The final season of Game of Thrones has proven to be the harrowing experience that many fans embraced for, but not how they expected. The shocking twists to the storyline have prompted outcry and support from various people, with some creating misguided petitions while others continue to rave about how the show ended. But not everyone has seen the final episodes, including one of the key stars of the series.
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Actress Gemma Whelan has played a key role in the series since her debut in the second season of the hit HBO TV series. But her Game of Thrones character Yara Greyjoy took a backseat in the final season, though she became a key figure in the future of Westeros by the show’s ending.
You might be surprised to learn that Whelan hasn’t yet watched the final season, though she has a good excuse. As she admitted on the Channel 4 program Sunday Brunch, she didn’t exactly have access to be able to watch it.
“I haven’t watched the end yet, no,” Whelan explained, though she admitted she caught some of the last episode. “I do know what happens. I came home and my husband was watching it and I saw the final bit but I haven’t seen most of the series yet, because we didn’t have internet in our house.”
Whelan made it clear that she is a big fan of the series and is grateful for the opportunity she was afforded, especially as she moves on in a post-Game of Thrones world.
“It was such a fun thing to do,” she added. “It’s hard to quantify – having that on your CV definitely changes things, but in terms of actually that being a tangible thing in your life, it’s hard to know. But of course, it really does help.”
Greyjoy ends up as the ruler of the Iron Islands by the end of the series, serving under the new king Bran Stark. This ending was considered a surprise, but according to HBO’s programming president Casey Bloys, there was never an alternative.
“[Showrunners D.B. Weiss and David Benioff] are very smart, very bright, very methodical,” Bloys tells Deadline. “They’ve had this in their heads for a long time. So there weren’t big debates about, should it end this way or not end this way, this is what they had planned.”
Fans can stream every episode of Game of Thrones on HBO Now or HBO Go.
