Last week, we asked readers to rank the five available seasons of Game of Thrones from best to worst by means of a poll with 124 options (there had to be a simpler way to do that). With so many choices, fans were free to mix and match, and no one option dominated the proceedings. However, the most popular ranking order was: Season 1—Season 3—Season 4—Season 2—Season 5.
“I am remembered.”
The spread of the voting reveals some interesting tidbits. For example, even though Season 1 claimed the top spot in the most popular poll option, most people didn’t put it at the head of their lists. What season did fans most often rank first? Season 4, which kicked off the lists for around 40% of the voters. By comparison, Season 1 came in first around 37% of the time.
When it came to which season voters most often ranked last, Season 5 was the clear…it doesn’t sound right to call it a frontrunner. Backrunner? Whatever—around 53% of fans ranked it last. Season 2 was the second least-liked (or fourth most-loved, if you prefer) year of the show—around 36% of readers put it at the back of the pack.
However, roughly 5% of readers picked Season 5 as the best season of the show, while only 2% gave that honor to Season 2. So it seems like Season 5 is both more hated and more loved than Season 2—maybe we can synthesize and say that it inspires stronger feelings in general.
With so much data to play with, there are more conclusions to be drawn. One thing is certain: you won’t see a poll like this after Season 6 airs, since that would require 720 options and I have my sanity to worry about.