Game of Thrones: Fans should 'brace themselves' for ending
The phenomenally popular series is premiering its final season next week - and its stars say fans should "brace themselves".
Friday 12 April 2019 07:29, UK
Game of Thrones star Liam Cunningham says the end of the show will be "bittersweet" - and "fans will never be satisfied".
The actor, who plays Davos Seaworth, admitted "all the big issues" are taken care of but suggested it isn't going to be a straightforward conclusion to the show.
He said: "If we wrap this puppy up in a nice pink ribbon, everybody would be incredibly depressed because it would be condescending and patronising and all of the above. You have to remember it is Game of Thrones."
Speaking at the launch of a new Game of Thrones exhibition in Belfast, he appeared alongside Isaac Hempstead Wright - who hinted his character Bran Stark was in the show until the very end.
When asked if he cried at the end, he told Sky News: "On the final day, I didn't think I was going to cry, I thought 'nah everyone is going to be all teary and its fine'.
"And then the water works came on and it was just a total mess. The crew, all the other cast, everyone was just wailing away."
Isaac has been in the show since he was just 10 years old, even appearing in the pilot.
He said he "felt a mixture of everything" when he watched the ending, adding: "There were a couple of moments where I did have to genuinely get up and pace around my flat and go 'oh my goodness' and I think that will be the same for a lot of people watching it.
"Brace yourselves for quite a lot of distress."
Both actors said when they received the final scripts they held off trying to find out if they were alive until the end.
Liam said once he'd made it to the final series he was happy to wait.
"I'm a fan, everybody on the show is genuinely a fan," he said.
"My ambition when I came on was to get to the last season and when I got to the last season, it was to get to the last episode.
"Whether that happens or not, one will have to wait and see."
Since it first aired, Game of Thrones has become a cultural phenomenon - breaking records for viewers, budgets and awards.
It has featured 330 characters - over half of whom have already been killed off - with one fan estimate putting the total death tally at 174,373.
Filming has taken place in 25 locations in and around Northern Ireland, which has since built a tourist economy off the back of the show.
Castle Ward is one such location, which became Winterfell, where much of the first series was set.
John McGrillen, chief executive of Tourism Northern Ireland, told Sky News the impact of Game of Thrones has been "huge" on the country, with the value from tourists coming over for the show estimated at £50m.
He said: "One in six people who come to Northern Ireland on a break want to see the sets and sights where Game of Thrones is actually being filmed.
"When you think we get 2.5 million visitors from overseas and one sixth of those are coming to those sets, that's a very significant number and it has a very big impact," he said.
Game of Thrones: The Touring exhibition is one such attraction hoping to build on the show's legacy.
Situated across the road from Titanic Studios, where much of the show was filmed, it is also within walking distance of the set where season eight's epic battle - which took 55 nights to film - was shot.
The Winterfell Crypt and Dragon Skull Pit are two never-before-seen sets going on display, along with costumes, authentic props and settings from all of the show's seven seasons.
The opening of the exhibition comes as excitement mounts for the premiere of the eighth and final season of the drama, which airs on Sunday 14 April in the US and at 2am and 9pm UK time on Monday 15.
Game of Thrones has already been broadcast in more than 200 countries.
Speaking at the exhibition launch, Jeff Peters, vice president of licensing and retail at HBO, said: "This has become bigger and better and grander than anything anyone ever expected or could have possibly hoped for.
"It's changed the landscape of television.
"The story is wrapping up soon and we don't plan on leaving this world any time soon.
"We don't think our fans want us to leave either. So this exhibition is an amazing opportunity for fans to come in and immerse themselves in the show."
Game of Thrones: The Touring Exhibition at TEC Belfast runs 11 April until 1 September 2019.