'Game of Thrones' Dialogue Data Reveals How Little Characters Spoke in Later Seasons

Game of Thrones data reveals that the show's use of dialogue declined in recent years. Fans reacted to the chart on Twitter.

Fur, Fur clothing, Outerwear, Freezing, Winter, Fun, Textile, Photography, Long hair, Snow,
(Image credit: HBO)

  • Last weekend, after eight seasons and almost a decade on the air, Game of Thrones aired its final episode. Not all fans were pleased with the way the show's long-running battle for the Iron Throne was resolved—or with the fates of their favorite characters. 
  • According to data from opensubtitles.org, over the years, the number of words spoken in each episode of Game of Thrones declined sharply, especially in the final seasons of the show. 
  • Fans took to Twitter to react to the data, which served as proof that the changes in the show weren't just in their imagination after all.

Game of Thrones came to an end last week and many fans were, well, less than thrilled with the show's ending. Whatever you happened to think of the ending, the widely-held perception that the show had changed in some real way in the last few years isn't wrong.

According to data from opensubtitles.org, the show's dialogue underwent some major changes over the years. Namely, the number of words spoken per episode plummeted.

Github user mrquart took the data and plotted it into a chart (the code for the chart is available here) and many fans shared the graphic on Twitter. Here's the graph:

Text, Slope, White, Colorfulness, Line, Plot, Font, Azure, Parallel, Circle,

The brooding silence in Season 8 wasn’t just in your head.

(Image credit: Twitter)

Some fans on Twitter had jokes:

See more
See more
See more
See more
See more
See more

While others defended the declining dialogue stats:

See more
See more

And then there were those who defended the lack of dialogue, but still planted themselves firmly on Team Game of Thrones Took a Nosedive:

See more

For more stories like this, including celebrity news, beauty and fashion advice, savvy political commentary, and fascinating features, sign up for the Marie Claire newsletter.

subscribe here

RELATED STORIES
Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.