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[ComputerBlue]

Mash had close to 130 million viewers. The Super Bowl averages 110+ million viewers, but the fact that we are comparing free TV to a premium network is insane.

Yeah, there's no denying the difference of impact between premium vs cable, but cable still isn't free, lol. Though I didn't even consider the pirated episodes in which case I guess so, could definitely be one of the biggest.

Especially when you considering something like MASH, your only option back then was to watch it live, or record it which in the early 80's VCRs weren't that common and neither were Betamax. And no one wants to watch a pirated version of a live sports event like the Superbown either. Sports are usually watched live by the majority of people.

 

[jfkgoblue]

I've watched it 3 times already, but still nowhere near as good as Season 6 finale. That music and set up for the Sept of Baelor exploding, and then the Jon reveal was something else. I watched that 10 times I think.

The season 6 finale was one of the best episodes for the series ever. This episode was the best of the season and felt much more like what GOT is supposed to be.

Yeah, there's no denying the difference of impact between premium vs cable, but cable still isn't free, lol. But I didn't even consider the pirated episodes in which case I guess so, could definitely be one of the biggest.

All the things listed were broadcast networks, free OTA.

 

[KHlover]

Things I never noticed before I started to partake in GoT discussion on English forums: In the German version of GoT "Yara" is still called "Asha", just like in the books.

 

[Volimar]

Soo....Is Arya going to kill Ilyn Payne anytime soon or...

I do hope they bring him back, even if it's just for his death. He's not really an actor though so he might have to die offscreen rather than give a bad death scene.

 

[Einchy]

Soo....Is Arya going to kill Ilyn Payne anytime soon or...

Edit: in season 8 that is.

Actor is not in the show anymore.

 

[hyp3rlink]

For me, this episode was a little underwhelming; the only real development was Jamie leaving Cersei. LF was killed because the writers didn't have any clever way to use that character, he had so much potential but the plot kept him in Winterfell rotting away for a whole season. His death would have been more impactful if he was doing anything ...anything at all.. this season. Joffery, Bolton, sparrow priest.. they were are killed when they were a substantial part of the show.

I enjoyed the episode but the writing on the show is clearly not the highlight as it was when the showrunners had GRRM's novels to work with. Spectacle used to once a season thing but now the show is relying completely on the big set pieces as somewhat on re-unions to evoke nostalgia from the first couple of seasons.

 

[jelly]

Probably a bit hyperbolic. The M*A*S*H series finale drew 121 million viewers, for example.

HBO kinda screwed themselves anyway since they don't sell it all around the world or when they do sell only to Sky in the UK so a lot of people don't watch it legally. Shame.

 

[Astral Dog]

I heard Little finger won

 

[Sheroking]

Mash had close to 130 million viewers. The Super Bowl averages 110+ million viewers, but the fact that we are comparing free TV to a premium network is insane.

That is worldwide, all those mentioned above are US only.

Really if you want to include worldwide, the World Cup final is like 1 billion+.

Major sporting events will never be rivaled.

As for fiction, stuff like the MASH finale happened when there were like 4 channels and almost no cable. It's one of those things that can't be touched because the landscape has changed, not because of any advantage in actual drawing power.

Game of Thrones is very likely to set a premium cable record in total viewers. Last nights Thrones episode topped The Soprano's series finale and The Soprano's did not exist in the age of torrent piracy (for the most part) and HBO Go.

 

[jfkgoblue]

Things I never noticed before I started to partake in GoT discussion on English forums: In the German version of GoT "Yara" is still called "Asha", just like in the books.

The only reason her name was changed was because Osha was introduced first and D&D didn't want to confuse viewers. So in a different language that isn't really a concern.

 

[Volimar]

I heard Little finger won

#winning #anyonehavearicola #whosebloodisthis

 

[cartographer]

Cersei's baby is actually the Waif. Tyrion made a deal where Baby Waif will marry Bran while Bran is warged into Longclaw and the Waif / sword hybrid will be Danny's heir.

