Game of Thrones season 7 will be longer than you think…
As according to show site Watchers on the Wall, the upcoming batch of episodes (premiering July 16) will be some of the longest ones to date. Already, we reported that this is the longest premiere episode ever coming up, and the final two season 7 episodes are the longest overall episodes to date. The penultimate one will run for 71 minutes. Meanwhile, the upcoming finale will be a whopping 81 minutes, which is the length of some movies that you pay to see in theaters.
The site did some of the math and compared it to past Game of Thrones seasons, and what they basically realized was that you are getting this time the equivalent of eight episodes’ worth of content over a seven-episode span. If you from here were to consider that Game of Thrones is commercial-free, these seven episodes are probably the equivalent of ten episodes of a network / cable show at least, if not more.
Does Game of Thrones need to have longer episodes to get the job done? Possibly so, given that there are only thirteen episodes left overall and there is a lot of story left to address. With some shows this is not something we enjoy or appreciate (see American Horror Story: Hotel), but the big difference here is that there are so many characters and stories already layered in that you need to be able to give them all equal due. It’s a little like Sons of Anarchy near the end in that regard.
At the rate in which the story is going, odds are that season 8 will run about 70 minutes each week with the finale eventually being three hours, leaving you in a Westeros stupor where you are not able to do anything for the remainder of the week. We’re being hyperbolic … maybe. Who knows how much content needs to be wedged into those final episodes in order for them to be complete?
HBO certainly will not complain about more Game of Thrones, given that it is the most-popular series in the network’s history. Sure, someone out there may wonder if the episodes could have been re-cut into more installments, given that this could’ve meant more weeks and therefore more subscription money. Still, nobody’s complaining.
For some further news and updates now pertaining to Game of Thrones, follow our advice and head over to the link here right now. (Photo: HBO.)