This Sunday, House of the Dragon will air the 10th and final episode of its first season, officially jumpstarting the Targaryen civil war that viewers have been looking forward to seeing. But it appears that one of HBO’s distribution partners might have been a little too eager for the Dance of the Dragons to begin. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the House of the Dragon finale has leaked online ahead of its October 23 premiere date.
A spokesperson for HBO confirmed the leak, which originated somewhere in Europe, the Middle East, or Africa. Right now, the network is “actively monitoring” the development by scrubbing copies of the episode that have already shown up illegally on torrent websites. Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean the occasional spoiler won’t surface on social media between now and Sunday.
“It appears to have originated from a distribution partner in the EMEA region,” said the spokesperson in a new statement. “HBO is aggressively monitoring and pulling these copies from the internet. […] We’re disappointed that this unlawful action has disrupted the viewing experience for loyal fans of the show, who will get to see a pristine version of the episode when it premieres Sunday on HBO and HBO Max, where it will stream exclusively in 4K.”
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This isn’t the first time that the Game of Thrones franchise has faced a situation like this. In 2017, two episodes of the flagship series’ seventh season made their way online ahead of their scheduled air dates. HBO similarly blamed their international affiliates for both of those incidents as well.
The season finale of House of the Dragon will air this Sunday, October 23 at 9pm EST and PST on HBO and HBO Max.
Are you surprised to hear that the final episode of the season leaked? Let us know in the comment section below!
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