Game of Thrones finale continues to shock, nets 1.3m and sends Twitter into a frenzy
Last night saw Sky Atlantic bring another nihilistic and sadistic season of Game of Thrones (9pm) to a typically brutal end as yet another main character was painfully and coldly dispatched, sending viewers to Twitter to vent their horror.
You’d think fans would be used to the bleak and unjust twists and turns by the time the final moments of the fifth series’ finale, Mother’s Mercy, came along, but the producers continued to drill home the point that no character is safe, no matter how seemingly integral to the storyline.
Aside from that particular shock, there were plenty of other highly traumatic scenes for viewers to etch into their souls, including that ruthless assassination, that child poisoning, that failed siege and – most disturbing of all – that walk of shame.
In total, 1.3 million viewers tuned in live to wonder aloud what exactly the point to all of this was, the season’s second biggest audience yet. Even though it failed to match the opening episode, last night’s slice of existential disparity had been available to download on Sky from early yesterday morning, unlike the first.
While the epic finale didn’t actually manage to beat the 1.5 million viewers that tuned in for The Wars to Come, way back in mid-April, thanks to that final sucker punch Game of Thrones managed to generate the highest amount of tweets for the entire season.
In total, last night’s final visit to the blood-soaked Seven Kingdoms for ten long months generated a whopping 66,000 tweets, with the social media outlet helping some to ease their pain.
View a free chart of all the tweets and ratings from the eventful fifth season here.
At the same time BBC One was focusing on the war on the streets of the capital as The Met: Policing London (9pm) returned for a second episode, with the show-all documentary series actually improving on last week’s 3.3 million viewers.
Last night saw the police attempt to track down the killers of an innocent father, resulting in the biggest 9pm audience with 3.5 million viewers and a 17% share.
On BBC Two the stunning HD beauty of Japan: Earth’s Enchanted Islands (9pm) also came back for a second go, netting 2.6 million viewers and a 13% share.
Monday night also brought about another week of ITV’s night of comedy with the second series of catty and camp Vicious (9pm) continuing to fall flat – or gloriously pay homage to the sitcoms of yesteryear (depending on who you ask).
2.6 million viewers tuned in to see the generation-spanning gang attend ballroom dancing classes, resulting in a 12% share.
Afterwards was the début of It’s a Funny Old Week, where Jason Manford took ‘a light-hearted look at the world of news, showbiz, culture and sport’.
So basically, what Russell Howard’s Good News would be like if it was pandering to an even simpler demographic. 1.3 million viewers and a 6% share enjoyed the unique observations.
Over on Channel 4, Kevin McCloud’s Escape to the Wild featured a family who were even more troubled than last week, with their experiences of corporate London resulting in them moving to the base of an active volcano.
1.4 million viewers tuned in to see Kevin’s nerves get the better of him as he acclimatised to Chile, netting a 7% share.
Despite the epic draw of the 9pm slot, it was the teatime soaps that took the top four spots. Emmerdale at 7pm on ITV wrangled in 5.7 million lovers of spicy rural drama, while EastEnders at 8pm on BBC One secured 6.3 million and a 32% share.
A double helping of Coronation Street (ITV) nabbed the top two spots as Kevin’s baby drama was watched by 7 million and a 38% share at 7:30pm, falling slightly to 6.9 million and a 34% share at 8:30pm.
Overnight data is available each morning in mediatel.co.uk’s TV Database, with all BARB registered subscribers able to view reports for terrestrial networks and key multi-channel stations. Overnight data supplied by TRP are based on 15 minute slot averages. This may differ from tape checked figures, which are based on a programme’s actual start and end time.
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