The eighth and final season of HBO's Game of Thrones was the most-watched ever, and at this year's Emmys, the series won the Outstanding Drama Series award. That's despite the great deal of criticism the season overall and its series finale received earlier this year as they aired. Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen on the HBO series has responded to much of the controversy surrounding that final season.

　　At the Emmys, Clarke told Variety that the mixed response to Season 8 was "flattering." People passionately sharing their thoughts and opinions about Game of Thrones--whatever they might be--shows that people care, and that's a good thing, Clarke says.

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　　"It was profoundly flattering," she said of the response to Season 8. "Because when someone cares that much, that they're ready to make such a noise about how they believe how the characters should have been finished, and how the story should have gone, that's just enormously flattering. That just shows how much everybody loved it."

SPOILERS FOR GAME OF THRONES SEASON 8 FOLLOW:

　　When Clarke initially read the script and learned the fate of Daenerys, she was taken aback. "What, what, what, WHAT!?” she told Entertainment Weekly about her thoughts upon learning the story. “Because it comes out of f**king nowhere. I’m flabbergasted. Absolutely never saw that coming."

　　Kit Harington, meanwhile, said at the Emmys that he hasn't seen any of Season 8. However, he said he's proud of the show's final season, which was incredibly ambitious. He also spoke about how he believed in the final season's story arc and what happened to the characters.

　　"I know what it took to shoot it, and it was hard; everyone put all of their love and effort into it," he said. "Controversy, I think for us, we knew what we were doing was right story-wise. And we knew it was right for the characters because we lived with them for 10 years. Controversy didn't really affect us."

　　"I still haven't seen the show." Kit Harington talks about the controversy surrounding the series finale of #GameOfThrones backstage at the #Emmys https://t.co/MfZpz0xrOa pic.twitter.com/plIllCcLvz

　　— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 23, 2019

　　Game of Thrones won a record-tying 12 Emmy Awards this year, including Outstanding Drama Series. Tyrion Lannister actor Peter Dinklage won his fourth Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor, surpassing Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul for a new record.