For millions of viewers, Game of Thrones has become more than a series — a cultural phenomenon that ended in shock and disappointment. Especially for those who fell in love with the characters not for battles and dragons, but for their difficult, sometimes painful paths. One of them is Theon Greyjoy. And the actor who played him, Alfie Allen, dreamed of a different ending.
Theon's arc is a journey from an arrogant traitor to a broken prisoner and, finally, to a painfully suffered atoning victim. It is not surprising that Allen, a man who spent eight years with this hero, admitted in an interview with The Talks: he asked the writers for only one thing. Not a miracle. A light at the end of the tunnel.
"As an actor, let it be as dark as you want. But as a person, I wanted Theon to have at least some light in the finale," Allen said.
Alas, the showrunners did not listen. In the third episode of the eighth season, Theon heroically dies, protecting Bran Stark from the Night King. It would seem a worthy death. But the audience did not have time to experience or comprehend it. After a long journey full of pain and tossing, Theon was removed from the plot almost as an extra. Without farewell, without a final catharsis. Fans call this a real "violation of the laws of good writing", but Allen was one of the few who did not blame the finale for the failure. But, as he himself admitted, he was rather glad that the series ended. The memory of a difficult role, a beloved cast and ... a WhatsApp chat with the actors remained.
There was one song left that he used to warm up to the role: Elbow's "The Loneliness Of The Tower Crane Driver." It sounds just like Theon's ending — quiet, bitter, and without hope. Although the hero, according to Allen, deserved it.
