drogon, enraged, melts the Iron Throne, then carries away Daenerys' body. Later, Tyrion proposes that all future monarchs be chosen by Westerosi leaders, rather than familial succession. Bran Stark is proclaimed King Bran the Broken. He grants the North independence as a kingdom and appoints Tyrion his Hand. Jon is sentenced to the Night's Watch to appease the Unsullied, who set sail for Naath, Missandei's homeland. Tyrion reorganizes the Small Council – Brienne, Bronn, Davos and Sam – to rebuild King's Landing. Podrick is knighted. Sansa is crowned Queen in the North. Arya sets sail to explore unknown lands west of Westeros. Jon rejoins Tormund and Ghost at Castle Black, leading the Wildlings north of the Wall. |||||||

## Cast
### Recurring cast

The recurring actors listed here are those who appeared in season 8. They are listed by the region in which they first appear.

## Production
### Development

HBO announced the eighth and final season of the fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones in July 2016. Like the previous season, it largely consists of original content not found in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. As Benioff had verified in March 2015, the creators have talked with Martin about the end of the series, and they "know where things are heading". He explained that the ends of both the television and the book series would unavoidably be thematically similar, although Martin could still make some changes to surprise the readers. When asked about why the television series is coming to an end, he said, "this is where the story ends."

### Crew

Series creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss serve as showrunners for the eighth season. The directors for the eighth season were announced in September 2017. Miguel Sapochnik, who previously directed "The Gift" and "Hardhome" in the fifth season, as well as "Battle of the Bastards" and "The Winds of Winter" in the sixth season, returned to direct two episodes. David Nutter, who had directed two episodes each in the second, third, and fifth seasons, including "The Rains of Castamere" and "Mother's Mercy", directed three episodes for the eighth season. The final episode of the series was directed by Benioff and Weiss, who have previously co-directed two episodes, taking credit for one episode each.
At the series' South by Southwest panel on March 12, 2017, Benioff and Weiss announced the writers for the series to be Dave Hill (episode 1) and Bryan Cogman (episode 2). The showrunners divided up the screenplay for the remaining four episodes amongst themselves.

### Writing

Writing for the eighth season started with a 140-page outline. Benioff said that the divvying-up process and who should write what section became more difficult because "this would be the last time that [they] would be doing this."

### Filming

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, HBO programming president Casey Bloys said that instead of the series finales being a feature film, the final season would be "six one-hour movies" on television. He continued, "The show has proven that TV is every bit as impressive and in many cases more so, than film. What they're doing is monumental." Filming officially began on October 23, 2017 and concluded in July 2018. Many exterior scenes were filmed in Northern Ireland and a few in Dubrovnik, Croatia; Paint Hall Studios in Belfast were used for interior filming. The direwolf scenes were filmed in Alberta, Canada.

### Casting

The eighth season saw the return of Tobias Menzies as Edmure Tully and Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn in the final episode, neither of whom appeared in the seventh season. Marc Rissmann was cast as Harry Strickland, the commander of the Golden Company.

### Content

Co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss have said that the seventh and eighth seasons would likely comprise fewer episodes, saying that after the sixth season, they were "down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We're heading into the final lap". Benioff and Weiss said that they were unable to produce 10 episodes in the series' usual 12 to 14-month timeframe, as Weiss explained, "It's crossing out of a television schedule into more of a mid-range movie schedule." HBO confirmed in July 2016 that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes and would premiere later than usual in mid-2017 because of the later filming schedule. Benioff and Weiss later confirmed that the eighth season would consist of six episodes and would premiere later than usual for the same reason.
Benioff and Weiss said about the end of the series: "From the beginning, we've wanted to tell a 70-hour movie. It will turn out to be a 73-hour movie, but it's stayed relatively the same of having the beginning, middle[,] and now we're coming to the end. It would have been really tough if we lost any core cast members along the way[;] I'm very happy we've kept everyone and we get to finish it the way we want to." The first two episodes are, respectively, 54 and 58 minutes long, while the final four episodes of the series are all more than an hour in length—episode three is 82 minutes (making it the longest episode of the series), episodes four and five are each 78 minutes, and the final episode is 80 minutes.
A two-hour documentary, Game of Thrones: The Last Watch, which documents the making of the eighth season, aired on May 26, the week after the series finale.

