A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 has been review bombed by Breaking Bad fans for being too perfect, bringing the episode's IMDb score down. Since debuting, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has been praised by both critics and fans, with Episodes 4 and 5 being regarded as some of the best installments of the Game of Thrones franchise. While most fans are enjoying the spin-off's success, some are afraid that it will overtake their favorite shows and are intentionally sabotaging it.
After A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 officially debuted on HBO Max, many fans realized that the episode received an IMDb rating of 10/10. Despite the episode having thousands of views, it maintained its 10/10 rating. However, Breaking Bad fans discovered this and began review bombing the episode by giving it 1/10 ratings in an attempt to bring the episode's average score down.
Most likely, the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode's average would have at least dropped to a 9.9 anyway, but the 1-star reviews from Breaking Bad fans did help lower the average to 9.8 stars, which is the rating the episode boasts as of writing.
When leaving a review for a TV episode on IMDb, anyone with an account can rate an episode 1-10 stars. If they want, users can also leave specific comments, which some Breaking Bad fans did, admitting they were simply leaving a 1-star review just to support Breaking Bad.
For reference, a Breaking Bad Season 5 episode titled "Ozymandias" has a 10/10 rating on the platform with over 200,000 reviews, and it is the only episode of television in history to maintain a perfect score. Essentially, when A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Episode 5 (titled "In the Name of the Mother") had a 10/10 score, Breaking Bad fans did not want another series to have a perfectly rated episode, hence the review bombing.
One IMDb user who left a 1-star review openly admitted that they had not even watched a single clip of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. They claimed that "[their] loyalty belongs" to "[their] glorious, untouchable masterpiece, Breaking Bad," and that "every other show" is "a distant second at best:"
"I haven't watched a single episode of this show, not even a trailer, not even a clip - and yet I'm confidently awarding it one star. Why? Because my loyalty belongs elsewhere. My glorious, untouchable masterpiece, Breaking Bad, already exists, and in my completely unbiased opinion, that automatically makes every other show a distant second at best."
Another user also mentioned that they gave A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms one star because they are "a big fan of the TV series Breaking Bad:"
"I gave it one star; it doesn't deserve 10 out of 10. l'm a big fan of the TV series 'Breaking Bad.' 'Breaking Bad' is the only series that deserves a 10 out of 10. 'Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' is the worst series I have ever watched. I do not recommend anyone watch the series. 'Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' is too bad."
Interestingly, another user spent nearly their entire review praising the A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode, calling it "an amazing episode of television" that was "better than the highest highs of" Game of Thrones. However, at the end of the review, they stated that "it cannot overtake 'Ozymandias,'" so they rated it one star:
"Genuinely an amazing episode of television. Backstory, fighting, emotional death and all in under 40 minutes. Such an incredibly genuine relationship between both Dunk and Egg with even side characters playing their part perfectly. Honestly better than the highest highs of AGOT ('A Game of Thrones') Anyways it cannot overtake Ozymandias, hence the 1 star."
Many IMDb users blatantly admitted to review bombing the episode simply in the name of Breaking Bad, with some even mocking A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and Game of Thrones fans. For example, someone said "it's going to be super funny watching the rating go down" and that "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms fans can keep crying about it:"
"I'm a 'Breaking Bad' fan and this doesn't deserve a 10/10. Only [Ozymandias] deserves a 10 out of 10 so haha enjoy your downvote. This episode is probably so overrated it's going to be super funny watching the rating go down. 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' fans can keep crying about it so haha enjoy the downvote kids watch better shows."
Like one of the other users, someone else admitted to never watching any of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and still gave it a 1-star rating "for no reason." The user then celebrated that they and the other Breaking Bad fans lowered A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' rating from a 10/10 to a 9.8/10:
"I haven't watched any episodes of this series, but l'm a fan of 'Breaking Bad.' I hate the world of 'Game of Thrones,' so l'd give it zero stars. I don't care about the show, but it's impossible for it to get 10 out of 10. But we did it, we lowered the episode rating from 10/10 to 9/8. And now we're showing her mercy, it's a bad episode for no reason."
Notably, there are other 1-star reviews on IMDb that make similar statements about how Breaking Bad is the superior show and that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms does not deserve to be rated as high as it was.
Is Breaking Bad Better than A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
Comparing Breaking Bad to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is like comparing apples to oranges. One is a gritty drama that deeply explores a character's psyche and brutally showcases him becoming extremely narcissistic, selfish, and evil. The other is a small, self-contained story set in an entirely fictional world with magic and dragons, but enough lore that it feels like a real place.
In truth, it is impossible to say which show is better, because they are both objectively fantastic and accomplish their goals. Both universes and all of the shows in them have been regarded as some of television's best, and it would only benefit everyone for fans to support both of them.
Instead of celebrating the fact that both universes have given audiences highly compelling stories, the fanbases are now at each other's throats because some people are claiming that one is better than the other.
In a highly and tragically unfortunate way, it mirrors how real life looks in these times, specifically regarding politics, race, class, etc. Fiction is supposed to bring people together and provide an escape from the radicalization of the real world. But, sadly, it seems as though the same sentiments that have poisoned society trickled their way into the one outlet we can all come together in.
