HBO has revealed the runtimes for each of the seven episodes in Game of Thrones season 7. We already knew that the first episode would run for 59 minutes, a respectable length. We also knew that Episodes 2 and 3 would run for 59 minutes and 63 minutes respectively, the longest second and third episodes in the show’s history. Now we have the rest of the story, as revealed on HBO’s website.
- Episode 1: 59 minutes
- Episode 2: 59 minutes
- Episode 3: 63 minutes
- Episode 4: 50 minutes
- Episode 5: 59 minutes
- Episode 6: 71 minutes
- Episode 7: 81 minutes
At 50 minutes, Episode 4 is actually the shortest episode in the show’s history, but Episode 5 is the longest fifth episode, so it makes up for it.
Episodes 6 and 7, meanwhile, are longer than any episode of the show yet produced — the longest episode in the first six seasons is “The Winds of Winter,” which runs for 68 minutes. The penultimate episode of season 7 beats that out by three minutes, and the finale is nearly the length of a short movie. All in all, five out of the seven episodes are the longest episodes in their respective slots.
At 50 minutes, Episode 4 is on the short side, but fans shouldn’t feel short-changed. Every other episode is either a minute shy of a full hour or runs over an hour, and the average length is much higher than usual. Entertainment Weekly’s James Hibberd wasn’t lying when he said that, for the most part, the remaining episodes of Game of Thrones would not be supersized. That still leaves room for exceptions, as the final two episodes of this season are supersized, and I’m looking forward to seeing what they have in store.
Game of Thrones season 7 will premiere on HBO on July 16.