It's honestly like some of you don't watch the show. That's all spelled out in the show.

 

[jfkgoblue]

Major sporting events will never be rivaled.

As for fiction, stuff like the MASH finale happened when there were like 4 channels and expensive, rare early cable stuff. It's one of those things that can't be rivaled because the landscape has changed.

Game of Thrones is very likely to set a premium cable record.

It did if you count streaming/DVR, but if it airs next fall it will not break the Sopranos record due to SNF(and TWD to a lesser extent) for live broadcast. Much stiffer competition in the fall than any other time.

 

[ComputerBlue]

All the things listed were broadcast networks, free OTA.

Well, Sopranos is HBO.

But I grew up in Canada so I never knew that those networks could be obtained for free, you couldn't get any of those free here without a cable subscription. I guess with an antenna you didn't need to pay though, right?

 

[Sheroking]

It did if you count streaming/DVR, but if it airs next fall it will not break the Sopranos record due to SNF(and TWD to a lesser extent) for live broadcast. Much stiffer competition in the fall than any other time.

The Walking Dead isn't premium cable, it's basic.

Practically speaking, Game of Thrones has already long eclipsed The Sopranos in total viewers. Like, years ago. It's trouncing The Sopranos at it's peak right now.

In terms of just live viewers on the HBO channel, it's pretty much 100% that Thrones will top the highest ever viewership that HBO ever had. They're only about a million off and they grew the audience by 2M between episodes 6 and 7 this year.

 

[Travo]

Because they know what is going to happen, they put 1 and 1 together and knew it equals Night King.

Heh, I remember the reaction videos to the red wedding.

 

[jfkgoblue]

Well, Sopranos is HBO.

But I grew up in Canada so I never knew that those networks could be obtained for free, you couldn't get any of those free here without a cable subscription. I guess with an antenna you didn't need to pay though, right?

Yeah in the US ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX are free OTA.

It will beat the Sopranos if you count things other than live broadcast(hell this season did that).

 

[DopeyFish]

fyi sopranos "fake" peak was when they attributed all HBO viewers under one banner

also there was no HBO Go back then, either. GoT is pretty much tripling the viewership of Sopranos very peak.

in terms of pure numbers, Sopranos isn't even in the same league as Game of Thrones, not even close.

 

[Goodstyle]

She didn't do what Littlefinger wanted her to do. What Littlefinger wanted her to do was act convincingly like she wanted to kill Sansa. Instead, she constantly reminded Sansa about how she's able and willing to play The Game and, then, rather than actually act against Sansa, she literally handed Sansa the knife that ended up cutting Littlefinger's throat. There isn't a single interaction between the two of them that ends on a threatening note after she finds the scroll - it's always a hint from Arya, veiled behind the role she's playing.

This is a lie. Sansa was growing increasingly terrified at the end of each interaction with Arya. Watch the scenes again. Arya accused her of betraying the Stark family, literal treason. She made it clear that she thought Sansa was planning to betray Jon as well. She talked about how she can kill people and steal their identities and she even mentioned how she could do the same to Sansa specifically. She was threatening her because she seriously didn't trust Sansa.

They ended up turning The Game on Littlefinger, so Sansa clearly got the message.

Sansa didn't get the message from Arya, she got the message from Littlefinger when he overplayed his hand in her first scene of the finale. She even references that scene when she corners Littlefinger. She's a slow learner, but she realized what he was doing when she imagined the very worst reason LF could be doing what he was doing. Also, him leading Sansa to the conclusion that Arya wanted to be Lady of Winterfell probably didn't ring true to her at all.

All Arya did was swing the blade in the end. She had no real role in LF's downfall besides executioner. It was Sansa who figured it out and Bran who provided the evidence.

 

[Sheroking]

Yeah in the US ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX are free OTA.

It will beat the Sopranos if you count things other than live broadcast(hell this season did that).

In just live viewers, last nights episode of Game of Thrones did better than The Soprano's series finale.

