Despite the controversial final season, Game of Thrones will go down as one of the greatest television series of all time. With some of the most stunning sets and visual effects ever created on television being backed up by amazing action and emotional drama, the show had it all.
With twists and turns that you never saw coming and an unpredictable finish, the show will go down in history. And, one of the reasons it was so successful was down to the superb season finales that the show always produced.
Giving fans a real hook to return for a new season while paying off the current seasons stories at the same time. The show became well-known for always ending with a bang, and within this article, we will rank all eight season finales, according to their IMDb ratings.
8 Season 8: The Iron Throne (4.1)
It will likely come as no surprise that the worst-rated season finale in Game of Thrones history came with the final ever episode of the show. After years of hype and incredible consistency, the final season certainly fell far below expectations in the opinion of many fans and critics.
That is clearly shown by the 4.1 rating that IMDb gave to “The Iron Throne,” despite the huge excitement fans had for the episode. Nobody seemed pleased by the outcome of the episode, with the Iron Throne actually being burnt down, while Bran Stark ended up being declared King.
With Daenerys’ very rushed turn to the darkness, officially becoming the mad Queen in the previous episode, this one saw her answer for her actions. Just as quickly as she went crazy, she ended up being taken down, summing up the season in general which was that not enough time was dedicated to the details.
7 Season 3: Mhysa (9.1)
With an IMDb rating of 9.1, the jump in quality is very clear to see between the previous episode and this one. With Season 4’s finale, “Mhysa” being the joint lowest-rated out of the seasons that weren’t universally hated by people.
Following the aftermath of “The Red Wedding,” it was always going to be difficult for the show to finish the show in a bigger way than that. However, Game of Thrones certainly did a solid job at following up on it, with this episode revealing that Tywin Lannister was the man responsible for it.
In addition to that revelation, a large focus was placed on Daenerys in this episode, as the freed slaves hail her their “Mhysa,” which is the Ghiscari word for mother. The season finishes with Daenerys continuing to grow her power across the narrow sea, preparing to dominate.
6 Season 5: Mother’s Mercy (9.1)
The season five finale of Game of Thrones, titled “Mother’s Mercy” also has a 9.1 rating from IMDb and is another superb episode of the show. The episode shows Stannis finally arriving in Winterfell, while Jon makes the decision to send Sam and Gilly away to Old Town.
Theon also finally starts to show signs of his old self as well in this episode. He makes the decision to try and help Sansa escape from her imprisonment at the hands of Ramsay Bolton, making a huge literal and figurative leap of faith.
Lena Headey’s performance earned incredible plaudits here, and rightfully so. In this episode, Cersei is forced to do her walk of shame, which is something fans enjoyed seeing for the character, but Headey’s performance really is incredible.
5 Season 2: Valar Morghulis (9.4)
With a slightly higher rating of 9.4 by IMDb, season two’s “Valar Morghulis” is next on the list, in an episode that does focus heavily on Daenerys. As the title would suggest, the attention is on her as she tries to rescue her dragons, which she finds chained up.
Away from that, Joffrey makes a sudden change to who he wants to wed, putting Sansa to one side in order to favor Margaery Tyrell, meanwhile Sansa’s brother, Robb gets officially married to Talisa Maegyr.
It might not be the most action-packed season finale in comparison to others, but it is a tremendous episode regardless of that. While it is still early on in the show, it manages to build the story to a point where all the characters are in intriguing places heading into the third season.
4 Season 1: Fire And Blood (9.5)
The first-ever Game of Thrones season finale certainly set the tone for what fans could expect from the show moving forward. While the previous episode saw the shocking moment of Eddard Stark being executed, “Fire and Blood” was equally as gripping.
Rated 9.5 by IMDb, the episode received a strong score and was highly praised for rounding out an incredible first season in style. It got the world talking about the show and certainly left fans excited about what was to come in the forthcoming seasons.
Within the episode, Sansa is taken hostage while Arya flees Kings Landing. However, after finding out the news of Ned’s death, Robb and Catelyn lead an army to battle against the Lannister family all while Daenerys quietly deals with her own issues, saying goodbye to Drogo.
3 Season 7: The Dragon And The Wolf (9.5)
The finale for season seven had a lot of pressure to deliver as it was the jumping off point into the final season of the show, and it certainly did that. With an IMDb rating of 9.5, “The Dragon And The Wolf” certainly produced an unforgettable episode that had fans eagerly anticipating the final season.
This episode proves that Game of Thrones isn’t reliant on action and death to be incredibly interesting. Here, the episode is all about the dialogue and reconnecting characters who hadn’t seen each other for a very long time. With a meeting of the two sides in King’s Landing, Jon tries to convince the Lannisters that they must unite to fight the army of the dead.
The episode is packed with fantastic callbacks to previous moments and sees some amazing verbal confrontations. Of course, the final part of the episode sees a big secret revealed as well, as Sam and Bran confirm who Jon’s real mother is.
2 Season 4: The Children (9.7)
With an IMDb rating of 9.7, season four’s “The Children” season finale is one of the highest-rated episodes of the show’s history. With several storylines drawing the perfect conclusion while others were just beginning, the episode had the right balance of focusing on the past and the future.
In this episode, the children of the forest make their first appearances as they save Bran as he finally reaches the Heart Tree. It is an episode packed with action and emotion as well, with Jon dealing with the death of Ygritte from the previous episode.
However, the biggest talking points from this episode saw the deaths of Shae and Tywin Lannister. With Jamie making the decision to save his brother, Tyrion got his final revenge against the two people who treated him the worst.
1 Season 6: The Winds Of Winter (9.9)
When it comes to the highest-rated season finale of Game of Thrones, you have to look to season six’s “The Winds Of Winter,” which scored an amazing 9.9 from IMDb. That makes this not only the best season finale but one of the best episodes of the show in general.
This episode has one of the most thrilling moments in the history of this show. With Cersei set to stand trial by the gods, it turns out she has one last ace up her sleeve as she blows up the Great Sept. Using wildfire, she destroys the entire building and everyone inside.
As well as that, Arya manages to get revenge on the Freys, which brought happiness to many fans of the show. Overall, this is just an incredibly gripping episode that saw the intensity of the show rise once more as the plot continued to thicken.
