Emilia Clarke and Sophie Turner have shared touching tributes to their Game Of Thrones characters, castmates, and fans online ahead of the premiere of the series’ grand finale.
The hit fantasy drama will come to an end on Sunday night (May 19, 2019) after the broadcast of the sixth episode in the eighth and final season, and as the stars prepared for the final farewell, they took to social media to express their gratitude for the experiences the show had granted them.
Clarke, who portrays Dragon Queen Daenerys Targaryen, posted a photo of the cast and wrote, “The mother of dragons chapter has taken up the whole of my adult life. This woman has taken up the whole of my heart.
“I’ve sweated in the blaze of dragon fire, shed many tears at those who left our family early, and wrung my brain dry trying to do … the masterful words… justice,” the 32-year-old continued.
“Game of Thrones has shaped me as a woman, as an actor and as a human being. I just wish my darling dad was here now to see how far we’ve flown.”
Sharing her gratitude to the show’s devotees, she added, “To you, dear kind magical fans, I owe you so much thanks, for your steady gaze at what we’ve made and what I’ve done with a character that was already in the hearts of many before I slipped on the platinum wig of dreams. Without you there is no us. And now our watch has ended.”
Turner, who was just 13 when she landed the role of Sansa Stark, also took a few moments to share the lessons learned over the past decade.
“Sansa, Thank you for teaching me resilience, bravery and what true strength really is,” she began.
“Thank you teaching (sic) me to be kind and patient and to lead with love. I grew up with you. I fell in love with you at 13 and now 10 years on.. at 23 I leave you behind, but I will never leave behind what you’ve taught me.
“To the show and the incredible people who make it, thank you for giving me the best life and drama lessons I could have ever asked for,” she continued. “Without you I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
“And finally to the fans. Thank you for falling in love with these characters and supporting this show right through till the end. I’ll miss this more than anything.”
Co-stars Gwendoline Christie, who plays Brienne of Tarth, and John Bradley, known for his role as Samwell Tarly, also marked the Game of Thrones end with posts on social media.
The tributes come as a fan petition calling on network officials at HBO to remake the last season swelled to over one million signatures.
Shortly after the show’s penultimate episode debuted on May 12, one disgruntled devotee decided to take his complaints public, insisting new writers should be brought in to redo the work of show creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
Like many others, the petition creator was left more than a little upset by a fiery dragon rampage, led by Clarke’s “mad queen” character, and the sudden deaths of a handful of regulars.
The series is based on the book series by George R. R. Martin, who had yet to complete the final novels before the TV adaptations caught up with his storyline.
