'Game of Thrones' stars still puzzled over fan fury during final season

It appears that time has not healed the wounds inflicted on Game of Thrones over its final, controversial season.

Last night at the 71st Emmys, the subject was broached with stars of the show on a number of occasions.

Speaking to Deadline, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister in the series, said: “I think that for a lot of people on the show there was kind of a shock because of this outcry.”

He added that many on the cast and crew were left wondering 'Why don’t you like it anymore?'

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“People love the show and invested so much,” he went on. “I’ve spoken to quite a few fans and understand that so many people actually have communities, they have found friends out of the show and [it] ending, does that mean it’s over? Does that mean I’m not going to have my friends anymore?

“There’s part of this whole equation that’s any ending is a s****y ending, because it ends. And that was never going to be great. But everybody’s entitled to their opinion and it’s just a television show.

“We worked our asses off. So we did the best we could. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if everybody thought it was the greatest thing ever, but that never happens, so.”

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Meanwhile, Emilia Clarke was collared by Variety to discuss the matter.

“Well, you know what. It was profoundly flattering,” she said. “Because when someone cares that much that they're ready to make such a noise about how they believed the characters should have been finished and how the story should have gone, that's just enormously flattering.

“It shows how much everybody loved it.”

Nonetheless, the show still scored the most nominations of any show on the night (with 14 nods in all, a new record when combined with its nomination haul from the Creative Emmys last week), and came home with the coveted Outstanding Drama Series gong.

Peter Dinklage also won the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, beating Coster-Waldau and Alfie Allen – aka Theon Greyjoy – to the prize.

Accepting the prize, he said: “I count myself so fortunate to be a member of a community that is all about tolerance and diversity, because no other place could I be standing on a stage like this.

“10 years of absolute sweat, but 10 years of the most incredible, talented, funniest motherf***ing people — hey, it's over, I don't care — I've ever been lucky enough to work with. We did nothing but sweat, we did nothing but laugh... And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.”