HBO Confirms ‘House of the Dragon’ Finale Leak Cause

UPDATE (7/31/2024 at 3:00 p.m. ET): HBO has confirmed the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale leak and has revealed the cause. A network representative said in a statement to TV Insider that the leak was the result of an “unintentional release from an international third-party distributor.” This is similar to what caused the House of the Dragon Season 1 finale leak in 2022.

HBO’s statement reads: “We are aware that clips from the House of the Dragon season finale have surfaced across social media platforms. The clips were posted after an unintentional release from an international third-party distributor. HBO is aggressively monitoring and removing clips from the internet, and fans can watch the episode in its entirety this Sunday night on HBO and Max.”

PREVIOUSLY (7/31/2024 at 11:32 a.m. ET): The House of the Dragon finale has been leaked for the second season in a row.

More than one dozen videos were posted to TikTok on July 30 reportedly featuring scenes from the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale, set to premiere on HBO on Sunday, August 4. At least 30 minutes of footage were shared, with the videos reportedly consisting of someone filming a screen with a secondary device. The TikTok account has since been banned, but the videos racked up over 100,000 thousand views beforehand, according to ComicBook.com. The videos were reposted by other accounts, as well as on Twitter/X and Reddit. Spoilers detailing the content of the videos are also being shared on those social media platforms.

TV Insider reached out to HBO for comment about the leak and if the network knows how it happened but did not hear back by the time of publication.

The House of the Dragon Season 1 finale was also leaked online days before its premiere in 2022. That time, the episode was posted on illegal torrent sites that HBO said “originated from a distribution partner in the EMEA [Europe, the Middle East and Africa] region.”

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“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,” HBO said in a statement at the time. Game of Thrones also suffered several leaks throughout its eight-season run, especially in the final season.

House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and depicts the civil war between two sides of the Targaryen family triggered by the usurping of the Iron Throne in the hours following King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) death. Last week’s penultimate episode of Season 2 saw Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) experience a turn of the tides of the conflict as she successfully found dragonriders for dragons Vermithor and Silverwing. Now, Rhaenyra has seven dragons ready for battle with their riders.

The trailer for the Season 2 finale shows conflict brewing as Rhaenyra’s forces on land, sea, and in the air prepare to take on the greens of King’s Landing, led by Prince Regent Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his monstrous dragon, Vhagar.

House of the Dragon, Season 2 Finale, Sunday, August 4, 9/8c, HBO, Streaming on Max