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Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the episode had an approval rating of 48% based on 120 reviews, and an average rating of 6.4 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads: "If nothing else, 'The Iron Throne' is a bittersweet – if unfortunately bland – series finale that ensures Game of Thrones fans will linger on the fate of their favorite characters for some time. Will they ever be satisfied by the show's conclusions? Ask us again in 10 years."

Reviews of the episode proved divisive. Laura Prudom of IGN wrote that the "bittersweet" but "hopeful" finale was "not a disaster", but also "not quite the dream of spring we might've hoped for", "struggling to resolve many of the show's lingering plot threads in a satisfying and coherent conclusion (and ignoring others completely), and once again falling victim to the season's needlessly truncated episode order." James Poniewozik of The New York Times wrote that "as a finale, “The Iron Throne” was limited by the story arc that led up to it. But it also recalled the epic and intimate moments that made “Game of Thrones” a genuinely exciting, absorbing appointment." Hank Stuever of The Washington Post wrote that in this episode, the series "sailed (and trotted) off to a noble and perhaps anticlimactic end." "It was everything nobody wanted", but was "adequately just, narratively symmetrical and sufficiently poignant", with "swelling imagery".

Critics took issue with the episode's pacing and final revelations. Spencer Kornhaber of The Atlantic wrote that the finale was "tonally odd, logically strained, and emotionally thin" and a "drama turned into a sitcom". Lenika Cruz, also writing for The Atlantic, wrote that the episode had "pacing issues, rushed character development, tonal dissonance, the lack of attention to detail, unexplained reversals, and weak dialogue". Kelly Lawler of USA Today wrote that for a series about "tragedy and injustice", its show became "unrecognizable" because its finale was instead "hacky", "cliched" and "pandering"; the show "didn't gracefully swerve into another lane, it careened off a cliff." Inkoo Kang of Slate wrote that "We know governance is complicated, and the show’s depiction of those complications is one of the reasons why it initially felt so refreshingly relatable - but the finale’s argument that an abdication of responsibility is the best we can hope for in a leader - feels lazy and false." Soumya Srivastava of The Hindustan Times wrote that the episode was the second worst of the series (in front of the prior episode "The Bells"), featuring time-wasting moments even in the midst of "the hurry to get to the finish line", and illogical storylines such as Daenerys failing to realize Jon was a threat, and Jon's parentage amounting to nothing of importance.

On a positive note, TV Guide's consensus concluded that the Game of Thrones finale "finished strong," ranking it #33 on the list of all 73 episodes. Richard Roeper, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote that "over all, the finale was a solid and largely satisfying wrap-up to one of the most exciting and enthralling TV series ever," and was "melancholy, bittersweet, twist-filled and at times surprisingly humorous." Lucy Mangan of The Guardian gave a 4/5 rating, stating that "the finale just about delivered. It was true to the series' overall subject – war, and the pity of war – and, after doing a lot of wrong to several protagonists last week, did right by those left standing." Hugh Montgomery of BBC rated the episode 4/5, writing that the finale largely satisfies "on the terms the creators have [previously] set out" in the "ruinous" penultimate episode. Bran becoming king was "true to the show’s sense of realpolitik" as a "contingently happy ending", whereas the show "provides an efficient, if disappointingly uncontroversial, ending" for Jon, Arya and Sansa. Karl Quinn of The Age wrote that the show "may have resolved itself" too quickly in dramatic terms, but Bran's ascension "made perfect sense" thematically" according to the show's "anti-war and anti-despot themes". Quinn stated "After all the bloodshed, butchery and burning, Game of Thrones ended not with a bang but with a ballot."