With streaming figures, it's trouncing by million upon millions.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Soo....Is Arya going to kill Ilyn Payne anytime soon or...

Edit: in season 8 that is.

His name was taken off the list because the actor died, and we assume the character died as well. Also, he was ordered by Joffrey so not his fault. In fact, he gave Ned a very clean death.

 

[Volimar]

His name was taken off the list because the actor died, and we assume the character died as well.

He didn't die. He had terminal cancer but then it wasn't as bad as he thought and he's beaten it.

 

[ComputerBlue]

Yeah in the US ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX are free OTA.

It will beat the Sopranos if you count things other than live broadcast(hell this season did that).

Yeah, scratch I even said Sopranos because I wasn't considering the fact that the other channels could be viewed for free.

 

[Bigby]

His name was taken off the list because the actor died, and we assume the character died as well. Also, he was ordered by Joffrey so not his fault. In fact, he gave Ned a very clean death.

No, the actor is alive, he beat the cancer.

 

[LegendofDragoonLives]

There have been a lot of pop culture events like Lost. I'm not trying to take anything away from GOT, it is by far the biggest current pop culture event, but one of the biggest of all time is hard to claim.

A show that had 120+ million people watching an episode is not hard to claim at all that it's one of the biggest pop culture events. It's a factual statement.

Again I can't even imagine how much money these guys are making due to merch, since it's far easy to sell than any of the other top tier tv shows. It will make more money than MASH, Friends, Walking Dead, Supranos or any other show you want to choose from considering the merchandise it's selling and at the silly rate.

 

[Ikuu]

His name was taken off the list because the actor died, and we assume the character died as well. Also, he was ordered by Joffrey so not his fault. In fact, he gave Ned a very clean death.

The actor didn't die, I'm not sure why people say things that can be checked in seconds.

 

[jfkgoblue]

The Walking Dead isn't premium cable, it's basic.

Practically speaking, Game of Thrones has already long eclipsed The Sopranos in total viewers. Like, years ago. It's trouncing The Sopranos at it's peak right now.

In terms of just live viewers on the HBO channel, it's pretty much 100% that Thrones will top the highest ever viewership that HBO ever had. They're only about a million off and they grew the audience by 2M between episodes 6 and 7 this year.

You are underestimating SNF and TWD. Everyone who watches GOT as live viewers will also have access to NBC and AMC. Like I said when you include non-live it will absolutely crush the Sopranos, but live broadcast is literally just the people viewing the HBO channel as it airs. TWD will suffer more live viewer loss than GOT due to them airing at the same time, but it will also siphon off a little bit from GOT live viewers.

SNF is something you have to view live, and it averages 20m+ viewers and is the current most viewed tv program in the US. I think this episode was the peak live viewership this show will see.

In just live viewers, last nights episode of Game of Thrones did better than The Soprano's series finale.

With streaming figures, it's trouncing by million upon millions.

I thought the Sopranos was 12.5 million... if not ignore what I said about it never beating the Sopranos.

Season 8 live viewers will still be down though.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Cancer sometimes loses!

 

[Volimar]

The actor didn't die, I'm not sure why people say things that can be checked in seconds.

Dogs can't look up.

 

[Sheroking]

You are underestimating SNF and TWD. Everyone who watches GOT as live viewers will also have access to NBC and AMC. Like I said when you include non-live it will absolutely crush the Sopranos, but live broadcast is literally just the people viewing the HBO channel as it airs. TWD will suffer more live viewer loss than GOT due to them airing at the same time, but it will also siphon off a little bit from GOT live viewers.

SNF is something you have to view live, and it averages 20m+ viewers and is the current most viewed tv program in the US. I think this episode was the peak live viewership this show will see.

A Thrones finale will be such an event, the competition probably won't matter. Particularly not The Walking Dead, which we don't even know will be running at the same time (and frankly is declining YOY in total viewers anyway). Certainly nobody who watches both shows is going to watch a random episode of that over a Thrones final season episode. As for football, who says this runs in January?

