Emilia Clarke opens up on controversial ending to 'Game of Thrones'

The last ever episode of Game of Thrones aired last night, and the episode has already proven divisive. In a shocking twist, supposed liberator Daenerys Targaryen went mad with power, and torched King's Landing, forcing her lover and partner Jon Snow to murder her. Many have been left angered by Daenerys' character arc over season eight, but now English actress Emilia Clarke, who portrays the Mother of Dragons herself, has defended the storyline.

Discussing the finale in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Emilia stated that when she first read the script for episode five: "I cried. 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?’"

Check out the emotional scene below where Drogon mourns his mother:

She added:

"After 10 years of working on this show, it’s logical. 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."

Emilia shared a moving tribute to the show on her official Instagram account over the weekend, uploading a picture of the cast and crew witht eh 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."

She added:

"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."

However, it turned out that Dany's dragon Drogon stole the show last night, with many fans getting misty-eyed over this emotional scene.