THE seventh season of “Game of Thrones” has come to a dramatic conclusion. A zombie dragon, an illicit romance and satisfying revenge helped drive the season finale to a viewership high. A total of 12.1 million viewers watched Sunday’s seventh season finale, titled “The Dragon and the Wolf,” up 36 percent from the 8.9 million viewers who watched the season six finale. The seventh season of Emmy-winning “Game of Thrones” drew an overall 30.8 million viewers, up nearly 8 million viewers from last season and cementing it as the most-watched show on Time Warner Inc.’s premium cable network HBO. The record ratings came after hackers stole data and content from HBO and leaked it online, including scripts and unaired episodes of “Game of Thrones.” The seventh season saw the show’s lead characters head towards a great battle over the Iron Throne reigning over the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, while a zombie army of White Walkers, led by the undead Night King, march south and threaten mankind’s destruction. Characters Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen finally came together to join forces against the White Walkers, the remaining Stark children reunite at their home in Winterfell and enact a satisfying revenge against master manipulator Petyr Baelish. The Lannister siblings also reunite in King’s Landing in a tense meeting that puts their family ties to the test. Medieval fantasy “Game of Thrones,” based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” books, has won numerous Emmy awards including best drama series last year. It is not eligible for this year’s Emmy awards due to its summer premiere after production was pushed back to capture more winter landscapes for the storyline, but it will be back on the roster for next year’s Emmy awards. Fans are torn between being stunned by the major plot developments and heartbroken that the episode could be the last one on our screens until 2019. What have critics said? The Hollywood Reporter’s Daniel Fienberg said “The Dragon and the Wolf” episode had “action, twists and just a little incest.” Which all sounds pretty standard for “Game of Thrones.” Ed Power, writing in the Daily Telegraph, was a fan of the “solid 80 minutes of betrayal, nudity and skulduggery in dimly lit rooms.” “It was good to welcome the old, happy-stabby ‘Game of Thrones’ back with a vengeful gleam in its eyes,” he mused, describing it as a “dark and slow-burning instalment.” But he noted that the revelation about Jon Snow’s parentage was “presented as an interesting nugget rather than continent-quaking pivot.” Sean T. Collins, of Rolling Stone, said there were “moments of happiness and horror straight out of the biggest ‘GoT’ nerd’s dreams,” and that it was quite right that “the lion’s share of screentime” went to Cersei Lannister. He said the storyline had been “hurtling to a point of no return,” adding: “The lies, betrayals, power plays, and murders we’ve witnessed for seven years, they are all a distraction. We’re all in this together, and we’d better realize it ASAP.” (SD-Agencies) | 