Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 "The Red Dragon and The Gold".
Ever since Game of Thrones hit HBO back in 2011, it's been a wildly popular franchise that is quintessential water cooler talk. While the GOT finale was controversial, fans returned to Westeros with the prequel House of the Dragon, which is streaming with a Max subscription. Season 2 of the series is so fun, but my social media algorithm Is officially spoiler capital of Westeros.
House of the Dragon Season 2 has been a wild ride so far, with fans trying to keep track of who has which dragon as war begins. I've been loving Season 2, and it's been a thrilling expansion after all the set up of the first season. But there's only one reason: my social media accounts like Twitter feel determined to spoil the series for me.
I never read George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, so the events of HOTD are a total mystery. But the algorithm in my Twitter for you and Instagram explore have picked up that I'm a super fan. Ahead of Episode 4 "The Red Dragon and The Gold", I saw tweets and posts about The Battle at Rook's Rest, where it was made clear that my favorite character Rhaenys Targaryen and her dragon Meleys were doomed.
In the Game of Thrones universe no one is safe, and it was clear that Episode 4 of House of the Dragon Season 2 was going to be a bloody one. Rhaenys' death scene was gorgeous and emotional, but it would have packed an even bigger punch for me if my socials were filled with folks speculating whether or not she'd perish as she did in the book. And at this point I think I'm going to have to either avoid social media altogether on Sundays before new episodes air, or start disliking posts about HOTD in order to try and dodge spoilers.
I didn't read the books that corresponded with Game of Thrones until after I'd passed their events, which helped each twist and turn of the HBO series hit me like a ton of bricks. The deaths of House of the Dragon have been brutal so far, as we've seen two dragons, Lucerys, and the already infamous murder of baby Maelor. So far Rhaenys' death was the only one spoiled, but clearly I am going to have to rethink the way I use social media moving forward.
The toughest part is that I don't go out searching for House of the Dragon at all. And I really don't blame GOT super fans who read the books and want to discuss what might go down on the HBO series. We'll just have to see what happens in the final four episodes of Season 2.
House of the Dragon airs new episodes Sundays on HBO. Check the TV premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
