Helen Sloan/HBO
What do you do once winter is stabbed in the chest and done? If you’re the last episode of Game of Thrones, you burn the dead, get sloppy drunk and do the sex. I’ll keep this spoiler-free in case you were having your own version of a Winterfell whoopie party last Sunday night and missed the Starbucks-sponsored episode.
If you’re late to the Thrones party, there’s still time to catch up on all the action in Westeros. And now that episode 4 is done and dusted, you can check out the trailer for episode 5. (And also, while we’ve got you, here’s how to take spoiler precautions on social media.)
In either case, you’ll need a way to watch HBO. Thankfully there are plenty of easy ways to subscribe, even if you don’t have cable, starting with HBO Now and HBO Go. Note that CNET may get a share of revenue from the sale of the services featured on this page.
Online HBO options compared
*$25 monthly = 1/12 of annual $120 Amazon Prime fee plus $15 per month for HBO
From Chowhound: Raise these Game of Thrones goblets for toasting the final season
Watch this:
How Game of Thrones language High Valyrian comes to life
8:25
Game of Thrones season 8 schedule
This last season is composed of six supersize episodes. The premiere has the shortest runtime of the season at 54 minutes. Episode 2 is 58 minutes, and the final four are each roughly 80 minutes. It will all be over — sniff — by mid-May.
Plan to clear out your Sunday evenings at 9 p.m. (8 p.m. Central) in the US for a couple more weeks. Here’s the schedule:
(Episode lengths via EW.)
Watch this:
Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 4: The good, the bad…
7:17
HBO’s main two streaming options
HBO Go
If you’re already a subscriber to HBO as part of a cable or satellite TV package, you get HBO Go for free. It lets you stream Game of Thrones along with the rest of HBO’s shows on supported phones, tablets, connected TVs and gaming consoles. Not only can you watch all seven past seasons of GoT with HBO Go, but you can livestream the new episodes as they air on HBO.
See at HBO Go
HBO Now
As opposed to the free streaming add-on mentioned above, HBO Now is a standalone subscription to HBO — no cable or satellite TV subscription required.
It costs $15 a month and lets you watch HBO via the HBO Now app or in a browser at HBONow.com. The HBO Now app is available on a number of devices, including mobile devices, smart TVs, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. As with HBO Go, you can steam the new episodes live on Sunday nights, the same time that they air on HBO.
See at HBO Now
Add HBO to a streaming service
You can add HBO to four of the TV streaming services below for an additional monthly charge. If you’re a GoT fan and also a subscriber to Sling TV or YouTube TV, then I’m sorry to report that you’re out of luck: neither service offers HBO. Here are four that do.
Amazon Prime Video
Prime members can add HBO for $15 a month. A Prime membership costs $119 a year.
See at Amazon Prime Video
Game of Thrones in the UK, Australia and elsewhere
Game of Thrones, according to HBO, airs in all but four countries around the world — but not necessarily on HBO itself. In the UK, for example, HBO shows are on Sky Atlantic and Sky’s online services Sky Go and Now TV. In Australia, Game of Thrones airs on TV and online on Foxtel. In both countries the show airs at the same time as in the US (i.e., early Monday), and is repeated on Monday night.
And for the record, HBO restricts the use of VPNs used to stream any of the above services from outside the US.
From Chowhound: How to make the food you see in Game of Thrones
Originally published March 5 and regularly updated as episodes air.