Here at Winter is Coming, we love it when fans go the extra mile. And a fan named Shivaraj has gone so many extra miles he practically reached the Wall…that is no longer there. (Too soon?)
Publishing his work on Tableau, Shivaraj has gathered data and created a magnificent chart that breaks down how much time the “Top 100” characters on Game of Thrones have spent onscreen over the past seven years, with further breakdowns by season and house. Take a look below, and click here to see the chart in its native habitat, where you can get a closer look.
So what are some of the takeaways from this wonder?
- In season 1, the Starks had the most screentime, with 305 minutes. Of that, Ned took the lion’s share with 92.5 minutes, Jon spent 54.8 minutes brooding, Catelyn fretted for 42.3 minutes, Arya was a badass for 33.5, Bran nabbed 25.8, Robb and Sansa had 24 each, Benjen snagged 6.3, and poor Rickon only had 1.3 minutes.
- Season 1 in the only season where the Starks had more screentime than “Others,” which refers to characters not affiliated with the Houses Stark, Lannister, Targaryen, Greyjoy, Baratheon, and Tyrell. For every other season, the “Others” take the lead. Three cheers for characters Brienne of Tarth, Davos Seawroth, Bronn, the Hound, Ramsay Bolton, Melisandre, and the like.
- Across the series, Sansa has just a little more screentime than Arya — they clock in at 238.5 minutes and 224.3 minutes respectively. Cersei comes in just below Sansa with 336 minutes, a fact that would surely infuriate her.
- Jorah Mormont is the most prolific character in the “Other” category with 142 minutes of screentime.
As for who has had the most screentime, that would be Jon Snow at 338.3 minutes. It wasn’t always that way, though. Tyrion had the most screentime in seasons 2, 3 and 4 — in recent years, Jon’s pulled ahead of him and only just topped him by the end of season 7. Tyrion has now been onscreen for a total of 337 minutes. Daenerys comes in third at 276.
Despite there being only seven episodes in season 7, Jon had more screentime than ever before with 70 minutes, followed by Daenerys with 54.5. With all the shipping and incest and such, that seems oddly fitting. Tyrion is the third most seen character in that season at 43.5 minutes.
This is an incredible way to look at the series see how the arcs have played out out over time, and discern how characters were used. For instance, Ned had by far the most screentime in season 1 because we had to fall in love with him for the big twist of his death to land.
Here here to look at the map in detail. You could literally spend hours on it.
Next: HBO CEO: Game of Thrones prequel scripts are an “embarrassment of riches”
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