HBO NOW Takes A Walk Of Shame When App Fails During ‘Game of Thrones’ Episode

On June 19, the night of what is arguably Game of Thrones’ most anticipated episode to date, the HBO NOW app that allows fans to watch the shows as soon as they air malfunctioned. Game of Thrones fans everywhere were left in distress as they tried to figure out why they couldn’t watch the epic Bastard Bowl that has been hyped up practically all season.

#hbonow not working for #gameofthrones pic.twitter.com/vTbQK56tzx

— Ms. Acevedo (@lexy_a13) June 20, 2016

At first many fans thought it might just be them. Maybe it was their Wi-Fi or just their account, but as it turned out, the popular app wasn’t working for anyone. People quickly began making up conspiracy theories, arguing that the app would probably start working again once the NBA Finals were over but the more likely reason is the app just crashed.

HBO NOW released a statement on Twitter acknowledging that there was a problem with the app and site but didn’t say when and how it’d be fixed.

Many people took this opportunity to call out HBO NOW, stating that it was unacceptable for them to take 43 minutes to recognize that there was a problem and that fans missed the entire Game of Thrones episode because it still hadn’t been fixed.

I choose violence. My champion, The Mountain, will collect my refund in person. #hbonow

— Robin "Defend Democracy & read books" Kirk (@RobinKirk) June 20, 2016

Thankfully the app was fixed and up and running again around 10 p.m. EST, at least for people on the East Coast, and fans were finally able to watch the episode they’ve been waiting all week for. Still, fans are upset that they missed watching it live and now have to watch it after the episode already aired.

Hopefully for HBO NOW, this won’t make fans feel averse to the app. Most fans got the app so they could watch their favorite shows as soon as they air without having to get a premium cable subscription. When the app fails, it defeats the point of having it because fans can no longer watch their shows live.

Despite people’s outrage, however, it’s unlikely this will greatly affect HBO NOW in the long run. The connivence of being able to watch their favorite shows and movies makes up for this one faux pas by HBO NOW. It was just very unfortunate that the crash happened on possibly the biggest night of television for Game of Thrones fans.

In the second to last episode of Season 6 of Game of Thrones, fans were excited to finally see the two bastards, Jon Snow and Ramsay Bolton, face-off for ownership of Winterfell. With trailers indicating that if Jon Snow dies again he won’t be resurrected a second time, fans tried not to worry that he’d die again.

Fans were also worried about the other Stark children involved in the battle, Sansa and Rickon. Sansa, who has been anxiously waiting to get her revenge on Ramsey for all he did to her, became a fan favorite this season. No one wants to see her go, but in the world of Game of Thrones, fans have learned the hard way to never get their hopes up. Fans believed it would be Rickon that was most likely to go if any Starks perished in the battle.

But what fans really wanted to see was Ramsay Bolton finally die. After the hell he put Sansa and Theon through, and all the people he killed, Ramsay has become possibly the greatest (and worst) villain on the show. However, when it comes to Game of Thrones, it’s often the most vile people that live the longest.

Now that HBO NOW is up and running once again, everyone can know once and for all who makes it out of Bastard Bowl alive.

[Photo by HBO]