Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke still has thoughts about leaving the fantasy franchise and her experience with fame during the show.

The divisive Game of Thrones finale premiered in 2019, but Emilia Clarke is still processing her time on the series.

Thanks to the massive popularity of the HBO show, Game of Thrones remains in the zeitgeist of popular culture. This has to do with author George R.R. Martin’s failure to release a book in the past decade and the popularity of House of the Dragon. Many prequels for the show were floated at HBO, but the one surrounding the Targaryen dynasty was what stuck. Easier to follow than Game of Thrones, the prequel focuses on the conflict known as The Dance of the Dragons, a civil war between rightful queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her younger half-brother, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). The property is still in high demand, making Clarke reflect on what was difficult about her experience on the show.

“There were times when I was really sad on that show, just simply because I was a young woman in her 20s,” Clarke told the Los Angeles Times. Not only did the actor incur immeasurable fame due to the television phenomenon, but she also had a brush with two aneurysms. “All of that happening while ‘Game of Thrones’ was happening, it sometimes could be very confusing.”

The series ending gave Clarke room to pursue other projects, but she still dwelled on her time on the series. Leaving the show didn’t make the heaviness of her time go away, and the actor admitted it was still something she was mentally parsing through. So much so that she refuses to watch House of the Dragon. Now she can be found as a main character in another franchise, Secret Invasion. The Marvel Studios limited series is more of a spy thriller than an immersive world. Clarke plays G’iah, Talos’ (Ben Mendelsohn) estranged daughter on the wrong side of a Skrull rebellion. But no matter how many massive franchises she appears in, Daenerys seems to stick with her.

Even after starring as an arguably more complex character in a Star Wars feature, Game of Thrones is her calling card, for better and worse. Clarke had the unfortunate experience of being thrust into the most popular show on HBO at a time in her life when she was very young. No amount of fame would be able to soothe the ache of being analyzed and criticized at such a formative time in her life. Game of Thrones ending couldn’t have been a real sense of closure because of the cultural backlash it received. In light of Daenerys deserving better, she was at the heart of the discourse.

Clarke’s time away from Westeros has been positive for her career and mental health. Despite some clamoring for her to join the potential Jon Snow spin-off, stepping away is best for her. If she should return to anything, it should be Qi’ra so fans can know what happened to her Star Wars character.