- “Game of Thrones” star Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys Targaryen, said goodbye and thank you to the show and to “magical fans” in an emotional Instagram post.
- “Game of Thrones has shaped me as a woman, as an actor and as a human being,” Clarke wrote in the caption. “I just wish my darling dad was here now to see how far we’ve flown.”
- Clarke’s father died in 2016, shortly before she began filming the seventh season of “Game of Thrones.”
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As fans prepare themselves to say goodbye to “Game of Thrones,” Emilia Clarke (who plays Daenerys Targaryen) has offered some parting words.
“Finding the words to write this post has left me overwhelmed with how much I want to say but how small words feel in comparison to what this show and Dany have meant to me,” Clarke writes. “The mother of dragons chapter has taken up the whole of my adult life. This woman has taken up the whole of my heart.”
In the Instagram post, Clarke shared photos of the cast and crew gathered on set in costume and at an informal gathering. She also included a photo of her iconic Daenerys Targaryen wig, and a selfie she snapped while in costume.
Clarke was 21 years old when she landed the role of Daenerys Targaryen on "Game of Thrones." Now 32, she says in the social media post that "the mother of dragons chapter has taken up the whole of [her] adult life."
Here's her full Instagram caption:
Finding the words to write this post has left me overwhelmed with how much I want to say but how small words feel in comparison to what this show and Dany have meant to me.
The mother of dragons chapter has taken up the whole of my adult life. 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.
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.
Clarke ended the caption with the iconic reference to the Night's Watch vows. It's the line uttered by Jon Snow when he walked away from his position of command on the sixth season, and the phrase spoken at eulogies for the fallen brothers in black.
The actress also expressed a wish that her father could have seen these final episodes. Clarke's dad died in 2016 from cancer, shortly before she began filming the seventh season of "Game of Thrones."
The eighth season finale, and last-ever episode of "Game of Thrones," airs at 9 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 19.
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