Game of Thrones ended last week and after 8 seasons, 73 episodes, 4,354 minutes and 5,863 deaths – producing a lot of data in the process. Research and strategy company MTM has pulled apart the numbers underpinning one of the biggest TV shows of all time.

1. Let Down
Despite the gory conclusions, on aggregate fans were disappointed by the final episode. When comparing the average rating of the final episode with the overall series, Game of Thrones is the largest disappointment after House of Cards and is rated slightly more disappointing than Dexter and How I Met Your Mother.

2. Deaths
Game of Thrones made a name for itself by killing off major characters at unexpected moments – with season 8 the deadliest yet: 3,253 characters were killed on screen compared to the just 59 in season 1. In fact, 50 per cent more characters died in the final season than every other season combined. This is mainly due to the epic on-screen battles that rounded off the show

3. Cause of Death
With all these rampaging murderers, it is no surprise that the most common cause of death for important characters Game of Thrones is injuries, followed by burns and poisoning. In fact, research compiled by Biomedcentral showed that important characters had a 14 per cent chance of being killed in the first hour after appearing, and there was a higher likelihood of survival as a woman, a highborn, or someone who switched allegiance.

4. Killers
While many of the on-screen deaths over the course of the show came during the numerous battles; subterfuge and assassination also played their part in providing the grisly entertainment throughout the show. It turns out that Drogon, a dragon, is the deadliest character in the Game of Thrones universe, followed closely by Arya Stark, due to her time spent as an assassin.

5. Dialogue
However, all the killing in Game of Thrones would be meaningless without the intelligent writing behind the series. And, although heralded as a feminist show due to the portrayal of strong and complex characters, such as Daenerys Targaryen and Arya Stark, 75 per cent of all speaking lines in Game of Thrones were given to men. It is the Hand of the Queen, Tyrion Lannister, who takes the top spot for most lines spoken. Joint second goes to Jon Snow and Cersei Lanniser, followed by Daenerys Targaryen in third place.

6. Viewing
The popularity of Game of Thrones has only increased over the course of the show, with combined US viewers and streamers for the final episode – 19.3 million – breaking HBO’s all-time record (also held by the show). However, the popularity is not limited to the US, with 3.2 million UK viewers tuning in for the 2am broadcast, according to BARB. Besides legitimate viewing figures, however, Game of Thrones is a hugely popular show amongst streamers and downloaders, having previously held the record for most streamed television show. When it comes to illegal downloads, it is Brazil that illegally downloaded the highest volume of episodes of Season 7.

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