To date, the longest episode of Game of Thrones is last season’s big bang finale, “The Winds of Winter,” at 68 minutes. That record will be broken twice in season seven. We already knew the premiere will clock in at 59 minutes (that’s the longest season-opening episode since the pilot), but Watchers on the Wall has the reported running lengths for the other six episodes, including a super-sized finale. At least four of those better be spent on Gendry.
Episode 1: 59 minutes
Episode 2: 59 minutes
Episode 3: 63 minutes
Episode 4: 50 minutes
Episode 5: 59 minutes
Episode 6: 71 minutes
Episode 7: 81 minutes
The seven episodes total 7 hours and 20 minutes, or “significantly less than the average 9 hours and 15 minutes season… Historically, the average episode ranges very little from season to season (from a low of 54:25 in season two to a high of 56:08 in season one), so it’s fair to claim this season leaps ahead with its 63 minutes average.” That’s a long way of saying: fewer episodes, more minutes per episode. And that’s a short way of saying: showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss now have the time to stage the Bronn/Tormund vs. Brienne/Queen of Thorns tag-team wrestling match they’ve been hinting at for years.
Can’t wait.
(Via Watchers on the Wall)
