It’s been a long, dark road to the end of Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones: the final season
As HBO airs season 8 of its hit show based on George R.R. Martin’s novels, we’ll be following every development
The book series that author George R.R. Martin calls A Song of Ice and Fire launched in 1992, and HBO’s screen adaptation, which began in 2011, has since become an international phenomenon. For seven seasons now, the story of the divided, war-torn country Westeros and the people vying to rule it has brought people together for viewing parties, character analysis, and passionate debate about everything from Jon Snow’s parentage to who will eventually claim control of the Iron Throne.
Who will survive the final battles for Westeros?
Season 8, the final arc of the story, begins on April 14th, 2019. What was once a sprawling, complicated story with dozens of separate threads has boiled down to a few major conflicts. In the North, the surviving Stark children, Arya, Sansa, and Bran, are taking control of their own destinies for the first time since their father and mother were murdered. Daenerys Targaryen and her allies are moving to counter the Night King and his undead army sweeping down from beyond the Wall that’s contained them for generations. In the south, Cersei Lannister has seized the Iron Throne and intends to keep it.
So stay with us as season 8 unfolds, the war rages, and we find out who will survive the final battles for Westeros, and whether anything will be left to rule by the time it’s done. We’ll have weekly recaps of what matters in each episode, we’ll unpack the show’s history and lore, and we’ll help viewers understand what they just saw on-screen. Plus, play along with our weekly fantasy sports league, Game of Game of Thrones, as every Monday, we rack up the points to see who’s winning the game of thrones.
Season 8, episode 6
- Game of Game of Thrones: season 8, episode 6, The Iron Throne
- The high and low points of Game of Thrones’ final episode
- Who were the people at Game of Thrones’ pivotal finale meeting?
- Game of Thrones’ series finale left some plastic water bottles on-screen
- The Game of Thrones finale was the most watched HBO show of all time
Season 8, episode 5
- Game of Game of Thrones: season 8, episode 5, The Bells
- Game of Thrones’ showrunners say Daenerys’ big decision was completely spontaneous
- A brief history of Cleganebowl, Game of Thrones’ best fan theory
- Game of Thrones’ final showdown comes down to what it means to be a good ruler
- Game of Thrones’ writers love their clumsy-fool characters and big, dumb gestures
- Most of Game of Thrones’ problems could be solved with therapy
Season 8, episode 4
- Game of Game of Thrones: season 8, episode 4, The Last of the Starks
- Game of Thrones’ latest episode left several important things offscreen
- Game of Thrones’ showrunners think Sansa is a master manipulator
- Lore of Thrones: the history behind Tyrion’s ‘five kings and queens’ dig at Varys
- Is that a Starbucks cup in Game of Thrones?
- HBO confirms that Game of Thrones’ Starbucks coffee cameo was a mistake
- HBO quietly removed the coffee cup from Game of Thrones
- Romance is dead on Game of Thrones
- Game of Thrones could be doing so much more with its big dragon metaphor
- For better or worse, the Iron Throne is Game of Thrones’ endgame
- Game of Thrones Hope Chest: underserved and absent characters
Season 8, episode 3
- Game of Game of Thrones: season 8, episode 3, The Long Night
- Game of Thrones has spent three years foreshadowing The Long Night’s ending
- Daenerys vs. Cersei: who has the resources to win the final game of thrones?
- 5 pieces of Game of Thrones history that paid off at the Battle of Winterfell
- No, the Night King is not a Targaryen
- Game of Thrones cinematographer: it’s not me, it’s your TV settings
- Game of Thrones could have taken a page from how Avengers: Endgame handles death
- Thanos and the Night King were fighting the exact same battle
- Westeros deserves a much better hero than Jon Snow
- What’s behind all the weird online thirst for the Night King?
- Game of Thrones Hope Chest: which character do you most need to see survive?
Season 8, episode 2
- Game of Game of Thrones: season 8, episode 2, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
- Here’s why Sansa and Theon’s reunion was so emotional
- Tormund Giantsbane’s ridiculous origin story is different in the Game of Thrones books
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms hints at Brienne’s fitting legacy
- There’s a major flaw in Winterfell’s battle strategy on Game of Thrones
- The fear of Daenerys Targaryen is setting up Game of Thrones’ final battle
- Why Arya Stark and Beric Dondarrion are frenemies on Game of Thrones
- Game of Thrones Hope Chest: long odds and unlikely endings
Season 8, episode 1
- Game of Game of Thrones: season 8, episode 1, Winterfell
- Game of Thrones’ new opening credits sequence holds a lot of clues for this season
- Diving into Jon Snow’s history lesson from this week’s Game of Thrones
- In Game of Thrones, Jon Snow has to decide whether Daenerys is a worthy queen
- What Arya’s new weapon could mean for Game of Thrones
- The Night King’s eerie sigils on Game of Thrones could have a basis in math
- Game of Thrones’ season 8 premiere was pirated almost 55 million times in the first 24 hours
- Game of Thrones’ season 8 premiere recalls key moments from the season 1 pilot
- George Lucas helped direct Game of Thrones’ season 8 premiere
- Under Chinese censorship, Game of Thrones becomes a mundane ‘medieval documentary’
Catching up
- Game of Game of Thrones season 8 preview: meet the Verge teams
- Game of Thrones is no longer a game of thrones
- Game of Thrones: where to watch season 8 and how much it’ll cost
- How to get caught up on Game of Thrones — fast
- Game of Thrones fan video imagines a beautiful Arya and the Hound buddy comedy
- People are live-streaming new Game of Thrones episodes on Twitch every week
- Why we’re hoping for a big body count in Game of Thrones and Avengers: Endgame
- An algorithm has predicted who’s most likely to die in Game of Thrones’ final season
- We’re kicking off season 8’s Game of Game of Thrones fantasy sports league
- Game of Thrones’ final season trailer prepares us for the biggest fight yet
- Game of Thrones Hope Chest: weirdest fan theories