There are major spoilers for the Game Of Thrones finale ahead!
Emilia Clarke has spoken candidly about the Game Of Thrones finale, admitting that she struggled to process Daenerys Targaryen’s dark turn and feared one A-list fan might be seriously disappointed.
Having previously been seen as a feminist hero, Daenerys turned into a villain, and was killed by her former lover Jon Snow (Kit Harington) in the dramatic last episode.
Speaking to The New Yorker about the twist, Emilia admitted to worrying that Beyoncé will be unhappy, revealing that the superstar previously approached her at an Oscars after party to talk about the show.
The actress said that she “just couldn’t handle it”, and that she was “on the verge of tears” at Beyonce’s comments.
She said: “I could see myself reflected in her eyes. I could see her go, ‘Oh, no. I misjudged this. This girl is crazy and I’m not going to have a real conversation with another celebrity. I’m having a conversation with a crazed fan who’s looking at me like a rabbit in the headlights’.
“Which is exactly what I was. I said: ‘I’ve seen you live in concert and I think you’re amazing and wonderful! Wonderful!’
“And all I wanted to scream was, ‘Please, please still like me even though my character turns into a mass-killing dictator! Please still think that I’m representing women in a really fabulous way.’”
Emilia previously revealed that she “took a very long walk around London in a daze” after first reading the scripts for the final season of Game Of Thrones two years ago.
She said: “Now, finally, people are going, ‘Oh, now we understand why this season hit you hard’.
“I had no idea what to expect for this last season. I hoped for some juicy things to get into, as I always do for each season, but I didn’t see this coming.”
Posting on Instagram after the last ever episode aired, Emilia paid tribute to her character, writing: “This woman has taken up the whole of my heart.
“I’ve sweated in the blaze of dragon fire, shed many tears at those who left our family early, and wrung my brain dry trying to do Khaleesi and the masterful words, actions (and names) I was given, justice,” she wrote. “Game of Thrones has shaped me as a woman, as an actor and as a human being. I just wish my darling dad was here now to see how far we’ve flown.
“But to you, dear kind magical fans, I owe you so much thanks, for your steady gaze at what we’ve made and what I’ve done with a character that was already in the hearts of many before I slipped on the platinum wig of dreams. Without you there is no us. And now our watch has ended.”