The Weird, Secret Rivalry Between 'Game Of Thrones' And 'Breaking Bad'

Never would've guessed.
AMCHBO

Game of Thrones” is a great show. “Breaking Bad” is a great show. Is one of them a better show? Perhaps, according to one system of ranking that many of us regularly overlook ― IMDb episode ratings.

Evidently, when the episode “Battle of the Bastards” aired in June, “GoT” co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss spent hours obsessing over IMDb scores, anxiously refreshing the page to see whether they’d tied “Breaking Bad” director Rian Johnson’s perfect 10. And that may be the nerdiest sentence I’ve ever written.

Benioff and Weiss revealed the weird rivalry between themselves, director Miguel Sapochnik (who helmed the fantastic “Bastards”) and Johnson in a post-Emmys chat with IMDb Live.

“Well, can we tell you guys a secret?” Benioff began. “After that episode aired, we were talking to Miguel Sapochnik every hour, and all we kept doing ― we didn’t look at the ratings, we didn’t look at any of that stuff ― we were checking the IMDb episode rating. ‘Cause our friend Rian Johnson directed the ‘Ozymandias’ episode of ‘Breaking Bad,’ which was the 10.0, and we’re like, ‘We gotta get freakin’ Rian!’”

“Battle of the Bastards” is the penultimate episode in the sixth season of “Game of Thrones,” in which (spoiler!) Rickon is shot, Jon Snow leads an army against Ramsay Bolton, and the Knights of the Vale ride in at the last minute to help win back Winterfell for the Starks.

“Ozymandias” is the almost-penultimate episode of the entire “Breaking Bad” series, in which (spoiler!) Hank is shot, Walt Jr. learns the truth about his father’s criminal behavior, and the authorities close in on Walt as he makes off with baby Holly.

They are both immensely satisfying, dramatic and beautiful episodes of TV. They were were both rated perfect 10s on IMDb for “a long time,” Benioff said.

But not anymore.

“Somebody screwed us,” said Weiss, eyes wide. “I think Rian opened over 25,000 IMDb accounts and just voted us down.” (To 9.9 out of 10.)

Honestly, I only see good things for myself in this rivalry.

Watch the whole clip above.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article claimed “Ozymandias” was the second-to-last episode of “Breaking Bad.” It is the third-to-last. We regret the error.

Before You Go

The "Stranger Things" Kids At The Emmys

Close

What's Hot