Game of Thrones has broken its own record as the most-watched show in subscription television history.
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Last week's penultimate episode was the previous record holder, but Monday's series finale knocked those numbers out of the park. Episode five was watched by 1.43 million people when set top box and on-demand viewing is combined, and episode six, the finale, topped that by more than 100,000 people with 1.54 million people tuning in.
The overnight audience is the largest in Australian subscription television history.
The episode hasn't been without its critics, with fans outraged by the 'hacky and cliched' storytelling. Nor was it without its gaffes. Eagle-eyed viewers spotted two water bottles sitting on the ground between characters Ser Davos and Samwell Tarly in the scene where the Lords and Ladies of Westeros discussed who should be king.
The rogue water bottles follow the appearance of a takeaway coffee cup in episode four of the same season.
Unimpressed viewers took to Twitter to blame the misplaced beverages on the show's production team, with one person saying they needed "focus less on the flash and more on the basics".
"I'm beginning to think they've a rogue member of crew behind this. How can this not be picked up post-production?" wrote another viewer.
Despite the mistakes that have plagued the show, the appetite for it has not decreased. In the US, the final episode was watched by a record 19.3 million viewers across HBO's platforms (linear, HBO GO and HBO NOW), exceeding last week's series high of 18.4 million viewers.
Those numbers mean Game of Thrones' finale eclipsed the other big TV event that took place in the US this month: The Big Bang Theory only managed to secure an audience of 18 million viewers for its final episode. But neither show was in the same league as the M*A*S*H season finale, which was watched by 106 million people in 1983 and has remained the biggest finale episode to ever air on television.
Changes in people's viewing habits mean the number of people who watch the Game of Thrones finale will continue to grow over time. In the US, the episode average for season seven was over 44 million people.
Despite some production mistakes, the television show that spanned the better part of a decade has cemented itself as a timeless classic, amassing fans across the world. There is no doubt that the legends of Westeros will live on for years to come.
- SMH/The Age
