Both series are still highly regarded in terms of quality, but Breaking Bad's loss of full points has sparked a strong reaction from fans.
What you should know
An unexpected 'ratings war' has begun between the fan communities of two of the most popular and highly rated series in television history. On the Internet Movie Database (IMDB), which takes viewer votes as an index, fans of 'Game of Thrones' and 'Breaking Bad' are competing over which episode has the highest ratings.
The 14th episode of the fifth season of the crime-drama series Breaking Bad, 'Ozymandias', had maintained a 10/10 rating on IMDb for 13 years. The episode, which aired on September 15, 2013, was praised by both viewers and critics around the world as the best storytelling in television history.
It is considered a rare achievement to receive a 10/10 score on the IMDb platform for more than a decade. The episode of Breaking Bad stood alone at that peak for a long time.
In mid-February 2026, Breaking Bad's situation changed on IMDb after the release of the fifth episode of 'A Night of the Seven Kingdoms', based on the prequel to another popular HBO series, 'Game of Thrones'. The episode, titled ‘In the Name of the Mother’, aired on February 15 to widespread acclaim and briefly earned a perfect 10/10 rating on IMDb. It was the second episode in television history to receive such a perfect score.
The rating is currently being ‘review bombed’. In line with the strategy of giving only their favorite series a 10 out of 10, viewers around the world have been giving other series low ratings or negative comments. Both episodes have been showered with the lowest ratings. It has been alleged that this move was taken to prevent a rival fan group from claiming the top spot, rather than due to dissatisfaction with the story, acting or technical aspects.
Series fans eager to preserve Breaking Bad’s historical record gave ‘Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ a low score, bringing its 10/10 rating down to a 9. In response, Game of Thrones fans have also unanimously voted for Breaking Bad episodes, lowering their full score to 9.7 out of 10. Due to IMDb's algorithm, even very low or high ratings can have a short-term impact, especially on episodes that have already accumulated tens of thousands of ratings.
Breaking Bad is considered a landmark series in television history. Its final season received a 97 percent approval rating from critics on another rating platform, Rotten Tomatoes. Episodes within the Game of Thrones franchise, such as Battle of the Bastards and The Winds of Winter, have also reached 9.9 ratings on IMDb in the past. Several episodes from different seasons within the series have scored above 9.7, making it one of the most popular TV shows among viewers.
Other highly rated television series include both animated and drama series like Attack on Titan and Better Call Saul. This shows that the excellence of audience interest is not limited to any one genre. Viewers have also loved HBO series The Wire, Chernobyl, and Band of Brothers, giving them an average IMDb rating of 9. Series like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, The Office, Seinfeld, How I Met Your Mother, Squid Games, and Mash also set viewership records in their time.
Episode 14 of the fifth season of the Friends series was the most liked episode with a score of 9.7. The final episode of the series also received the same rating.
Another popular series, The Big Bang Theory, has a 9.2 rating for its 11th episode of its second season, while The Office's 13th episode, Dinner Party, has a 9.4. The series' Stress Relief and Goodbye episodes have also been highly rated by viewers. Another popular sitcom series, How I Met Your Mother, has managed to get a 9.5 rating for its 9th episode of season 9. The only season of the series Band of Brothers, which is based on a true story along with The Wire and Chernobyl, has received an average rating of more than 9 for all its episodes.
Poprant notes that this digital struggle seen on IMDb is not just a game of points, but also a sign of the new 'fan tribalism' that is emerging in contemporary pop culture. Social media and online communities have begun to transform art evaluation platforms into competitive scoreboards. It remains to be seen what steps IMDB will take to prevent such clashes in the future. But for now, they are continuing to reduce the ratings of episodes of Breaking Bad and Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