### Music

Ramin Djawadi returned as the series' composer for the eighth season. The soundtrack album for the season was released digitally on May 19, 2019, and was released on CD on July 19, 2019.

## Release
### Broadcast

The season premiered on April 14, 2019, in the United States on HBO.

### Marketing

On December 6, 2018, HBO released the first official teaser trailer for the eighth season. A second teaser trailer was released on January 13, 2019, which announced the premiere date as April 14, 2019. The trailer was directed by David Nutter. HBO released a promotional advertisement with Bud Light on February 3, 2019, during Super Bowl LIII. Later, first-look photos of several main characters were released on February 6, 2019. On February 28, posters of many of the main characters sitting upon the Iron Throne were released. The official full trailer was released on March 5, 2019.

### Illegal distribution

The season premiere was reportedly pirated by nearly 55 million people within the first 24 hours of release. Of these numbers, 9.5 million downloads came from India, 5.2 million came from China, and 4 million came from the U.S. On April 21, 2019, it was reported that the second episode of the season was illegally leaked online hours before it aired due to being streamed early on Amazon Prime Germany. On May 5, 2019, it was reported that the fourth episode of the season was leaked online, with footage from the episode circulating on social media.

### Home media

The season was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD on December 3, 2019.

## Reception
### Critical response

Game of Thrones (season 8): Critical reception by episode :
* Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
* Season 8 (2019): Percentage of positive critics' reviews tracked by the website Rotten Tomatoes
The season received mixed reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds an approval rating of 55% based on 699 reviews with an average rating of 6.45/10, the lowest rating for a season of Game of Thrones. The website's critical consensus reads: "Game of Thrones' final season shortchanges the women of Westeros, sacrificing satisfying character arcs for spectacular set-pieces in its mad dash to the finish line".
The first three episodes were met with generally positive feedback from critics. On Metacritic, the premiere garnered a score of 75 out of 100 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". "The Long Night" was praised for the cinematography and grand scale of the battle between the living and the dead, but was criticized for what was considered its lack of catharsis, disorienting lighting, and the anticlimactic ending of the White Walker storyline that had been built up for seven seasons. "The Last of the Starks" and "The Bells" were said to have rushed pacing, writing, and deviation from character development, with "The Last of the Starks" being labeled as "anticlimactic" and "a huge letdown". "The Iron Throne" was described as "divisive", and according to Rotten Tomatoes, the series finale represents "a modest rebound" but it "went out with a whimper". "The Bells" and "The Iron Throne" are the worst-reviewed episodes of the entire series on the website, with an approval of 49% and 48% respectively, while the last four episodes of the season "plunged to record low scores".
David Sims of The Atlantic wrote that the final season "has been the same story over and over again: a lot of tin-eared writing trying to justify some of the most drastic story developments imaginable, as quickly as possible. As usual, the actors did their best with what was on the page." Lucy Mangan of The Guardian considered the season a "rushed business. It has wasted opportunities, squandered goodwill, and failed to do justice to its characters or its actors." Zack Beauchamp of Vox wrote that it "dispensed almost entirely with trying to make sense of its characters' internal motivations—let alone the complex political reality that its psychological realism initially helped create". Huw Fullerton of Radio Times said the final season was not "Thrones at its best" but still had "some sort of ending for the characters". For Fullerton, the season was "like the finale — some bits I liked, one or two I loved, an awful lot that leaves me scratching my head".
Writing for USA Today, Kelly Lawler felt that the series ultimately betrayed its "identity" of "tragedy and injustice" with a "pandering" ending. Judy Berman of Time said that the series failed to complete the answer to "conflicting ideas about freedom, justice and leadership", themes that had brought depth to the series. Ellen Gray of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly agreed that the final season was not as complex as previous seasons. Franich stated that the "broseph mentality shined through", shunting the development and interaction between female characters. Franich criticized Cersei for doing nothing this season, regarding it "one complete failure of imagination", as well as the ultimate primary focus on the reactions and thoughts of the male characters, such as "Jon Snow, the least complicated main character." Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Maureen Ryan condemned what she considered the season's reductive treatment of women, and "decisions set up and executed with little or no foresight or thoughtfulness", declaring the penultimate episode "The Bells" as "Game of Thrones at its worst".

### Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Game of Thrones season 8 :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Winterfell" | April 14, 2019 | 5.0 | 11.76 | 1.2 | 3.04 | 6.2 | 14.84 |
| 2 | "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" | April 21, 2019 | 4.4 | 10.29 | 1.3 | 3.58 | 5.7 | 13.89 |
| 3 | "The Long Night" | April 28, 2019 | 5.3 | 12.02 | 1.5 | 4.07 | 6.8 | 16.12 |
| 4 | "The Last of the Starks" | May 5, 2019 | 5.1 | 11.80 | 1.2 | 3.33 | 6.3 | 15.16 |
| 5 | "The Bells" | May 12, 2019 | 5.4 | 12.48 | 1.4 | 3.52 | 6.8 | 16.03 |
| 6 | "The Iron Throne" | May 19, 2019 | 5.8 | 13.61 | 0.8 | 2.20 | 6.6 | 15.85 |

### Audience response

A petition to HBO for "competent writers" to remake the eighth season of Game of Thrones in a manner "that makes sense" was started on Change.org after "The Last of the Starks" aired, but went viral after "The Bells" aired and saw Daenerys's arc take a significant turn. The petition described showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss as "woefully incompetent writers". By September 6, 2019, it received over 1.73 million signatures. Digital Spy reported that some fans of the series criticized the season for the way it handled several character arcs and the "rushed" pacing. The petition's creator stated that he never expected HBO to remake the season, but saw the petition as a message "of frustration and disappointment at its core".
The petition was labelled as "disrespectful to the crew and the filmmakers" by actress Sophie Turner (who plays Sansa Stark), "ridiculous", "weird, juvenile" by actor Isaac Hempstead Wright (who plays Bran Stark), "rude" by actor Jacob Anderson (who plays Grey Worm) and "fandom extremism" by actress Carice van Houten (who plays Melisandre). Emilia Clarke (who plays Daenerys Targaryen) indicated she was previously unaware of the petition, but gave a warmer response when she was asked what she would want to see happen if the eighth season were redone: "I can only speak to my own character, and the people that I interact with on the show. But I would've loved some more scenes with me and Missandei. I would've loved some more scenes with me and Cersei".
Richard Roeper, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote: "Over all, though, it was a solid and largely satisfying wrap-up to one of the most exciting and enthralling TV series ever". In regards to the controversy, he added, "Over the last 25+ years, I've reviewed thousands of movies and dozens of TV shows, and I don't think I've ever seen the level of fan (and to a lesser degree, critical) vitriol leveled at [this show] in recent weeks". However, Roeper noted that social media was not yet widely used during much of this time period.
Author Stephen King defended the final season, saying: "I've loved this last season of GoT, including Dani going bugshit all over King's Landing. There's been a lot of negativity about the windup, but I think it's just because people don't want ANY ending. But you know what they say: All good things...".
Filmmaker Joe Russo during Talks at Google commented that he appreciated all the decisions and the choices that the makers took in Season 8. He said, "They made the choices that they wanted to make with that show and people felt, what I think that they felt, was that they didn’t feel it was seeded properly throughout the series. I loved all the choices. I thought they were crazy and unexpected, and that’s what I want out of a narrative, but I see where people feel like they were upset."
Lenika Cruz, writing for The Atlantic, wrote that with the end of the series, "there are folks who don't feel as though the hours and hours they've devoted to this show have been wasted", but "there are many others" who felt the opposite. Kelly Lawler of USA Today wrote that the ultimate ending of the series was not what some fans "signed up for".
CBS News has described several plot points that some fans are dissatisfied with: the character arcs of Daenerys and Jaime; the fates of Jaime, Missandei, Rhaegal, and the Night King; the Battle of Winterfell being visually too dark; the "basic existence of Euron Greyjoy"; and "Jon's treatment of Ghost".

