‘Game of Thrones’ season 3: Key Jon Snow episode sets another series high

Five episodes in to the latest season of “Game of Thrones,” and the viewers just keep climbing. The landmark series started the season off with strong numbers, but it is now getting close to topping “True Blood” as the highest-rated series on HBO, and it may even do so based on how that show kicks things off later this year.

Overall, Sunday night’s new episode, which featured a key moment for Jon Snow and Ygritte in addition to Jaime Lannister’s hot bath confessional, drew a series high 5.35 million viewers, and also a 2.8 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Both of these figures are huge, with the later one in particular destroying anything on the major television networks for the night, including season finales for both “The Good Wife” and “The Mentalist.”

So can “Game of Thrones” get even higher this season? It may have some trouble as we near the summer months when it comes to smashing new records, but we think that a certain “red wedding” coming up later this season may get the show close to the 6 million mark. When you consider that this is a pay-cable network, and so many of these viewers have the ability to set their DVRs or watch the show via other means, these numbers are even more astounding.

“Game of Thrones” has already been renewed for a fourth season, so HBO is making it clear that they have no interest in stopping the George R.R. Martin saga anytime soon.

How high do you see the “Game of Thrones” ratings getting by the end of this season? If you want to see what Kit Harrington and Rose Leslie had to say about filming some of these key scenes, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: HBO