It would not surprise me to see 20 million total viewers out of this finale. This is something we haven't had on TV since the power sitcoms closed up shop in 2004.

 

[SparkyFrog]

This is a lie. Sansa was growing increasingly terrified at the end of each interaction with Arya. Watch the scenes again. Arya accused her of betraying the Stark family, literal treason. She made it clear that she thought Sansa was planning to betray Jon as well. She talked about how she can kill people and steal their identities and she even mentioned how she could do the same to Sansa specifically. She was threatening her because she seriously didn't trust Sansa.



Sansa didn't get the message from Arya, she got the message from Littlefinger when he overplayed his hand in her first scene of the finale. She even references that scene when she corners Littlefinger. She's a slow learner, but she realized what he was doing when she imagined the very worst reason LF could be doing what he was doing. Also, him leading Sansa to the conclusion that Arya wanted to be Lady of Winterfell probably didn't ring true to her at all.

All Arya did was swing the blade in the end. She had no real role in LF's downfall besides executioner. It was Sansa who figured it out and Bran who provided the evidence.

Yeah, it was definitely Sansa who went to talk with Bran that solved the situation. The only thing left open is, did it happen in-between episodes, or after LF told Sansa about his worst case scenario thinking...

 

[-griffy-]

People acting like Sansa hasn't known what's up with Littlefinger for ages now. Season 6, she shuts him down.

This is the face Sansa makes when she realizes "Fuck, I'm gonna have to finally deal with this asshole."

Talking to Jon in season 7 episode 1 about Cersei, she says "If you're her enemy she'll never stop until she's destroyed you. Everyone who's ever crossed her she's found a way to murder." Jon replies "You almost sound as if you admire her." to which Sansa says "I learned a great deal from her."

Sansa knows they don't really need Littlefinger, just the army of the Vale.

Bran arrives. He already knows what Littlefinger has done.

The first time Arya sets eyes on Littlefinger after returning to Winterfell. Shit is on.

Arya obviously shadows Littlefinger, plays right into Littlefinger's trap, finds the note. Proceeds to have public and loud arguments with Sansa.

Littlefinger, in an effort to comfort Sansa and goad the "disagreement" along tells her that Brienne would be compelled to protect one sister from the other should it come to that. So Sansa sends her out of Winterfell, so she won't do something thinking their arguments are legitimate. They don't need her anyways.

 

[norinrad]

Probably a bit hyperbolic. The M*A*S*H series finale drew 121 million viewers, for example.

There wasn't much on TV back then and the were probably like 5 TV channels.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

All Arya did was swing the blade in the end. She had no real role in LF's downfall besides executioner. It was Sansa who figured it out and Bran who provided the evidence.

I'm confused, whose room was the scroll in the matress when LF locked the door? Was it littlefinger's or Arya's? When Sansa finds the scroll, it was clearly Arya's room.

 

[takriel]

Wow I feared for Jaime there for a second, damn.

 

[-griffy-]

I'm confused, whose room was the scroll in the matress when LF locked the door? Was it littlefinger's or Arya's? When Sansa finds the scroll, it was clearly Arya's room.

Littlefinger hid it in his room. Arya stole it out of his room and hid it in her own room.

 

[Volimar]

Wow I feared for Jaime there for a second, damn.

Yep. After the similar scene with Tyrion I thought she'd lost it.

 

[Sleeping Lesson]

There wasn't much on TV back then and the were probably like 5 TV channels.

It was either watch MASH or play hoop and stick.

 

[norinrad]

It was either watch MASH or play hoop and stick.

MASH it was

 

[SparkyFrog]

It was either watch MASH or play hoop and stick.

There was also this "Who shot JR?" thing a bit later, it was pretty huge event. But GoT continues to be huge every season, there is nost just one moment.

 

[jfkgoblue]

A Thrones finale will be such an event, the competition probably won't matter. Particularly not The Walking Dead, which we don't even know will be running at the same time (and frankly is declining YOY in total viewers anyway). Certainly nobody who watches both shows is going to watch a random episode of that over a Thrones final season episode.

