‘Game of Thrones’ season 3: The ratings finally fall … but is it merited?
Let’s dive in quickly here to some pretty interesting “Game of Thrones” controversy that is starting to crop up around the internet. Is the show becoming boring? While we know that this is a question that is worthy of a Ned Stark-style beheading to some, it is a criticism that we have seen pick up steam exponentially with the last two episodes. There was no stunning event a la Jaime Lannister losing his hand, or Daenerys rocking out with her bad self with the help of some dragons. Also, there were an assortment of stories (Jon, Robb, Arya, Bran … ironically all people with Stark ties) that spent most of their time either sitting around or wandering from place to place.
This criticism was in some ways evident in the show’s ratings. One week after drawing a season high with a 2.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic, this week saw a drop down to a 2.4. Sure, you could blame the season finale of “Revenge,” or the warmer weather if you really wanted to, but we don’t think either one of those things has enough of a following to really usurp anything that Tyrion and company have going on.
The way we look at the “boring” dilemma right now is by saying this: The past two episodes have been the weakest since the season 3 premiere, but at the same time, we were likely spoiled by having two hours in succession (in “And Now His Watch Has Ended” and “Kissed by Fire”) that are among the top ten episodes of any show for the entire year and they were still better than 99% of television out there. Plus, the final three episodes coming up now are going to contain some huge events, and anyone who has read the George R.R. Martin books knows that. You can’t have a shocking episode every week, since it then it is no longer shocking when something happens.
If you do buy what we’re selling about “Game of Thrones” season 3 so far, you’ll probably also love the video here, given that it does provide some more insight into the story of the past episode, and how this plays into the future.
Photo: HBO
utiz4321
May 15, 2013 @ 12:52 am
The last two episodes where quite good in my opinion. I don’t get this idea that a story focused episode is slow. They are trying to build relationships between characters that will have major playoffs latter and if you have any feelings for the characters in the story this kind of episode is quite enjoyable. Also, I believe this last Sunday was Mother’s Day in the US, that might have had something to do with it, they where by far the highest rated cable show and for pay cable 4.8 million viewers is amazing.