For over a decade, Ozymandias, the spine-chilling episode from Breaking Bad season 5, has been considered the ‘perfect’ television episode. It was largely due to its unprecedented 10/10 score on Internet Movie Database (IMDb), considered one of the most transparent platforms for audience and critics ratings. But this week, the crown slipped and Ozymandias’ perfect rating was reduced to ‘just’ 9.9. This isn’t because of any newfound aversion to the episode, but review bombing on IMDb, allegedly by fans of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, who claim this is retaliation for what Breaking Bad fans did to their show’s latest episode.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5’s dropped ratings
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on George RR Martin’s novellas, is a prequel to Game of Thrones, also based on the author’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire. Set a hundred years before the events of GoT, the show follows a simple hedge knight and is devoid of dragons, magic, or large-scale continent-mapping politics and backstabbing. Yet, the show has been lapped up by fans and critics. The latest episode of the show – In the Name of the Mother – was released on HBO on 15 February. It immediately garnered a perfect 10 score on IMDb, becoming only the second TV episode, after Ozymandias, to do so.
However, in the days after its release, the episode’s rating dropped to 9.8 and eventually 9.7. Fans of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms claim that this fall in ratings was not organic, but due to coordinated attacks and negative reviews by Breaking Bad fans, who want to ‘protect’ the legacy of their show and episode as the sole 10/10 episode.
The retaliation
As the ratings of In the Name of the Mother dropped on IMDb, fans of the show converged on forums, pledging a retaliatory review bombing of Ozymandias. On Friday, the show’s ratings dropped to 9.9 for the first time in 12 years. As of the time of writing of this piece, Ozymandias has 335K ratings on IMDb. This includes over 50K ratings of 1 out of 10, most of which have come in the last 24 hours. In the Name of the Mother has just under 100K ratings, out of which around 5K are 1 out of 10.
About Breaking Bad
Ozymandias, directed by Rian Johnson, aired in September 2013 as the 14th episode of the final season of Breaking Bad. The show, starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV shows ever made, if not the greatest. The episode, which features a major character death, is pivotal to the climax that leads to the series finale. It has been called ‘the best hour of television’ by many outlets. Breaking Bad ended in 2013, and was followed by a spinoff – Better Call Saul – which many regard as just as good as the main series, along with a film, El Camino.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Created by Ira Parker, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is based on George RR Martin’s novella collection of the same name. It stars Peter Claffey as Dunk, a hedge knight, who finds an unlikely squire in Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), actually Prince Aegon Targaryen in disguise. The show has received universal acclaim. The final episode of season 1 will stream this weekend.
