When a 10-minute video compilation of Joffrey getting slapped tallies up over 1 million views, it's safe to say a loathed character has been born. But unlike many other "Love To Hate 'Em" characters, the consensus seems to be that fans straight up hate Joffrey, making it difficult to generate excitement when times comes to watch his Game of Thrones scenes.

But that all changed this season when Joffrey wife-swapped Sansa Stark for Margaery Tyrell, played by the electrifying Natalie Dormer, and Kings Landing actually found a queen worthy of devotion (both from the show's viewers and from the Lanister's subjects). Now, with only two episodes left in the third season, Dormer opens up to ETonline about Margaery's quest for the crown, the roadblocks that stand in her way and the "traumatizing" finale.

ETonline: Coming in, had you read the books?

Natalie Dormer: No. I learned about Margaery through the scripts. I spoke to [creators] David [Benioff] & Dan [Weiss] when they offered me the role and asked them if I should read the books. They said no, and since we're now friends, three years down the lines, they've confided in me that they didn't originally know what to do with the character; they were on an exploratory adventure with her as well. They had a gut instinct about me and, as a threesome, we've all worked to flesh her out. It seems to be going well. We seem to have, more or less, got the fans approval.

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ETonline: I actually feel like that's a massive understatement. The fans seem kind of obsesses with Margaery.

Dormer: It's amazing because my first proper interaction as at C2E2 in Chicago about one month ago, which was my first convention. I managed to go there for two days because I was, serendipitously, in New York shooting Elementary. It was a hop, skip and a jump to Chicago and it was the most amazing interaction with the fans. I was so glad I could stay for the weekend because I had such an enthusiastic and supportive experience with the fans, so I feel bolstered a little bit heading into next season. They like what we're doing, and that's worth its weight in gold to me.

ETonline: What have you enjoyed about the role Margaery's played this season?

Dormer: I really loved Margaery getting close to Sansa. Sophie [Turner] and I have had so much fun together. I love that big sister dynamic -- Sophie and I are pretty much agreed that if the circumstances were different, Sansa and Margaery would actually be good friends if you removed their families and those agendas. I think Margaery was really taken with the idea of adopting Sansa. The Starks were a very close family, and the Tyrells are too. There's real affection and loyalty there, and having the adding dynamic of Diana Rigg was so wonderful. It was incredible that the authority of this family, and Margaery's mentor, is a matriarch We're starting to feel more like a nuclear family -- one that could honestly take on The Lannisters.

ETonline: Watching Margaery and Cersei go head-to-head all season long has been so fun to watch. What's your take on that dynamic?

Dormer: I think Margaery is a pragmatist and a politician, but I don't think she's an insincere person. You have to be reasonably savvy to be in politics, period. You can't be an innocent; you wouldn't survive the world. But I don't think she's as Machiavellian as other characters in Thrones, at all. She's in a very steep learning curve and that's the thing I love about Margaery: she genuinely doesn't know what she's gotten herself into.

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ETonline: Do you think Margaery's slowly realizing she may have bitten off more than she can chew?

Dormer: Absolutely. She's still realizing. It's more fun and interesting as an actress if there's genuine fear and concern there and I feel like she keeps getting these nasty shocks at realizing what Joffrey actually is, what Cersei really is. She does worry that she's out of her depths. But bolstered by Olenna, she has the courage to overcome those fears. As a family, they're still gathering the data. Yeah, they want to win, and are convinced they will win -- Margaery believes she can out maneuver Cersei and control Joffrey, but she's realizing it’s going to be a lot more difficult than she'd anticipated.