Game of Thrones fans UAE-wide have been playing a game of dodge-the-spoilers on the web to avoid hearing how the latest season of the cult show ends.
On Sunday night (June 14) viewers in the US got to see how season five closes when the final episode was premiered on HBO. While the show screened at the same time in the UAE, it happened to be at the inconvenient hour of 5am. The finale many people are aiming to watch is not until tonight (Monday June 15) at 11pm on OSN, creating a big problem for fanatics stuck at their desks.
Why? Because the world wide web is alive with the subject.
Bloggers, tweeters and really quite legitimate news sources alike have been united in talking/writing/analysing about the same 61 minutes of television, forcing UAE residents to suddenly shut browser windows – or sometimes slam shut MacBooks altogether – to avoiding discovering the truth.
As Kerry McDermott, deputy editor of Emirates Women magazine, tweeted: “Scared to use the interweb due to #GoT spoilers. Typing this with one and a half eyes closed...”
Even those planning to download Mother’s Mercy illegally (tut, tut) have been forced to endure the ordeal. Because the episode screened in the early hours of the morning, UAE time, anyone with a job is being forced to wait until home-time to alleviate their curiosity.
Others found humour in the situation. British-Lebanese author, publisher and prolific tweeter Nasri Atallah posted: “Spoiler Alert: We’re all going to die and everything is meaningless. #GOT”.
If you’re one of thousands reading this on your laptop – through just a nervous half an eye – we won’t ruin the surprise for you.
But if you're looking for an enabler, you needn't look far – even The New York Times devoted a considerable word-count to recounting the episode's happenings. Sshhhh.
rgarratt@thenational.ae
