'House of the Dragon' Leaks Put Fans on High Alert for Spoilers

By Michael Hein

The House of the Dragon season finale leaked on Friday, sending the fandom into a social media uproar. The acclaimed fantasy show has been plagued with leaks before, and many fans are at odds about how to handle them when they come. With the finale of the show's premiere season out a full three days before it was supposed to air, the divisions grew wider than ever.

House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 10, "The Black Queen" leaked sometime around Thursday night of Friday morning via unknown sources. HBO specifically announced that screeners of this episode would not be sent to press for consideration, yet somehow a high-definition version of it made its way to piracy sites. An HBO spokesperson gave a statement on the leak to reporters from Deadline, saying: "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."

Of course, for many fans the temptation to view this leaked version was too strong to withstand – especially if they pay for a subscription to HBO and HBO Max, and plan on contributing to the ratings on Sunday night regardless. For others, the leak presented a moral quandary or a logistical one. Those planning to abstain from the leak would have to be diligent to avoid spoilers until Sunday night, or else stay off of social media altogether.

The House of the Dragon season finale premieres on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. The show has been renewed for a second season already, but it is not expected to air until at least 2024. Here's a spoiler-free look at how fans have responded to the leak so far.

Block Policies

Many fans announced their plans to block anyone who tweeted about the leaked episode, or at least anyone who tweeted about it without fair warning. Some argued that these kinds of spoiler warnings were a good enough reason to abstain from the leak altogether.

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Betrayal

Fans also remarked on how a leak impacted the established ritual of a show that airs week to week like this. Even those that don't watch the show together with loved ones in person felt that the communal experience online was worth more than the haste of a leak.

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Time to Process

One silver lining that fans identified in this leak is that it gave them more time to process the emotional moments of the season finale.

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Spoiler-Free

Some fans tried to share their feelings on the leaked episode without spoiling anything specific. This was dangerous territory, however, as some still took offense to these kinds of posts.

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Reserving Judgement

Many people announced they would be off of social media until after the episode aired to avoid not only spoilers, but conversations about the episode's quality in general.

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Oblivious

It was a big weekend for many people on social media, yet it would have been perfectly reasonable to be oblivious of it all. Fans imagined trying to explain their anxious energy to someone who paid no attention to these kinds of things.

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More Leaks

Commenters joked about what other shows they would like to see leaked, wondering how a momentous episode like this could slip out while other shows remain jealously guarded.

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Memes

Fans applied plenty of memes to their commentary on the leak and their commentary on the commentary on the leak.

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