The Last of the Starks
, or episode 4 from the final season of Game of Thrones, was by far the worst episode in the entire history of the show, and now we have real data to support that claim. It received plenty of criticism not because of what it tried to do, but because of how it was all handled. It’s as if the showrunners and writers completely forgot everything that has made Game of Thrones great. The episode defied logic and common sense, brought Starbucks beverages to Westeros, and ignited debates about how it’s portraying women and dealing with race issues. No Game of Thrones episode is perfect, some will say, and that’s true. But I miss the days when my biggest concern with the Game of Thrones plot was explaining how the White Walkers crafted, transported and used those heavy chains to drag out Viserion out of the frozen water.
It’s the kind of episode that Septa Unella, may the Lord of Light rest her soul, should take out in the streets and shame as hordes of Game of Thrones fans get to voice their anger. As it turns out, that’s what IMDB is for. And with an average rating of 6.6 from more than 62,000 votes, the episode is sinking and ruining the entire season’s rating in the process.
Unlike some forms of entertainment that trolls try to “kill” with review bombs, Game of Thrones has never had this problem. So it’s not like Game of Thrones haters have decided, with two episodes to go, to ruin the show’s rating. The series still has an amazing 9.5 average score from nearly 1.5 million IMDB votes. Not all the people who rated the entire series, however, scored each episode.
Some would show you only the following screenshot to make their point:
But not us. No, we went back and looked at each Game of Thrones episode and its IMDB review to collect all the rating data.
Season 1: Average IMDb rating of 9.15 with an average number of 24,279 votes per episode.
| Season 1 | 2011 | Rating | Votes |
| Ep.1 | Winter Is Coming | 9.30 | 31,264 |
| Ep.2 | The Kingsroad | 8.80 | 23,843 |
| Ep.3 | Lord Snow | 8.70 | 22,547 |
| Ep.4 | Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things | 8.80 | 21,365 |
| Ep.5 | The Wolf and the Lion | 9.10 | 22,334 |
| Ep.6 | A Golden Crown | 9.30 | 22,153 |
| Ep.7 | You Win or You Die | 9.30 | 22,700 |
| Ep.8 | The Pointy End | 9.10 | 20,876 |
| Ep.9 | Baelor | 9.60 | 29,669 |
| Ep.10 | Fire and Blood | 9.50 | 26,043 |
| Average | 9.15 | 24,279 |
Season 2: Average IMDb rating of 9.03 with an average number of 21,100 votes per episode.
| Season 2 | 2012 | Rating | Votes |
| Ep.1 | The North Remembers | 8.90 | 20,699 |
| Ep.2 | The Night Lands | 8.60 | 19,494 |
| Ep.3 | What Is Dead May Never Die | 8.90 | 19,286 |
| Ep.4 | Garden of Bones | 8.90 | 18,587 |
| Ep.5 | The Ghost of Harrenhal | 8.90 | 17,747 |
| Ep.6 | The Old Gods and the New | 9.10 | 19,738 |
| Ep.7 | A Man Without Honor | 9.00 | 19,155 |
| Ep.8 | The Prince of Winterfell | 8.90 | 18,871 |
| Ep.9 | Blackwater | 9.70 | 33,729 |
| Ep.10 | Valar Morghulis | 9.40 | 23,692 |
| Average | 9.03 | 21,100 |
Season 3: Average IMDb rating of 9.10 with an average number of 25,726 votes per episode.
| Season 3 | 2013 | Rating | Votes |
| Ep.1 | Valar Dohaeris | 8.90 | 20,893 |
| Ep.2 | Dark Wings, Dark Words | 8.70 | 18,690 |
| Ep.3 | Walk of Punishment | 8.90 | 18,876 |
| Ep.4 | And Now His Watch Is Ended | 9.60 | 26,258 |
| Ep.5 | Kissed by Fire | 9.00 | 19,233 |
| Ep.6 | The Climb | 8.90 | 19,080 |
| Ep.7 | The Bear and the Maiden Fair | 8.80 | 18,335 |
| Ep.8 | Second Sons | 9.10 | 18,982 |
| Ep.9 | The Rains of Castamere | 9.90 | 75,326 |
| Ep.10 | Mhysa | 9.20 | 21,591 |
| Average | 9.10 | 25,726 |
Season 4: Average IMDb rating of 9.33 with an average number of 28,954 votes per episode.
