Spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 below.
Despite being the most slated episode in the show’s history, Game of Thrones season eight, episode five The Bells, was also the most watched.
It looks like we all had to see what a mess it was for ourselves as the HBO sensation scored its biggest audience ever for its penultimate instalment.
The Hollywood Reporter reports that The Bells drew in a figure of 18.4 million on Sunday night – about 600,000 more than the previous record of 17.8 million for episode three, The Long Night.
The show’s initial tune-in of 12.48 million viewers is also a series high point, as it beat the previous best of 12.07 million for the season seven finale, The Dragon and the Wolf in 2017.
Season eight has so far delivered four of the most five watched episodes in Game of Thrones history and HBO says there have been, on average, 43 million viewers per episode.
In spite of the impressive ratings, The Bells has a measly 47 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with fans left annoyed by the writers’ bizarre Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) storyline and unfitting end for one of the best villains on television, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).
So many amazing subplots have been seemingly forgotten in favour of shock tactics and the old ‘subverting expectations’ cliché that gets thrown around whenever George R R Martin’s body of work is mentioned.
Previous shocks like Ned Stark’s beheading in season one and the Red Wedding in season three were meticulously crafted and executed (no pun intended) but Dany’s meltdown was just shoehorned in for cheap thrills after two seasons of rushed ac
We’re not expecting much from the finale but millions are expected to tune in anyway.
Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 is currently streaming on NOW TV.
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