### Cast response

In an interview with The New Yorker, Emilia Clarke said she had to hold back her innermost anxiety from Beyoncé: "I was just, like, Oh, my God, my absolute idol in life is saying that she likes me, and I know for a fact that by the end of this season she's going to hate me. ... All I wanted to scream was 'Please, please still like me even though my character turns into a mass-killing dictator! Please still think that I'm representing women in a really fabulous way.'" Clarke said she was shocked at Daenerys's turn and her last scene because "it comes out of nowhere". Although she stands by the character, Clarke said it was a "struggle" reading the scripts. As for what she would have changed, she said she would have liked more scenes between Daenerys and Missandei and Daenerys and Cersei; "I just think more dissection and those beautifully written scenes that the boys have between characters — that we are more than happy to contently sit there and watch ten minutes of two people talking, because it's beautiful. I just wanted to see a bit more of that."
In an interview published as the final season premiered, Kit Harington said he felt "defiant" about the series at the time, adding that "whatever critic spends half an hour writing about this season and makes their [negative] judgement on it, in my head they can go fuck themselves. I know how much work was put into this ... Now if people feel let down by [this final season], I don't give a fuck—because everyone [working on the series] tried their hardest. ... In the end, no one's bigger fans of the show than we are". Harington later said he expected the ending was going to divide fans, and he was concerned the final two episodes would be deemed sexist: "We have Cersei and Dany, two leading women, who fall". "The justification is: Just because they're women, why should they be the goodies? They're the most interesting characters in the show. You can't just say the strong women are going to end up the good people ... It's going to open up discussion ... And when have you ever seen a woman play a dictator?" Harington also said he was disappointed his character Jon did not kill the Night King, yet added "it was a really great twist, and it tied up Maisie's journey in a really beautiful way."
Nathalie Emmanuel, who played Missandei, was heartbroken when she read her character's sudden demise: "I think the fact that she died in chains when she was a slave her whole life, that for me was a pungent cut for that character, that felt so painful". Emmanuel, the only woman of color who was a regular cast member for the last several seasons, said, "It's safe to say that Game of Thrones has been under criticism for their lack of representation, and the truth of it is that Missandei and Grey Worm have represented so many people because there's only two of them." Emmanuel added that she wished she "had more time or scenes this season maybe with Daenerys or even with Cersei, scenes where we get to see her being brilliant before she dies. I think that might have eased the pain a bit more for people, and reinforcing a friendship that she and Dany had because we haven't really seen anything for a few seasons."
Conleth Hill, who played Varys, told Entertainment Weekly that the seventh and eighth seasons were "kind of frustrating" and not his "favorite", noting that Varys "kind of dropped off the edge". Hill reacted with "dismay" to Varys apparently "losing his knowledge", commenting, "If he was such an intelligent man and he had such resources, how come he didn't know about things?" After being "very bummed to not have a final scene with [Littlefinger]", Hill was "bummed not to have any reaction to [Littlefinger] dying, if he was [Varys'] nemesis". Also, once the series ran out of book material as a source, Hill said that "special niche interest in weirdos wasn't as effective as it had been". However, Hill was "not dissatisfied on the whole" regarding the series.
Lena Headey had a "mixed" initial reaction to the manner of death for Cersei Lannister. Headey said she would rather have had Cersei die by "some big piece or fight with somebody". Fellow actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Headey discussed it and then appreciated the scene, viewing it as "the perfect ending" for Cersei and Jaime as they "came into the world together and now they leave together". Headey mentioned that a scene of Cersei's miscarriage was cut.
Sophie Turner said she would like to have seen "Sansa and Cersei reunited, or Arya and Cersei", but she was happy with the ending for her character. Maisie Williams said the biggest regret for her character Arya was not getting a scene with Cersei, and possibly killing her, "even if it means [Arya] dies too". She later embraced Arya's happier arc for the last season.
Gwendoline Christie, who played Brienne, said she was "dismayed" by her character turn, explaining that "It was partially because I read about this character [in Martin's novels] before I saw the show. So we all have our own ideas about how we think the character is going to develop. Sometimes your ideas become set in your mind, and sometimes David and Dan write something you didn't expect and find difficult to comprehend." "[Brienne] has been very impactful in the way I think about women and in the way they're portrayed in the media and the way they're treated in society", she noted.
Joe Dempsie (Gendry) also expressed disappointment over the series' finale, as did former cast members Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and Natalia Tena (Osha), though Dempsie also dismissed claims that Benioff and Weiss rushed the season, saying, "Working with them for a number of years, I know the last thing they wanted is for almost a decade of work to be undone by a final season that didn’t hit the mark."

