Succession star Brian Cox throws some shade at Game of Thrones over its famously rushed ending. Wrapping up an acclaimed television series is never an easy proposition, but few shows’ final runs engendered as much anger as that of HBO’s Game of Thrones. After unfolding its fantasy-world power struggle for 7 memorable and highly-rated seasons, GoT was widely perceived to have rushed its way through its final run in season 8, leaving far too many storylines feeling poorly resolved, or not resolved at all.

After Game of Thrones provided such a stark example of how not to end a show, HBO’s current sensation Succession is trying to dodge falling prey to the same mistakes, and at least one of the show’s stars is very cognizant of what those pitfalls are and how GoT failed to navigate them. Speaking to the New York Times (via TVLine), Succession’s Logan Roy actor Cox threw some shade at Thrones (a show he nearly joined in the role of Robert Baratheon before turning down the job over money), making reference to the disappointing way it all ended for that other iconic HBO series. Check out what Cox said in the space below:

“You think about Game of Thrones, when they didn’t know what they were doing at the end, and they had an ending which was not really satisfactory. And the audience was furious.”

Succession Has A Chance To Stick The Landing (Unlike Game of Thrones)

The audience was indeed furious at the way things wrapped up for the saga of Westeros, but that same sort of sad result is something Succession has a chance to avoid. To begin with, Succession has the advantage of not being beholden to pre-existing source material, affording creator Jesse Armstrong a level of creative freedom that Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss did not have as they guided their own show to its conclusion. Succession also has many fewer storylines to resolve than did the sprawling epic Game of Thrones, allowing for a greater sense of focus as it heads down the home stretch.

The biggest advantage for Succession over Game of Thrones though is the simple fact that the show is being allowed to end at the right time. Game of Thrones arguably needed several more seasons to wrap up its own storylines in satisfactory fashion, putting Benioff and Weiss in a very difficult creative position, and leading to the "rushed" feeling referenced by Cox. Succession season 4 on the other hand feels like exactly the right point at which to end the saga of the Roy family, which should allow for a satisfyingly unrushed wrap-up to the series.

Source: New York Times (via TVLine)