Traveling Game of Thrones Fans Struggle to Watch Episodes

With three episodes left on Game of Thrones, forever, fans traveling abroad or intending to travel across international lines during the remaining episodes are turning to the internet to ask for help. In an age where spoilers are posted in real-time across social media, viewers can often feel like a captive audience if they log on. As GoT remains one of the last watercooler shows, the kind where officemates gather to giddily discuss the previous night’s episode, even open spaces can be hazardous to the viewer who may not be able to watch it during the initial airing.

Another posed problem are the international governances which bar travelers from logging on to their HBO accounts when in a different country. While social media can take away from the viewing experience, it can also give back. Enter the Facebook community groups for travelers. On one such travel group with more than 700,000 members, travelers take to the group to ask how to circumvent the international obstacle.

Some of the responses suggest using a VPN, however, users should be aware that this is illegal and a breach of the terms and conditions of the service they are trying to access, a Tech.co article explains. Instead, there are several other options fans can consider that don’t push legal boundaries.

If traveling abroad and in a large city, fans should take to the locals and local guides to find bars hosting viewing parties. Bars such as Precious Metal in Brooklyn, NY, offer just this kind of viewing, projecting the show on a large screen with several additional smaller screens dispersed around the bar. “I’m extremely picky about watching in bars, and thought the sound was great,” Megan, a Brooklyn resident who has attended some of these screenings said. She added that if the big screen doesn’t do the trick for you, the bar had additional televisions throughout the bar with the show as well. Travelers may be able to find a bar or similar establishment hosting a screening.

Still, other commenters to the traveler’s Facebook posts in the community brought up another possible idea- signing up for HBO in the country that they are traveling, with the caveat of canceling or discontinuing the account once they have left. There is a guide on HBO’s website for the plans in and outside the United States: https://help.hbogo.com/hc/en-us/articles/204177988-Getting-HBO-GO-outside-the-United-States?fbclid=IwAR3Rwpex1t2APTJ3_Ont_WYVoO_uU63J2RRV2YPc-B2cNkPN02fcHH08mSU.

Another idea, for fans traveling abroad suggests calling up your hotel or AirBnB ahead of time and seeing if the room or rental has HBO access. If the channel isn’t available for free, spending a few bucks for a rental fee wouldn’t be the worst thing to come out of your trip. At the end of the day, it comes down to what the viewer is willing to do to watch the episode.

Representatives from HBO also provided two ideas for the reluctant traveler. One idea is to befriend a local who has an HBO subscription, or, as aforementioned, find a local bar with a screening. Secondly, the representative just says that the traveler may have to wait until they return home. No word on just how to avoid spoilers in the meantime, but, it’s safe to say poking around on social media is a cautionary tale.

The final episode of Game of Thrones airs on May 19. The season 8 premiere was watched by 17.4 million viewers, 11.8 million of those watched during the 8pm E.T. airing.