Nikolaj Coster-Waldau looks toward the end of the series in interview
Last night, the stars of Game of Thrones stepped out in style for a viewing of the fifth season premiere. The event was held at the Tower of London, the sight of many real-life executions by beheading and thus a natural inspiration for the show. While there, the BBC talked to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau—otherwise known as Jaime Lannister, everyone’s favorite morally conflicted one-handed knight—who offered some interesting commentary about the show’s popularity and its eventual end.
“It’s definitely in sight in Series five,” Coster-Waldau said, “it” being the end of the show. “Many of the main characters and storylines that we’ve seen down the show are converging now, and that means it’s highly exciting but a bit sad too, because the end really is coming at some point, and we’re all aware of that as a cast.”
There’s been some tension recently between Game of Thrones executive producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss—who seem fairly committed to concluding the show after seven seasons—and HBO executives, who would prefer it go on forever or until it stops being profitable, whichever comes first. Coster-Waldau’s comments indicate that, whatever the HBO guys may want, Benioff and Weiss are gearing up for the show to end sooner rather than later.
For Coster-Waldau, this is a good thing, since it will keep the series from overstaying its welcome. “Classic series like Breaking Bad and The Sopranos hit their high points in the fifth series, and I believe the same thing will happen to Thrones,” he said, with a comment that has the potential to start a few fervid Internet debates over the quality of Breaking Bad and The Sopranos. “It’s only going to get better because it will have a definite ending. It’s called Game of Thrones, after all, in the end someone will have to win it, and I think fans know that. Perhaps that’s why they keep watching.”
Personally, I hope the producers compromise with the suits and settle on, say, eight seasons. I’d worry that anything less wouldn’t really do justice to the complex stories at play, but I see the wisdom in ending the show before it becomes stale. We already know how badly that can turn out.
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