Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Was Booed During the 'Game of Thrones' Panel at Comic-Con

When the Game of Thrones cast took the stage at San Diego Comic-Con to discuss the final season, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was booed for defending Jaime's death.

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(Image credit: Albert L. Ortega)

The Game of Thrones (opens in new tab) cast took the stage in Hall H this weekend for their last San Diego Comic-Con panel for the show, which aired its series finale earlier this year.

Granted, the full Game of Thrones (opens in new tab) cast wasn't present, but Westeros still sent a solid showing to the annual fan convention. Maisie Williams (opens in new tab) (Arya Stark), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (opens in new tab) (Jaime Lannister), Isaac Hempstead Wright (Bran Stark), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Jacob Anderson (Grey Worm (opens in new tab)), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), and Conleth Hill (Varys) all spoke on the panel, poking fun at Coffee Cup Gate (opens in new tab) and answering questions about the final season.

The fans in the audience were not so pleased with their answers, however. The HBO hit's final season was infamously divisive (opens in new tab), with many fans taking issue with everything from specific characters' arcs (opens in new tab) to the pacing of the episodes.

Coster-Waldau drew actual boos from the crowd when he defended his character's death (in the arms of his sister/lover, Cersei (opens in new tab)), which left a bad taste in many fans' mouths.

He called the scene "great" and "perfect for that character’s ending."

"It made sense to me," the actor said (opens in new tab), defending Jaime's demise, as fans in the crowd literally booed.

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Other members of the panel defended the final season on a larger scale, with Hill blaming the perceived negative reception on a "media-led hate campaign" and Coster-Waldau ultimately calling on fans for civility.

"It comes to an end, it’s gonna piss you off no matter what because it’s the end," he said of the final season and all its backlash. "If you hated the ending, if you loved the ending, that’s great. Just don’t call people names."

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Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.