Many of the fans present on the subreddit, which is dedicated to the series and known for its collation of leaks from upcoming episodes, were upset with how the writing in the final season had left fans feeling underwhelmed and disappointed at their characters’s arcs.
The initial petition, titled “Remake Game of Thrones Season 8 with competent writers”, took issue at how the writers and showrunners, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, destroyed “seven seasons of character development” and to date has 1.6 million signatures. Many fans took issue with the quick and underdeveloped transformation of protagonist Daenerys Targaryen into the show’s ultimate villain, which occurred in the space of two episodes.
Some of the stars of the show, including Sophie Turner, condemned the petition, denouncing the fans as childish. This led to one Redditor trying to combat all the negativity with a fundraising movement as a means to thank Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, for her dedication to the character whilst going through two brain hemorrhages during seasons. The Redditor u/elle_ellaria started the fundraiser for Clarke’s charity SameYou as a way for the very same fans that signed the petition to emphasise their appreciation of all the commitment actors, and Clarke in particular, put into the show.
In the post, u/elle_ellaria wrote: “It’s clear that Emilia invested much of herself into Dany and in turn drew strength from her when she needed it. The fact that the showrunners did not even care to inform her of her character’s turn, let alone write a properly fleshed-out script that did her character (and others!) justice, is unforgivable. They’ve since scurried away to avoid the backlash they knew was inevitable, but the actors are getting the brunt of it. And I just thought... how wonderful a gesture would it be for them, and for Emilia especially, to see fans of the show coming together in aid of a cause that is so dear to her heart. To really know that we appreciate her and this character she’s inhabited for the better part of the last decade.”
Since the fundraiser launched nine days ago, fans have donated a staggering £78,626 towards Clarke’s charity dedicated to rehabilitation services for young people suffering from brain injuries. On the JustGiving page, u/elle_ellaria reiterated the point that fans were not condemning the actors for the show’s disappointment conclusion: “This fundraiser began in r/freefolk, the same subreddit the now-infamous petition originated from. Since the tongue-in-cheek nature of that petition has flown over a lot of peoples’ heads, to the point that it’s prompted backlash from some of the cast, we wanted to show that Game of Thrones fans appreciate the hard work of the incredible cast & crew despite their constraints. Any disappointment we felt with the conclusion of the series was not in them, but rather in the potential that was lost due to the rushed pace of storytelling. “
On Thursday, Clarke reacted to the fundraiser with a video on Instagram, thanking u/elle_ellaria and fans on Reddit for donating such a huge amount to the charity, likening it to a “wrap gift.” In the caption, she wrote “I couldn’t think of a more beautiful way to wave goodbye to the mother of dragons than with this step towards making brain injury sufferers feel less alone.”
The whole affair shows how those fans accused of being ungrateful for the show’s conclusion were also able to band together in a show of support for one of Game of Thrones’ main actors. For the full video reaction, in which Clarke ends the message with “Dracarys” and a giggle, watch below.
Remake the Eight: Over 750,000 angry Game of Thrones fans sign petition to remake season eight
