Game of Thrones and Breaking Bad fans are embroiled in a review bomb war after an episode of spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms threatened to dethrone Breaking Bad’s Ozymandias’ status as the only 10/10 episode of TV on IMDb.
For years Ozymandias enjoyed legendary status online as the only episode of TV with a 10/10 user review rating on IMDb, but A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5, titled In the Name of the Mother, threatened to achieve the same rating after it released on HBO Max earlier this month.
It’s hard to know who shot first, but Breaking Bad fans began review-bombing A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in a bid to drag its user review rating down from 10/10, thus, theoretically at least, preserving Breaking Bad’s place at the top. Predictably, this in turn activated Game of Thrones fans, who launched a counter offensive against Breaking Bad that similarly dragged Ozymandias down. The two sides have been trading 1/10 review scores ever since.
As it stands, Ozymandias, first aired September 2013, is down to a 9.5/10 user review rating on IMDb. “Good show, but this episode was a let down,” reads one 1/10 review left on Ozymandias. “They should have done a better job with character development. This episode was an egg when it should have been a slam Dunk. I really wanted this the to be the quintessential defining episode but the writers really knocked the rider off the horse on this one.”
“Changed my rating cuz of BB fans,” said another. “This episode deserves a 10 and I had it as a 10 for 13 years. But I’m tired of Breaking Bad fans review-bombing literally anything that comes close to 10. You ‘fans’ have review-bombed The Sopranos, The Wire, Mad Men, Bands of Brothers, Six Feet Under, now A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and many more. I’m sad that I had to become petty like you, but honestly, that’s on you guys. Grow some *** and let everyone enjoy the things they enjoy. I hope some day I change my review back to 10 because this is one of the best episodes of TV.”
Another another 1/10 review reads: “Womp womp, if ya’ll just accepted the fact that other shows can be just as good I wouldn’t have to be here. We are taught how to share at a very young age and it amazes me how adults don’t understand it still. You don’t have to ruin another shows reviews just because you think your favorite show should be at the top, bunch of babies….”
25 best Game of Thrones episodes
25 best Game of Thrones episodes
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5, In the Name of the Mother, meanwhile, also has a 9.5 user review rating on IMDb.
“I am just a victim of the review bombing,” said one person who left a 1/10 review score. “I have never been a side for review bombing or have never been a Game of Thrones hater. I personally think that both of the series are really good and both of the episodes deserve a perfect 10. But I know one thing well and that is Ozymandias deserves a perfect 10. So here I am, just defending the honour of Breaking Bad and Ozymandias.”
“REVENGE FOR OZYMANDIAS,” declares another 1/10 review. “I rated this episode one star purely out of loyalty. As a hardcore Breaking Bad fan, I can’t forget how Game of Thrones fans review-bombed BB with one stars. So this is payback energy.
“Episode 5 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms wasn’t even bad, but this rating isn’t about quality, it’s about history. Petty? Yes. Necessary? Also yes. 1 star. Justice served.”
Now, this review-bomb war has spilled over into the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Season 1 finale, The Morrow, which hit HBO Max over the weekend. “I never review-bombed anything before, and to all good GoT fans I have to say that I am sorry,” reads one 1/10 review left on February 24. “But you made Ozymandias 9.5. This is insane, I didn’t even know that we were in a conflict until you started review-bombing. And all those people talking about ‘winter came’ and ‘the north remembers’ is crazy corny.”
“Leave Breaking Bad alone,” reads another. “Y’all got problems. Attacking Ozymandiaz because you don’t wanna share a 10/10? Quit being petty and let game acknowledge game! I’ll remove this once y’all change your ways but for now I have 100 more characters to write until this thing lets me post this. This show is great, episode is great, but you’re fools for starting this beef.”
“Walter sends his wishes,” says another 1/10 review.
The upshot of this online war of review words is that Breaking Bad’s Ozymandias has ended its 13-year run as the only perfectly-scored IMDb show out of millions of TV episodes. Episode 14 of Season 5 is the climax of the series, the episode in which all the tension built up over the course of the previous seasons finally comes to a head as Walt is forced to face the consequences of his actions. IGN’s review of Breaking Bad Ozymandias returned a 10/10. We called it a masterpiece.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5, In the Name of the Mother, depicts the Trial of the Seven and reveals Ser Dunk the Tall’s (played by Peter Claffey) tragic backstory. IGN’s review returned a 9/10. We said: “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms nears the end of its first season with a big, bloody, heartbreaking bang.”
As some fans react to the situation to call it pathetic, HBO is now leaning into this review-bomb battle in its social media posts. The official HBO Max Nordic social media team posted a cheeky clip of Game of Thrones’ iconic Battle of the Bastards, pitting fans of both shows on either side. “The fans called the banners quickly,” reads the caption.
@hbomaxnordic The fans called the banners quickly 😭😭 #aknightofthesevenkingdoms #gameofthrones #edit #breakingbad #imdb ♬ original sound – caroline:)
The irony, of course, is that Breaking Bad fans could have ended the week sharing the 10/10 spot with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. But now they’ve lost it themselves.
Underneath the jokes is a serious issue with user review ratings, which we’ve seen become subject to the whims of online review bomb campaigns multiple times over the years. Most recently, in December Netflix show Stranger Things suffered from review bombing as part of a backlash to Episode 7, called The Bridge. And in 2023, we reported on how a single person’s grudge against AI: The Somnium Files propelled an obscure 2010 DSiWare game to the top of Metacritic. In the world of video games, PC gaming platform Steam is no stranger to review bombing campaigns, with some user user reviews to express their disatisfaction.
Photograph by Steffan Hill/HBO.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
