Kit Harrington is “Satisfied” With “The End of Jon’s Journey” on ‘Game of Thrones’

Kit Harington has revealed in a new cover story for Variety that he is “satisfied” by how Jon Snow’s story ends in Game of Thrones. The actor also opened up about how difficult it was for him personally dealing with the cliffhanger surrounding Jon Snow’s death and said that HBO went “balls out” on the final season of Game of Thrones.

Harington revealed to Variety that he not only cried during the Game of Thrones Season 8 table read, but that he broke down on the day he wrapped, remembering “a huge heave of emotion. I’m just blubbing.” Harington added that “the end of Jon’s journey, whatever that may be … I was satisfied with how his story ended.”

However, Harington wasn’t always satisfied with his role on Game of Thrones. Harington told Variety, “My memory is always ‘the boring Jon Snow.’ And that got to me after a while, because I was like, ‘I love him. He’s mine and I love playing him.'”

The darkest point was the hiatus between Seasons 5 and 6, when the world was speculating over Jon Snow’s true fate. “When you become the cliffhanger of a TV show, and a TV show probably at the height of its power, the focus on you is f—ing terrifying,” Harington said, adding that therapy helped him process the success of Game of Thrones.

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Harington also shared that HBO went “balls out” on the final season, noting, “They could have easily set the same budget as they did for Season 7, but they went bigger.”

The piece includes a quote from HBO’s outgoing CEO Richard Plepler teasing the Game of Thrones prequel series that’s currently being planned with Naomi Watts and Miranda Richardson. “[It’s] something special,” Plepler said. “We weren’t just trying to re-engineer the genes of what Game of Thrones was, but we had a fresh, exciting perspective that didn’t let the franchise go away.”

“Looking back at the entirety of Thrones, there’ll be 70% of the scenes that I’ll just never be happy with. I’ve come to terms with that,” Harington said to Variety. “I know who this is now, and I’m at peace with who this is. I just got a feeling that it’s the most satisfied I will be with my work as Jon Snow.”

Game of Thrones Season 8 premieres on April 14.

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