## Accolades

With 32 nominations, Game of Thrones broke the record of the most nominations received by a regular TV show in a single year.
| Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result |
| 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Show | Game of Thrones | Won |
| 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Performance in a Show | Emilia Clarke | Nominated |
| 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Hero | Maisie Williams | Nominated |
| 2019 MTV Movie & TV Awards | Best Fight | Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) vs. White Walkers | Nominated |
| 35th TCA Awards | Program of the Year | Game of Thrones | Nominated |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Fantasy Television Series | Game of Thrones | Won |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Actor on a Television Series | Kit Harington | Nominated |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Actress on a Television Series | Emilia Clarke | Won |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series | Nikolaj Coster-Waldau | Nominated |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series | Peter Dinklage | Won |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series | Gwendoline Christie | Nominated |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series | Lena Headey | Nominated |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actress on a Television Series | Sophie Turner | Nominated |
| 45th Saturn Awards | Best Performance by a Younger Actor on a Television Series | Maisie Williams | Won |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Series | Game of Thrones | Won |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Episode | "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" | Nominated |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Episode | "The Long Night" | Won |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Actor | Kit Harington | Nominated |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Actress | Emilia Clarke | Nominated |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actor | Alfie Allen | Nominated |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actor | Nikolaj Coster-Waldau | Nominated |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actor | Peter Dinklage | Won |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actress | Gwendoline Christie | Nominated |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actress | Lena Headey | Nominated |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Supporting Actress | Maisie Williams | Won |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Drama Guest Actress | Carice van Houten | Nominated |
| 17th Gold Derby Awards | Best Ensemble | The cast of Game of Thrones | Won |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Drama Series | David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, David Nutter, Miguel Sapochnik, Vince Gerardis, Guymon Casady, George R. R. Martin, Bryan Cogman, Chris Newman, Greg Spence, Lisa McAtackney, and Duncan Muggoch | Won |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | Kit Harington (for "The Iron Throne") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | Emilia Clarke (for "The Last of the Starks") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Alfie Allen (for "The Long Night") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (for "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | Peter Dinklage (for "The Iron Throne") | Won |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Gwendoline Christie (for "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Lena Headey (for "The Bells") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Sophie Turner (for "Winterfell") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Maisie Williams (for "The Long Night") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (for "The Iron Throne") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | David Nutter (for "The Last of the Starks") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | Miguel Sapochnik (for "The Long Night") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (for "The Iron Throne") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series | Nina Gold, Robert Sterne, and Carla Stronge | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series | Jonathan Freeman (for "The Iron