Kit Harrington Blasts ‘Game of Thrones’ Critics

Finally, after nearly two-years away from the spotlight, Game of Thrones returned with its final season premiere on Sunday night and send fans into a frenzy. More than 17 million people watched the episode before the night was over and Game of Thrones was far and away the most talked-about topic on social media. Still, despite all of the hype online, the new season had its fair share of haters, as well as a few critics who didn’t react kindly to the premiere episode. The negativity is definitely in the minority, but it’s still present, and Jon Snow isn’t having any of it.

This week, Game of Thrones star Kit Harington spoke to Esquire about his work on the beloved series, and what’s in store for the final season. In the very first question of the interview, Harington was asked how he was dealing with fan expectations, and the actor didn’t shy away from his feelings. He doesn’t care about your negative reviews. Not this time.

“How I feel about the show right now is quite defiant,” Harington said. “I think no matter what anyone thinks about this season — and I don’t mean to sound mean about critics here — but whatever critic spends half an hour writing about this season and makes their [negative] judgement on it, in my head they can go f*ck themselves. ‘Cause I know how much work was put into this. I know how much people cared about this. I know how much pressure people put on themselves and I know how many sleepless nights working or otherwise people had on this show. Because they cared about it so much. Because they cared about the characters. Because they cared about the story. Because they cared about not letting people down.

“Now if people feel let down by it, I don’t give a f*ck — because everyone tried their hardest. That’s how I feel. In the end, no one’s bigger fans of the show than we are, and we’re kind of doing it for ourselves. That’s all we could do, really. And I was just happy we got to the end.”

Those are strong words from Harington, but they help put into perspective just how dedicated everyone working on the show actually is. Each and every member of the cast and crew is incredibly proud of this final season, and they aren’t going to let any negativity get in the way of that.

What did you think of the Game of Thrones Season 8 premiere? Are you looking forward to the rest of the season? Let us know in the comments!

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