Game of Thrones season 7 premiere: fandom by the numbers
Everyone’s talking about Game of Thrones, and we’ve got the search data to prove it ahead of Sunday night’s season 7 premiere.
One of the things that makes Game of Thrones so addictive is how much there is to talk about and analyze with fellow Thrones fans after each episode and before the next. In case you’ve been living under a Casterly Rock (see what we did there?), you know: when it comes to the seven kingdoms, there is A LOT going on at any given time. So, what are people talking about? Well, for all the fan sites (shout-out to our favorite, Winter is Coming), and message boards, and Facebook pages devoted to all things Thrones, people have a lot to say.
One way to sift through the noise and see what’s really buzzing is to look at these conversations by the numbers. Online analytics firm Brandwatch crunched some numbers to see just what Thrones topics fans were talking about most and their findings were pretty interesting. To make their observations, the firm went to Reddit and dug into the subreddit r/gameofthrones, where they theorized that they would find some of the show’s most devoted fans. Within that thread, the firm, with help from digital behavior scientist Jillian Ney, analyzed nearly a million mentions between May 4 and July 4.
Here’s some of what they determined:
Brandwatch Game of Thrones infographic, image via Brandwatch
Starks rule
In terms of what Thrones family got the most Reddit mentions, the Starks galloped to an easy victory there with more than 3,000. The Lannister family was a ways behind in second with more than 2,000; followed by House Targaryen, House Tyrell, and House Frey. That line-up fits with Gizmodo Australia‘s analysis of coupon site Cuponation‘s research, which found that House Stark was also the most popular on other social media platforms. Of course, Cuponation was tracking how many social media followers each of the show’s actors has in real life, then calculating the most-followed house based on those numbers. Within the Stark clan, Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa Stark, has a collective social media fandom of 8.4 million fans across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, making up about 40 percent of the Stark family total. The most independently social media popular star on the show, though? The queen of dragons herself. Emilia Clarke, who plays Daenerys, has a whopping 12.2 million followers, according to Cuponation’s findings.
Midday midweek Thrones break
Despite the show airing on Sunday night, it seems the most popular time for fans to post in the GoT subreddit is about 1 p.m. ET on Wednesdays. Mentioned reached well over 6,000 during that peak. Why that might be the prime time to talk Thrones is anybody’s guess. Maybe it’s the perfect amount of time after the previous episode and before the upcoming episode for fans to have had time to gather their thoughts about what just happened and formulate their theories on what’s coming next for the seven kingdoms. Or, maybe Hump Day is just rough all-around and people enjoy discussing Tyrion Lannister’s pathway to the Iron Throne more than filling out their office timesheet.
Episode 61 (season 7, episode 1), debut 7/16/17: Ellie Kendrick.
photo: Helen Sloan/courtesy of HBO
People love Meera Reed
In terms of underrated characters, Bran’s protector Meera Reed is top of the list for fans. When we last saw her, Meera was nearing The Wall with Bran and maybe following him south to Winterfell. Online discussions about Meera in large part centered on fans wanting the older sister of the late Jojen Reed (and, according to some theories, potential future love interest for Bran) to score some more screen time. Other underrated favorite characters included Lord Varys and Sansa Stark, whose arc last season seems to set her up nicely for plenty more focus this time around. We know from just-released season 7 photos that Meera will be featured at least to some extent, so fans can rest easy. Or, at least, easier than Bran when he’s having those 3-Eyed Raven visions.
The Mountain is overrated
If Meera Reed isn’t getting enough screen time, fans seem to think our gigantic friend The Mountain is getting too much. Of course, that could be a literal issue as maybe he’s just so big he takes up the screen? Apparently not. According to Brandwatch’s findings, online fans have been throwing shade at The Mountain because he’s “not the sharpest tool in the box,” and because when it comes to his fighting prowess he pretty much only has his size going for him. His swordsmanship isn’t great, either. Of course, the fans have no problem saying this from the anonymous safety of their computer screens—because you know you don’t want to tick The Mountain off. He’s a *big* guy.
Next: Game of Thrones season 7: Is there going to be a new clash in the North?
Other overrated characters, in the subreddit users’ opinion anyway, included the Dothraki army and Daenerys, who fans complained is “self-righteous” and “hypocritical.” Uh oh. Those are fighting words, and Dany’s got dragons.
What have you and your friends been saying about Game of Thrones online? Tell us in the comments.