Despite the controversy surrounding the final season, Game of Thrones is once again dominating this year's Primetime Emmy Awards with a whopping 32 nominations. While the quality of the writing has undoubtedly gone through great debate, most fans can agree that the acting was phenomenal. Nobody is going to argue with many of the names up for Best Actor and Best Actress from the show this year, except for maybe HBO themselves. As it turns out, three performers from the series who managed to snag Emmy nominations did so after submitting themselves for consideration when HBO did not.

Leading the pack of Emmy nominations are Kit Harrington (Jon Snow) up for Outstanding Lead Actor and Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen) for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama. Of course, several more names from the series are included in the categories for Outstanding Supporting Actor and Actress in a Drama. On the actors' side, Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), and Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), with the actresses including Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth). However, it has since been reported not all of these names were actually submitted by HBO.

According to a new report, Alfie Allen and Gwendoline Christie both took it upon themselves to submit their performances for Emmy consideration. You'd be hard-pressed to find any viewer of Game of Thrones who wouldn't agree both are very deserving of the honor. Allen's character arguably went through the most interesting development of anyone on the series, going from one of the more despised characters to one of the most appreciated when he finally earned his redemption in the end. Meanwhile, the Brienne of Tarth just couldn't have worked with anyone other than Christie in the role, with her knighting in the final season serving as one of her most memorable moments.

Additionally, actress Carice van Houten also submitted her own performance as Melisandre for consideration and was rewarded with a nomination in the guest actress category. Also known as the Red Woman, Melisandre was a Red Priestess who previously broke the hearts of viewers by convincing Stannis Baratheon to sacrifice his own daughter. She'd later bring Jon Snow back to life following his murder, eventually assisting with her magic at the battle of Winterfell to defeat the White Walkers. Like Theon, Melisandre was also able to find redemption before her demise in the same episode.

Even if HBO had overlooked a few deserving names, what matters is that they're now officially in the running. It's reasonable to expect at least a few of them walking away with Emmys for their acclaimed acting performances. However, is Game of Thrones is recognized with a Best Writing award, you can count on the internet reacting with a lot of vitriol. Clearly, there's a lot of controversy surrounding how the final season played out, and it's gotten to the point where the showrunners have canceled their appearance at this year's San Diego Comic-Con. I guess they didn't want to face the heat. This information comes to us from Entertainment Weekly.