Combined with its encore, Thrones was up to 3.3 million viewers for the night, with the show averaging 8.1 million viewers per episode across all platforms. After a somewhat middling premiere performance followed by a steady second episode, this is now the third week in a row Thrones ratings have gone up. And given the show’s storyline is picking up the pace for a dramatic second half of the season, these numbers could continue rising and turn Thrones into a bona fide hit. Intensely serialized shows like Thrones rarely climb like this, and when they do they tend to become titles that have healthy lifespans.