Many of the fans’ favorite characters, including Lord Varys, departed from Emilia Clarke’s Game of Thrones in the last season. And as a result, the actor who played Varys, Conleth Hill, was annoyed by it. 

The Irish actor portrayed Lord Varys, a spy-master also referred to as the Spider, in the fantasy series that HBO aired and which concluded in 2019. However, the final episodes’ unsatisfactory outcome did not appeal to just fans. Hill also was “frustrated” and even lately expressed similar opinions regarding his character and the final few seasons of the show. 

Since the first season, he had starred in the show as Lord Varys, and he believed that the abrupt change in tone at the conclusion had also negatively impacted his character.

Game Of Thrones Star Discussed ‘Rushed’ Final Seasons

As the groundbreaking series came to an end in 2019, most Game of Thrones fans were not quite happy. Many fans felt that the series, which had previously been renowned for taking its time, hurried through the plot points in the final season. Even the cast also felt that things were rushed, so it turned out that fans were not the only ones who had this complaint.

And now, almost four years following the conclusion of HBO’s highly acclaimed series, actor, Conleth Hill, best known for his role as Varys, has now spoken out about his discontent with the show’s final two seasons.  

He is still complaining about the way his fan-favorite character, Varys was written. The 58-year-old actor claimed in an interview with The Times that he became particularly irritated with the last two seasons because “Varys was not the all-knowing character he had been”.

“I thought I’d done something wrong. Right up until the last two series, I had no complaints at all. I just felt frustrated with the last couple of series because Varys wasn’t the all-knowing character he had been. I think the writers wanted to do one thing to end it and the studio HBO wanted to do another. I felt that last series was a bit rushed. I was inconsolable, but now I’m fine about it.”

He thought that season 8 of Game of Thrones was “a bit rushed,” which is a common criticism of the last season. 

Did Conleth Hill Previously Discuss His ‘Frustration’?

Emilia Clarke‘s co-star, Conleth Hill has expressed his disappointment with the way his character was written on previous occasions as well. The actor looked visibly upset during Varys’ death scene during the Game of Thrones season 8 table read, and he quickly set the script down after finishing it.

In 2019, he also voiced his displeasure with Varys’s later-season sidelining, which, he found ultimately frustrating. 

According to him, he found the past two seasons to be “frustrating”.

Ahead of his departure, the Irish actor—who portrayed spymaster Varys in the HBO series—spoke extensively about the storyline of his role to Entertainment Weekly:

“That’s been my feeling the last couple seasons, that my character became more peripheral, that they concentrated on others more. That’s fine. It’s the nature of a multi-character show. It was kind of frustrating. As a whole it’s been overwhelmingly positive and brilliant but I suppose the last couple seasons weren’t my favorite.”

Moreover, in expressing his precise feelings, he mentioned

“I have no idea. I don’t know how I feel. I can’t anticipate it until it happens. I don’t think they’ll feel cheated. The fan favorites are all there.”

Many people have expressed dissatisfaction with Game of Thrones season 8, which only consisted of six episodes instead of ten, citing Hill’s recent assessment that the season was “a bit rushed.”  

Conleth Hill’s latest British comedy series, The Power of Parker, premieres on BBC One every week from July 28, 2023.

Well, all seasons of Game of Thrones are available to stream on Max.