Sophie Turner Didn't Hold Back About That "Disrespectful" Game of Thrones Season 8 Remake Petition

Sophie Turner spoke to the New York Times about the end of Game of Thrones, and she did not have kind words to say about that petition fans have been signing demanding a remake of season 8.

Sophie Turner
(Image credit: Bertrand Rindoff Petroff)

Warning: Some spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones' final episode.

Sophie Turner spoke to the New York Times about the end of Game of Thrones, and she did not have kind words to say about that petition fans have been signing demanding a remake of season 8, the show's final season, because they were not happy about the episodes' writing. (That petition now has over 1.3 million signatures.)

Turner addressed the criticism the show's end received thoughtfully, but then straight-up called the petition "disrespectful."

"Honestly, I’m not surprised," she started of the criticism. "People always have an idea in their heads of how they want a show to finish, and so when it doesn’t go to their liking, they start to speak up about it and rebel. The thing about “Game of Thrones” that’s always been amazing is the fact that there’s always been crazy twists and turns, right from Season 1 with Ned’s beheading. So Daenerys becoming something of the Mad Queen—it shouldn’t be such a negative thing for fans. It’s a shock for sure, but I think it’s just because it hasn’t gone their way."

Then she addressed the Change.org petition: "All of these petitions and things like that—I think it’s disrespectful to the crew, and the writers, and the filmmakers who have worked tirelessly over 10 years, and for 11 months shooting the last season. Like 50-something night shoots. So many people worked so, so hard on it, and for people to just rubbish it because it’s not what they want to see is just disrespectful."

She said that she was happy with the way thinks ended for her character Sansa, who became Queen of the North. "I loved it. It’s the only place that she really, truly feels safe," Turner said. "It’s the place that she’s the most capable of ruling. She would be a fair and loving ruler, and it’s what she’s been striving for this whole series: to go back home, to protect her home. And finally she has that."

She also gets why Bran Stark won the Iron Throne: "King Bran the Broken. I suppose it was unexpected but it makes a lot of sense. The best way for us to move into the future is to look at our past and try to not make those mistakes that we did in the past. And he’s the one person that knows everything, so it does make sense. It feels like he would be an incredibly fair ruler."

But one of her more surprising confessions is that she hasn't seen the finale yet; she just knows the details from shooting it. "I haven’t actually watched it yet because I was alone when it came out, and I truly can’t be alone to watch it," she said. "But I read the script and I acted in it, so I kind of know what happens."

You can read Turner's full New York Times interview here.

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Alyssa Bailey
News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.