For 13 years, Ozymandias, the unmitigated nuclear explosion of an episode from Breaking Bad, has resided on IMDb, much like the Iron Throne itself: a perfect 10.0, unscathed, unchallenged, and almost holy. It’s the episode where everything implodes, where the empire crumbles, where the ego and identity of Walter White explode into the world, where his family betrays him, and where the legend of Heisenberg turns from a titan into a tragedy. It’s the one where the world of Breaking Bad ends, and the world of Breaking Bad fandom accepted it as the holy scripture it was. And then, of course, came Westeros.
With the premiere of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Episode 5, “In the Name of the Mother,” the world went absolutely insane. The Trial of the Seven was not just epic; it was historic. Within 24 hours, the episode reached a 10.0 on IMDb. Not a 9.8, not a 9.9, but a 10.0, the holy grail of ratings perfection. And suddenly, the unthinkable happened: Ozymandias was no longer alone.
That’s when the dragons woke up
According to reports and tracking threads, it appears that a swarm of 1-star ratings was deployed against Seven Kingdoms, causing its ratings to dip from 9.8 to 9.7. Some Breaking Bad enthusiasts on Reddit and X openly confessed their intentions of “protecting the throne.” By that, they mean that “Ozymandias” is not only good, but it’s the absolute best. Period. End of discussion.
However, as any Thrones fan would know, they don’t take any of that lying down.
It didn’t take long before “Ozymandias” started to feel the brunt of the retaliation. For the first time since 2013, that elusive 10.0 began to dip, going down to 9.9, 9.8, and other ratings. In fact, it’s believed that over 50,000 votes came in within 48 hours, replete with not-so-subtle references to Dunk and Egg.
The casualty of all of this? Episodes like “Everyone’s Waiting” from Six Feet Under, as well as other heavy-hitting episodes from BoJack Horseman and Vinland Saga, began to creep up the rankings as the two titans went head-to-head.
It’s not really about genre, nor is it about Emmy wins. In fact, it’s all about legacy. In fandom culture, having a 10.0 doesn’t simply mean that it’s the best-rated show of all time. In fact, having a 10.0 means that you’re the best of the best, period. And right now, IMDb doesn’t simply mean that it’s a website.
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