Ahead of its official release, the much-awaited House of the Dragon Season 1 finale leaked online, prompting HBO to release an official statement explaining their regret and the source of the leak.
The Game of Thrones prequel is based on George R. R. Martin’s novel, Fire & Blood. It traces the events leading to the Targaryen civil war, popularly known as the Dance of Dragons. In the last week’s episode, The Green Council, led by Otto and Alicent Hightower, crowns Aegon II as King, usurping the Iron Throne from its true heir, Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Episode 9, aptly titled “The Green Council” follows the events of King’s Landing after the death of King Viserys. Throughout the episode, Rhaenyra remains away from King’s Landing and is unaware of her father’s death. Taking advantage of her absence, Alicent manages to crown her son Aegon as King based on her misunderstanding of Viserys’ last words.
Episode 10 has been officially titled “The Black Queen”, hinting that it will be the complete antithesis of the previous episode, which focused solely on the Greens. Episode 10 focuses on the point-of-view of Rhaenyra’s supporters, popularly known as the Blacks.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the much-anticipated House of the Dragon season finale has reportedly leaked online, leading to an official statement from HBO explaining the matter.
HBO confirmed that the leaked episode is indeed a valid one, explaining that it came from a distributing partner in the European, Middle Eastern, or African regions. Here’s what they stated in their official response.
It appears to have originated from a distribution partner in the EMEA region. 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.
While the leaked episode may have satiated some fans and spared them from a week-long wait, those waiting for the official release will have to remain cautious on the internet for the next two days.
One particular scene has been garnering a lot of attention. The scene features an expected death of a major character.
The scene features a fierce fight between Aemond Targaryen and Lucerys Velaryon. Both are seen on their dragons, Vhagar and Arrax, respectively. Earlier in the show, Luke accidentally blinded Aemond during a fight when they were children.
Since then, the two have never been on good terms. Aemond continues to tease Luke about his parentage, while Luke constantly tries to make fun of Aemond using a pig reference. The much-discussed leaked scene from the finale features the death of Lucerys Velaryon, as was already speculated by many.
However, in the leaked scene, it does not seem like Aemond is trying to kill Luke. It looks more like an accident and a result of Vhagar attacking Luke’s dragon, Arrax, who was much smaller in size compared to Vhagar.
The rest of the episode is out too, but I would recommend you to be patient and wait till Sunday to be able to enjoy it to the fullest! House of the Dragon Episode 10 will premiere on HBO Max this Sunday.
About House Of The Dragon
House of the Dragon is the prequel series to HBO’s blockbuster Game of Thrones based on George R. R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood.
Set three hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon will show Westeros under the Targaryen family’s rule before the dragons went extinct. It will follow the Dance of the Dragons, the Targaryen civil war between siblings Aegon II and Rhaenyra, who fought for the throne after the death of their father, Viserys I.
Directed by Ryan Condall and Miguel Sapochnik, the show stars Paddy Considine as Viserys I Targaryen, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Craney as Aegon II Targaryen, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower, Steve Toussaint as Corlys Velaryon, Eve Best as Rhaenys Velaryon, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Fabien Frankel as Criston Cole, and Graham McTavish.
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