With Game of Thrones' final season and the behind-the-scenes documentary "The Last Watch" now firmly a part of the past, let's survey all the seasons and figure out which one's worthy enough to sit on the Iron Throne. Or - er - in King Bran's wheelchair.

Game of Thrones: Ranking All Eight Seasons 9 IMAGES

8 Season 8

7 Season 7

6 Season 5

5 Season 6

4 Season 1

3 Season 2

2 Season 3

1 Season 4

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Back after Season 6, when the world learned that Game of Thrones would be ending with Season 8, no one could have anticipated how polarizing the show would become. So divisive, in fact, that an online petition to remake Season 8 , signed by a million people, grabbed headlines. But even though many felt the series lost its way during the final two seasons, there's no denying how great Game of Thrones was for the bulk of its run.Sift through the slideshow, or continue on to the list below, to see our rankings for Game of Thrones' sinister, and often spectacular, seasons.Though most of the episodes had longer runtimes than normal, the tactic couldn't make up for the shorted episode count (just six) and the overall damage that caused to the storytelling. Many fans felt like it was a race to the finish as the Night King, Queen Cersei, and Queen Daenerys were, despite hugely impressive battle sequences, dispatched too quickly. Cersei wasn't given enough scenes, Daenerys' turn into the Mad Queen felt rushed, and the Night King's evil assault on Westeros seemed, to some, like it should have been the final boss stage.Season 8 wasn't devoid of special moments though, like Jaime knighting Brienne, Arya slaying the Night King, and other moments of triumph, but none of them were followed up on properly and the finale's hefty epilogue left many viewers colder than the Land of Always Winter.Littlefinger's downfall, Lady Olenna's last words, Drogon incinerating legions of Lannister soldiers, and the truth behind Jon Snow's parentage were highlights in a season that started to feel, sadly, less like the Game of Thrones we knew (Bronn should not have survived "The Spoils of War", etc) and more like a conventional TV show that played by familiar rules. the series' best episode -- it dropped the ball in a notable manner with Dorne, and also on the Sansa Stark front by making us think she was on her way to reclaiming her own destiny and then instead victimizing her again, this time at the hands of Ramsay Bolton, for the sake of Theon Greyjoy's redemption. Still, there were plenty of great, gruesome moments outside of these unfortunate detours, including Stannis' cruel sacrifice of his daughter and Arya's revenge on Ser Meryn. Plus, Tyrion made his way all the way to Meereen to finally meet the Mother of Dragons.A bit underrated in the scheme of things, Season 2 took the foundation from the first year and expanded upon it in awesome ways. Tyrion had an excellent storyline that found him serving as the Hand of the King, while the introduction of Stannis' crew (including Melisandre's blood magic) drove us toward the epic episode "Blackwater." Daenerys' time in Qarth may have been her weakest arc to date, but Jon Snow's trek behind the wall, Arya's time with Tywin (and Jaqen H'ghar) in Harrenhal, and Theon's capturing of Winterfell all made for a stellar season of shocks and surprises.Yes, the Red Wedding was a gruesome, seminal moment in communal TV viewing history. It was the scene that show creators Dan Weiss and David Benioff wanted to put on screen more than any other Thrones moment from the books. And it did not disappoint. In fact, it re-taught the lesson that we'd so coldly learned in Season 1, but to an even harsher degree. The first classic hero didn't work out, so surely the son would avenge, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. The bad guys won again, and this time on an even bigger scale.Season 3 also gave us the spectacular Jaime and Brienne pairing, and the amazing redemptive arc for the Kingslayer, in which he transformed from one of the most hated guys on the show into a fan favorite. Also, Daenerys was using her dragons to torch slave owners overseas, making off with their armies. The only thing that dragged here was Ramsay's drawn out torture of Theon, which eventually grew tedious.Prince Oberyn Martell seemed to be just about everyone's favorite new character in a long time, which made his sudden, graphic death all the more shocking and horrific, coming in the midst of an enormously anticipated (and exciting) fight scene involving The Mountain. A fight that was trumped, just weeks later, by The Hound vs. Brienne. On top of that, Joffrey bit the dust, Littlefinger was revealed to be the mastermind behind some of the show's most crucial and horrid acts, and Sansa finally escaped King's Landing.What's your favorite season of Game of Thrones? Let's discuss in the comments!

Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler