Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke says she 'stands by Daenerys' after controversial finale twist

​WARNING: Major spoilers for season 8 episode 6 ahead 
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Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke has said that she “stands by” Daenerys Targaryen after her character met a controversial end in the show’s finale.

The British actress, who has appeared in the fantasy series since 2011, told Entertainment Weekly that she was reduced to tears upon reading the script for episode six, which saw Daenerys killed by love interest Jon Snow.

“I cried,” she told the publication. “And I went for a walk. I walked out of the house and took my keys and phone and walked back with blisters on my feet. I didn’t come back for five hours. I’m like, ‘How am I going to do this?’”

Viewers were left divided by the Mother of Dragons’ story arc in series six, which saw her succumb to the Mad Queen prophecy, burning King’s Landing - and thousands of innocent inhabitants - to the ground before her eventual death.

Divided: Fans couldn't agree over Daenerys' fate
HBO/Helen Sloan

After the finale aired in the early hours of Monday morning, fans on Twitter claimed that the much-loved character “deserved better” and voiced their “disappointment” at her fate.

Clarke said that her feelings about Daenerys’ storyline are “peppered with [her] feelings about [herself]” and revealed that she often has to remind herself that comments about “talking about the character” and not her.

The 32-year-old stood by the show’s ending, and described her character’s destiny as “logical” within the context of the show’s brutal power struggles, explaining that it wasn’t feasible for Daenerys to “have a lovely time and pop a few kids out.”

“After 10 years of working on this show, it’s logical,” she said, adding: “Where else can she go? I tried to think what the ending will be. It’s not like she’s suddenly going to go, ‘Okay, I’m gonna put a kettle on and put cookies in the oven and we’ll just sit down and have a lovely time and pop a few kids out.’ That was never going to happen. She’s a Targaryen.”

“But having said all of the things I’ve just said… I stand by Daenerys. I stand by her! I can’t not,” she concluded.

Ahead of the finale’s premiere, Clarke shared a heartfelt goodbye to the show that “shaped [her] as a woman” and paid tribute to her late father, who died in 2016.

“The mother of dragons chapter has taken up the whole of my adult life,” she wrote alongside a string of behind-the-scenes snaps of her castmates.

“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.

“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.”

Game of Thrones season eight episode six is repeated on Sky Atlantic at 9pm tonight and is available to stream on demand via NOW TV.

Game of Thrones: TV Series - In pictures

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