After eight seasons of buildup and excitement, many fans were disappointed with how Game of Thrones ended.
Since the finale aired, countless think pieces have been written trying to break down what went wrong with the once-beloved series that seemed to leave such a bad taste in fans' mouths.
One fan may have actually found the answer.
By tracking how many words were spoken per episode and charting the trend on a graph, many believe this fan was able to explain the show's declining quality.
The longer the show went on, the less the characters spoke.
Fewer words doesn't automatically mean worse episodes, but many thought the amount of dialogue indicated how much time the show spent on character rather than empty spectacle.
Many fans were surprised to see how many words were in some of the earliest battle episodes as opposed to the nearly silent battle episodes of the final season.
Some fans thought the number of words spoken had nothing to do with the decline of episode quality.
The shrinking amount of dialogue was most obvious among the show's female characters.
Some fans came to the show's defense, pointing out favorite episodes that had very little talking.
For better or worse, the show seemed to lean into the trend the longer it ran.
And, whatever the critical reception may have looked like, there's no denying HBO got the viewers they wanted.
Why not look on the bright side?
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