‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 7: Emilia Clarke Is ‘Optimistic’ About Daenerys Ending

Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys, Mother of Dragons, on Game of Thrones, is really hoping that her character has a happy ending.

Clarke is ready for Daenerys Targaryen to take the Iron Throne. Game of Thrones fans have watched Dany steadily grow her army across the Narrow Sea in Essos while preparing to take what she believes is rightfully hers over the past six seasons. In the Season 6 finale, viewers finally saw what many have been anticipating for several years, sailing with her loyal soldiers towards Westeros, where she will inevitably meet some stiff opposition. As the penultimate season draws closer and closer, Clarke is hoping for the best for Daenerys, as she told the Belfast Telegraph recently.

“Right now, I’m sort of feeling – with her – optimistic,” Clarke said. “She’ll probably need some help, though. I’ll definitely be disappointed if she doesn’t make it.”

In a show that notoriously kills off main characters regardless of how much the audience may love them, impending death is certainly on the minds of many of its actors. Heading into unbridled war could have Daenerys coming closer to death than ever before as she treks into the unknown of Westeros.

“I think that there was always that idea that she would know where she was going to, but the reality is frightening. I mean, I always believed that Dany had the highest of hopes for what kind of impact she could leave on this world,” Clarke said.

Clarke also referenced how the world of Game of Thrones has become dominated by strong women, with Daenerys, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), and Melisandre (Carice Van Houten) all becoming major players in the titular game of thrones, while Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) have also staked their claims in the world.

“Suddenly like, it’s a woman’s world,” said Clarke, a three-time Emmy nominee for her performance. “That’s nice; that’s good. Dany is exploring every avenue that her kind of bloodline has been to. People have an idea of what her father was and everyone has vague idea what her brother was. She knows what those things are but it could be very easy for her to do something very rash.”

Regardless of how Game of Thrones ends for Daenerys, Clarke is going to miss the show, which wraps after Season 8 next year.

“The thought of it ending is enormous and crazy and weird. I can’t even imagine the weirdness and tears when it ends, and the sadness – hopefully I’ll be sitting on the throne and that will make it all better,” she teased. “I hope Game of Thrones is remembered for beautiful storytelling; that would be the biggest goal.”

Game of Thrones Season 7 will be seven episodes, which is down from the typical 10 episodes of the first six seasons, while Season 8 will only be six episodes. Season 7 is slated to premiere Sunday, July 16 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.

Meanwhile, George R. R. Martin, who wrote the A Song of Ice and Fire book series on which Game of Thrones was based, still has yet to release the final two books in the saga. Fans have long been anticipating the release of the sixth book, The Winds of Winter, but the show has officially passed the books in terms of plot. Luckily, Martin has informed Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss how the story ends. It remains to be seen if Martin will be able to release The Winds of Winter or the final book, A Dream of Spring, before the series ends in 2018.

[Featured Image by Helen Sloan/HBO]