Since the boom in popularity of the cultural phenomenon known as Game of Thrones, networks have scrambled to produce fantasy series that match its caliber. The show's eight-season run resulted in many awards, including an Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series for its final season in 2019.
Unfortunately, the public was not as impressed by the show's conclusion. Many fans feel that the quality dropped toward the end of the run, as the series strayed away from author George R.R. Martin's original vision in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Nevertheless, millions of viewers tuned in for each of the eight seasons, and looking at the average viewership provides a helpful metric to rank the seasons.
Season 1 (2.52)
Fans who caught up on the series later on may not be aware of the daring concept a show like Game of Thrones was when the first season aired in 2011. High budget fantasy series were not common and HBO was more known for producing high quality crime shows like The Sopranos or The Wire.
Due to it being such a new premise, the adaptation of Martin's books received its lowest viewership. Fortunately for the series, this was just the beginning of a steady incline that would happen across the show's run.
Season 2 (3.80)
Season 2 of GOT had some great moments, such as the Battle of the Blackwater. The scope of a battle like this wasn't common on television, and many considered it to equal the quality of films like The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The previous season's culminating battle happened off-screen, similar to the HBO series Rome. To actually witness Tyrion's defense of the Mud Gate, as well as the wildfire explosion of Stannis Baratheon's fleet was unheard of on television. Moments like this and the great GOT characters introduced after season 1, along with the raving critical reception to season 1, likely resulted in the increase in viewership.
Season 3 (4.97)
The show's third installment had another sharp increase in ratings, with a handful of episodes rising over the 5 million mark. The season included what many consider to be the show's greatest and most shocking episodes, "The Rains of Castamere," which had a viewership of 5.22 million. The episode featured the season's most important GOT character death.
Word of mouth became HBO's greatest ally after this episode, as getting an HBO Go subscription to catch up and find out what happened at "The Red Wedding" became a necessity. This resulted in the show's biggest increase in ratings at this point going into season 4.
Season 4 (6.84)
Tyrion Lannister is what comes to most fans' minds when they think of GOT season 4 as he was by far and away the best part. His jaw-dropping monologue, ending with the demand for a trial by combat was one of the Tyrion's best moments in the series.
The season had many great moments besides this too, including the fan-pleasing death of Joffrey Baratheon, the fight between Oberyn Martell and the Mountain, as well as the wildling assault on Castle Black.
Season 5 (6.88)
The build-up to season 5 was a great moment for the die-hard fans of the TV series and also the books, as up until this moment there were barely any differences between the two. Not to mention, at this point in time The Winds of Winter actually had an expected release date for some time that year.
The internet buzzed with theory videos over Jon Snow's parentage as well as other long-standing mysteries about the world. As the season went on and storylines like the events in Dorne began to stray from the books, the show had its weakest season yet, likely resulting in the non-increase in average ratings. The Dorne plotline featured some of the Game of Thrones' most cringeworthy moments.
Season 6 (7.69)
Season 6 bounced back in terms of immediate excitement from fans. Though it veered off course from the books more, episodes like "The Door" and "Battle of the Bastards," as well as the mystery surrounding Jon Snow's mortality likely caused the increase in ratings, and became cultural touchstones.
Though some fans include season 6 as part of the show's downfall in quality, others appreciate the enjoyment they still felt for the series at this point.
Season 7 (10.26)
The hype for season 7 was extreme. The understanding that, despite having less episodes, that the season would have more large battles, first time character meetups, and the culmination of long term storylines was enough to get people engaged.
Unfortunately, serious fans were quick to note that the season had strayed far from the books and the first seasons' excellence. Knowing that the end was near was likely the cause of many fans beginning to catchup and join in on the final seasons.
Season 8 (11.99)
The infamous final season was the show's best in terms of ratings with the final episode nearing 14 million viewers. Even with one disappointment after another, fans still couldn't stop watching, hoping that the next would fix the last one's mistakes and provide some resolution.
Instead, fans proceeded to become more and more infuriated, as strange choices were made with writing, careless errors were made on production, and more and more post-episode recaps with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss attempted to explain their decisions. Many of their decisions were attempted to "subvert expectations" resulting in some of the Game of Thrones' most unexpected moments.