| Season 4 | 2014 | Rating | Votes |
| Ep.1 | Two Swords | 9.10 | 25,338 |
| Ep.2 | The Lion and the Rose | 9.70 | 40,629 |
| Ep.3 | Breaker of Chains | 8.90 | 20,810 |
| Ep.4 | Oathkeeper | 8.90 | 19,924 |
| Ep.5 | First of His Name | 8.80 | 19,219 |
| Ep.6 | The Laws of Gods and Men | 9.70 | 36,181 |
| Ep.7 | Mockingbird | 9.20 | 21,642 |
| Ep.8 | The Mountain and the Viper | 9.70 | 39,886 |
| Ep.9 | The Watchers on the Wall | 9.60 | 33,153 |
| Ep.10 | The Children | 9.70 | 32,758 |
| Average | 9.33 | 28,954 |
Season 5: Average IMDb rating of 8.90 with an average number of 28,463 votes per episode.
| Season 5 | 2015 | Rating | Votes |
| Ep.1 | The Wars to Come | 8.60 | 22,212 |
| Ep.2 | The House of Black and White | 8.60 | 19,170 |
| Ep.3 | High Sparrow | 8.60 | 18,475 |
| Ep.4 | Sons of the Harpy | 8.80 | 19,081 |
| Ep.5 | Kill the Boy | 8.70 | 19,313 |
| Ep.6 | Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken | 8.10 | 21,956 |
| Ep.7 | The Gift | 9.10 | 21,458 |
| Ep.8 | Hardhome | 9.90 | 77,447 |
| Ep.9 | The Dance of Dragons | 9.50 | 33,255 |
| Ep.10 | Mother’s Mercy | 9.10 | 32,260 |
| Average | 8.90 | 28,463 |
Season 6: Average IMDb rating of 9.12 with an average number of 54,220 votes per episode.
| Season 6 | 2016 | Rating | Votes |
| Ep.1 | The Red Woman | 8.60 | 31,305 |
| Ep.2 | Home | 9.40 | 37,525 |
| Ep.3 | Oathbreaker | 8.80 | 25,593 |
| Ep.4 | Book of the Stranger | 9.20 | 27,756 |
| Ep.5 | The Door | 9.70 | 56,154 |
| Ep.6 | Blood of My Blood | 8.50 | 25,365 |
| Ep.7 | The Broken Man | 8.70 | 24,566 |
| Ep.8 | No One | 8.50 | 28,350 |
| Ep.9 | Battle of the Bastards | 9.90 | 169,187 |
| Ep.10 | The Winds of Winter | 9.90 | 116,403 |
| Average | 9.12 | 54,220 |
Season 7: Average IMDb rating of 9.21 with an average number of 44,176 votes per episode.
| Season 7 | 2017 | Rating | Votes |
| Ep.1 | Dragonstone | 8.70 | 39,852 |
| Ep.2 | Stormborn | 9.00 | 33,697 |
| Ep.3 | The Queen’s Justice | 9.30 | 35,167 |
| Ep.4 | The Spoils of War | 9.80 | 69,793 |
| Ep.5 | Eastwatch | 9.00 | 33,171 |
| Ep.6 | Beyond the Wall | 9.20 | 49,316 |
| Ep.7 | The Dragon and the Wolf | 9.50 | 48,236 |
| Average | 9.21 | 44,176 |
Season 8: Average IMDb rating of 7.95 with an average number of 79,290 votes per episode so far.
| Season 8 | 2019 | Rating | Votes |
| Ep.1 | Winterfell | 8.30 | 64,967 |
| Ep.2 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | 8.60 | 59,358 |
| Ep.3 | The Long Night | 8.30 | 130,077 |
| Ep.4 | The Last of the Starks | 6.60 | 62,759 |
| Ep.5 | Untitled | ||
| Ep.6 | Untitled | ||
| Average | 7.95 | 79,290 |
With only two episodes left in the season, it’ll be interesting to see if any of the remaining installments will be able to break episode 804’s IMDB record. Valar Morghulis!
