‘Game of Thrones’ Star Conleth Hill Says He Was Frustrated by the Show’s “Rushed” Ending, Just Like Viewers Were

The ending of Game of Thrones has divided fans since it aired in 2019, but it also frustrated some of the actors involved in the show, too. Conleth Hill, who portrayed all-knowing Master of Whisperers Varys on the show for all eight of its seasons, revealed in an interview this week that he was “frustrated” at what he says was a “rushed” end to the series.

Speaking to U.K. outlet The Times, Hill said, “Right up until the last two series, I had no complaints at all. I just felt frustrated with the last couple of [seasons] because Varys wasn’t the all-knowing character he had been.”

He continued, “I think the writers wanted to do one thing to end it and the studio HBO wanted to do another. I felt that last [season] was a bit rushed. I was inconsolable, but now I’m fine about it.”

Hill has often spoken about the disappointment he felt about his own character’s death — Varys was killed in the penultimate episode of the series — and he said he learned about his fate during the table read for that episode.

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“At the time, nothing could console me,” he told Entertainment Weekly after filming. “I kept thinking: ‘What did I do wrong?’”

Varys was killed by Daenerys Targaryen (actually, by her dragon) for betraying her and backing Jon Snow as the new leader of the Seven Kingdoms. When behind-the-scenes footage of his final table read was broadcast in an HBO documentary about the making of the show’s final season, Hill was visibly upset as he read the scene.

Specking to EW when the series ended, Hill concluded, “As a whole it’s been overwhelmingly positive and brilliant, but I suppose the last couple seasons weren’t my favorite.”