It would not surprise me to see 20 million total viewers out of this finale. This is something we haven't had on TV since the power sitcoms closed up shop in 2004.

TWD will be pretty minor, and I regret bringing it up. SNF on the otherhand is a juggernaut and averages twice the Live viewership of GOT. When you can watch GOT at any time vs SNF which is a sporting event that almost everyone views live, it is going to cut into the show's numbers.

 

[Imperfected]

Arya's role in getting rid of Littlefinger was being a person brash enough and completely outside the rules to force him into action.

If it hadn't been for her I doubt he would have felt the need to do much to antagonize Sansa, and she in turn probably would have just tolerated him with mild disgust. Arya was the catalyst to force the other players into motion.

The real question is: why did Brienne go to King's Landing, again? (I know the answer is: because the writers wanted her to bump into Sandor and Jaime, but she really didn't do anything there.)

 

[Goodstyle]

Yeah, it was definitely Sansa who went to talk with Bran that solved the situation. The only thing left open is, did it happen in-between episodes, or after LF told Sansa about his worst case scenario thinking...

It was definitely after the worst case scenario thinking scene. That's when Sansa started to put it all together, and that's why she referenced it at LF's trial.

I'm confused, whose room was the scroll in the matress when LF locked the door? Was it littlefinger's or Arya's? When Sansa finds the scroll, it was clearly Arya's room.

I think Arya stole the scroll from LF's room and kept it for herself.

 

[DopeyFish]

TWD will be pretty minor, and I regret bringing it up. SNF on the otherhand is a juggernaut and averages twice the Live viewership of GOT. When you can watch GOT at any time vs SNF which is a sporting event that almost everyone views live, it is going to cut into the show's numbers.

so the people watching on HBO Go aren't really watching in your mind?

 

[hobozero]

Now that Winter is actually here, they need a new family motto. How about "Don't fuck with the Starks"

 

[zethren]

The most annoying sentiment I'm seeing today is people thinking Arya and Sansa were playing Littlefinger the whole time. They damn sure weren't, Littlefinger had them until he told Sansa about his little game and she turned it against him. At that point, it's likely she talked to the other Stark siblings about this and that's when they planned the surprise execution.

If they knew everything he was doing at the start, they would have just fucking killed him then. People need to stop giving Arya credit for this shit, she was a bratty child who was dooped, and it was only Sansa who figured out the game. People are allergic to praising her, so it's gotta be that Arya was playing everyone from the start.

I don't think Sansa and Arya were playing him the whole the time, but I do think that Arya caught on quickly and Sansa caught on with the "game" conversation. From there, they conspired together against him and got confirmation on the details from
Bran.

So really, all three of them played LF. He got fucked.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Arya's role in getting rid of Littlefinger was being a person brash enough and completely outside the rules to force him into action.

If it hadn't been for her I doubt he would have felt the need to do much to antagonize Sansa, and she in turn probably would have just tolerated him with mild disgust. Arya was the catalyst to force the other players into motion.

The real question is: why did Brienne go to King's Landing, again? (I know the answer is: because the writers wanted her to bump into Sandor and Jaime, but she really didn't do anything there.)

I have a feeling she's going to bump into him on their way to Winterfell. Those two have mad chemistry. Moreso than anyone in the series.

 

[jfkgoblue]

so the people watching on HBO Go aren't really watching in your mind?

That is not what I said at all. I said overall streaming and DVR included ratings will be insane, but live viewership will be down compared to this season.

 

[DarkJediKnight]

Now that Winter is actually here, they need a new family motto. How about "Don't fuck with the Starks"

Well, now that Winter has come, I think the new Stark Motto has been: "The North Remembers" That has been the theme for the past 2 seasons.

 

[Hydrus]

Now that Winter is actually here, they need a new family motto. How about "Don't fuck with the Starks"

"Winter has come

Spoiler

and so have I."