Game of Thrones stars blast finale backlash, spill new details

The GoT cast have made their last panel appearance, taking aim at the finale backlash and revealing brand new details about the show.

Game of Thrones star Conleth Hill has addressed the extreme backlash sparked by the final season, describing it as a “media-led hate campaign”.

Hill, along with co-stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm), Isaac Hempstead-Wright (Bran Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth) and John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), was appearing in the last ever Game of Thrones Comic-Con panel in San Diego when the controversy surrounding season eight was raised.

After agreeing with the panel moderator that no one had expected “the level of blowback” it received, Hill — who played Lord Varys — told the crowd: “You look at the amount of people that are here, and we’re here to thank you for watching us all these years … We’re very grateful for your fandom over the years and I think this is the reality rather than a media-led hate campaign.”

Isaac Hempstead Wright, left, and Conleth Hill speak during the Game of Thrones panel in San Diego. Picture: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Coster-Waldau also took a swipe at the fan petition launched earlier this year, which demanded a remake of the entire final season and amassed nearly 1.7 million followers.

“It was surprising — oh, of course, we’re going to change the whole thing … that’s the power of the internet!” the actor joked sarcastically.

“Every season there was controversy — Ned Stark’s death … the Red Wedding … so obviously, when it comes to an end, it’s going to piss you off no matter what, ’cause it’s the end. But at the end of the day, it’s absolutely fine.

“If you hated the ending, if you loved it — that’s great. Just don’t call people names.”

Hill also weighed in on the theory that circulated in episode five, that Varys had actually attempted to assassinate Daenerys Targaryen before she had him executed.

Hill’s character Varys met a fiery end. Picture: Supplied/ HBO

The opening scene of the episode showed Varys speaking to a young kitchenhand, clearly receiving an update about Queen Daenerys’ mental state after the death of her BFF Missandei, Ser Jorah Mormont and her dragon Rhaegal and whether or not she’s eating any food.

In the vague conversation, the use of the phrases “try again” and the fear of being “watched” by soldiers raised suspicions among fans, who believed Varys was using the girl to try and poison his queen — a theory which Hill confirmed during the Comic-Con appearance.

“I think Varys knew long ago he was going to die, so I think there was an inevitability,” the actor explained.

“He knew he couldn’t get through to Jon Snow or Tyrion because they were both in love with Daenerys — and that blinds people’s judgment — and he had to find a way to stop her.”

The cast was also asked whether there were any details or backstories about their characters which hadn’t made it into the final cut of episodes — which prompted a surprisingly graphic response from Anderson, whose warrior character had famously had his genitalia mutilated.

“I got told one thing (by the creators), and it’s the last time I ever say this: d**k, no balls,” he clarified (for anyone left wondering).

Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm and Kit Harington as Jon Snow. Picture: Helen Sloan/HBO

Meanwhile, Cunningham — whose character Ser Davos was more of an advisor than soldier — admitted that his physical prowess had been deliberately scaled back.

“When we did the fight against Mance Rayder with Stannis and I was on the back of a horse swinging a sword, I killed a few guys,” Cunningham explained.

“And then the next season they said, ‘oh he’s not much of a fighter, we’re going to drop all that’ — and they spent the entire rest of the season talking about how crap I was … I felt kind of emasculated. But yeah, I did kill a couple of guys early on!”

But for fans hoping to find out the culprit of the rogue modern-day water bottle accidentally left in the finale — they were left disappointed.

The rogue bottle was spotted by fans.

Plenty suspected Bradley (Samwell), given that it was placed next to his left leg — but he was quick to shrug off blame when the topic was raised during the panel.

“I’ve always been somebody who’s taken responsibility for a lot of things, but I will say this — I’m right-handed,” he told the crowd.

“I’ve thought about this. So if I’m drinking a water bottle with my right hand, if I was going to put it on the floor, I think I’d put it on the (right) side of my leg, but the bottle was on the (left) side.

“I’m just saying, there’s a guy on that side who might have … I think I’ve taken enough blame for this, I don’t want to name and shame. But there were several stages between that day and it being on TV where it could have been taken out.”

So whose fault was it? Sadly — it seems the mystery lives on.