GoT Finale Blunder: How Many Endings Did They Film Before Choosing the Worst One?
If the words of Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) and the early hints (latterly retracted) of Casey Bloys (President of HBO) are to be believed, then the rumoured alternate endings for Game of Thrones were indeed shot.
The show was so huge and had such a massive global audience, that the underwhelming end to the final episode of the series became worldwide news. Which begs the question, if there were multiple endings, how did we end up with the one that was actually aired?
From the outset, Game of Thrones was a very different way of portraying the fantasy genre. It was captivating, thrilling and full of suspense. Viewers quickly came to realise that no character was safe from the writer's axe. And it seemed the whole world was watching it.
When the final season came around, almost everybody had a view on how they wanted it to end – and how they thought it would end. But I'm not sure anyone would have correctly predicted Bran the Broken would end up as the New King of the Six Kingdoms.
It was a move met with disbelief by fans, and many were unable to hold back their derision at what they had just witnessed. Social media went into a meltdown. And we wondered whether what had once looked like an unstoppable franchise was now irreparably damaged.
So, how did a show that was so hyped get it so wrong in the eyes of even its most loyal fans?
Well, rumours began to circulate pretty early on that multiple endings were being filmed. During filming, Emilia Clarke said there were "lots of different endings that could happen" adding "I think we're doing all of them and (not) being told which is actually what's going to happen".
Bloys initially indicated this was the case too. Although he later said, "I don't think they actually shot multiple endings". In his words, "putting that in the water supply wasn't a bad thing to protect against leaks".
So, Bloys seems to be saying that the rumour about multiple endings was leaked by those behind the show to ensure any spoiler that did come out would at least be seen as questionable. And Clarke, it seems, was very much in the dark over what the ending would be. So, the situation seems plausible.
I guess we'll never know the full truth. But the rumours were strong enough and believable enough that they have never gone away. And while those rumours continue to circulate, fans will continue to fume at the ending they were given and wonder what might have been.