Throne") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media within a Scripted Program | "Fight for the Living: Beyond the Wall Virtual Reality Experience" | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes | Michele Clapton, Emma O'Loughlin, and Kate O'Farrell (for "The Bells") | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Carice van Houten (for "The Long Night") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series | Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks, Nicola Mount, and Rosalia Culora (for "The Long Night") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Main Title Design | Angus Wall, Kirk Shintani, Shahana Khan, Ian Ruhfass, and Rustam Hasanov | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) | Jane Walker, Kay Bilk, Marianna Kyriacou, Nicola Mathews, and Pamela Smyth (for "The Long Night") | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) | Ramin Djawadi (for "The Long Night") | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More) | Deborah Riley, Paul Ghirardani, and Rob Cameron (for "The Bells") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series, Limited Series, Movie or Special | Emma Faulkes, Paul Spateri, Chloe Muton-Phillips, Duncan Jarman, Patt Foad, John Eldred-Tooby, Barrie Gower, and Sarah Gower (for "The Long Night") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Katie Weiland (for "The Iron Throne") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Tim Porter (for "The Long Night") | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series | Crispin Green (for "Winterfell") | Nominated |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) | Tim Kimmel, Tim Hands, Paula Fairfield, Bradley C. Katona, Paul Bercovitch, John Matter, David Klotz, Brett Voss, Jeffrey Wilhoit, and Dylan T. Wilhoit (for "The Long Night") | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) | Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Simon Kerr, Danny Crowley, and Ronan Hill (for "The Long Night") | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Special Visual Effects | Joe Bauer, Steve Kullback, Adam Chazen, Sam Conway, Mohsen Mousavi, Martin Hill, Ted Rae, Patrick Tiberius Gehlen, and Thomas Schelesny (for "The Bells") | Won |
| 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie | Rowley Irlam | Won |
| 47th Annie Awards | Outstanding Character Animation in a Live Action Production | Jason Snyman, Sheik Ghafoor, Maia Neubig, Michael Siegel, Cheri Fojtik (Dance of the Dragons in "The Long Night") | Nominated |
| American Film Institute Awards 2019 | AFI TV Award | Game of Thrones | Won |
| 77th Golden Globe Awards | Best Actor – Television Series Drama | Kit Harington | Nominated |
| 2019 Art Directors Guild Awards | One-Hour Single Camera Period Or Fantasy Television Series | Deborah Riley (for "The Bells") | Nominated |
| 2019 Cinema Audio Society Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television Series – One Hour | Ronan Hill, Simon Kerr, Daniel Crowley, Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Brett Voss (for "The Bells") | Won |
| 2019 Costume Designers Guild Awards | Outstanding Fantasy Television Series | Michele Clapton | Won |
| American Cinema Editors Awards 2020 | Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television | Tim Porter (for "The Long Night") | Won |
| 72nd Directors Guild of America Awards | Dramatic Series | David Nutter (for "The Last of the Starks") | Nominated |
| 72nd Directors Guild of America Awards | Dramatic Series | Miguel Sapochnik (for "The Long Night") | Nominated |
| Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild | Best Period and/or Character Makeup – Television | Jane Walker, Kay Bilk | Nominated |
| Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild | Best Special Makeup Effects – Television | Barrie Gower, Sarah Gower | Nominated |
| Producers Guild of America Awards 2019 | Best Episodic Drama | David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, David Nutter, Miguel Sapochnik, Bryan Cogman, Chris Newman, Greg Spence, Lisa McAtackney, Duncan Muggoch | Nominated |
| 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Game of Thrones | Nominated |
| 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series | Peter Dinklage | Won |
| 26th Screen Actors Guild Awards | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series | Game of Thrones | Won |