Peter Dinklage Talks 'Game Of Thrones' Finale Backlash, Reason Fans Were Upset

Peter Dinklage has shared his take on the backlash to the "Game of Thrones" series finale.

Fans of the hit HBO series criticized the ending of "Game of Thrones" when the show wrapped its eighth and final season in 2019. Unhappy viewers even created a Change.org petition calling on series creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to re-do the finale.

Dinklage, 52, addressed the criticisms in a new interview with The New York Times.

"They wanted the pretty white people to ride off into the sunset together. By the way, it's fiction. There's dragons in it. Move on," joked the "Cyrano" star.

"No, but the show subverts what you think, and that's what I love about it. Yeah, it was called 'Game of Thrones,' but at the end, the whole dialogue when people would approach me on the street was, 'Who's going to be on the throne?' I don't know why that was their takeaway because the show really was more than that," he continued.

Dinklage revealed that one of his favorite moments from the series was when the throne was burned down by a dragon, which he believes "killed" the entire throne discussion. He described the scene as "irreverent," "brilliant" and just one of the many ways the creators surprised viewers.

"Everybody had their own stories going on while watching that show, but nobody's was as good as what the show delivered, I think," he added.

As for why he believes fans were so upset over how "Game of Thrones" ended, Dinklage speculated that the backlash may have stemmed from viewers being "angry at us for breaking up with them."

"We were going off the air and they didn't know what to do with their Sunday nights anymore," he added. "They wanted more, so they backlashed about that. We had to end when we did, because what the show was really good at was breaking preconceived notions: Villains became heroes, and heroes became villains."

Dinklage played Tyrion Lannister in the series from 2011 to 2019 and received four Emmy Awards for the role.

Given its success, author George R.R. Martin wanted two more seasons of the show, but Dinklage believes it's best that the series concluded when it did.

"It was the right time. No less, no more," the actor explained. "You don't want to wear out your welcome, although I'm not sure that show could have."

Fans can still look forward to "Game of Thrones" spinoff shows. A few are currently in the works, including the prequel series "House of the Dragon," which follows the Targaryen civil war occurring roughly 300 years before the events of "Game of Thrones."

The prequel series stars Emma D'Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower and Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon. The cast also includes Eve Best, Paddy Considine, Fabien Frankel and Sonoya Mizuno.

"House of the Dragon" is slated to premiere in 2022.