After eight seasons, 72 episodes, 47 Emmy Awards, and thousands of hours of nail-biting tension, Game of Thrones is finally coming to an end. HBO’s flagship series premiered on April 17th, 2011, and close to a decade after taking the world by storm, the adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy drama novels has run its course.
For better or worse, the show’s eighth season – which kicked off last month – has drawn a mix of praise and criticism. While a few battles and extended scenes of fiery destruction were certainly a marvel to look at, longtime viewers have complained about character motives, lazy writing, and rushed pacing, with a petition to remake the final season hitting over 1 million signatures and counting.
With the fever pitch at an all-time high, some fans are speculating that the rush of social media reactions and posts will completely break the internet. Considering so many Game of Thrones devotees have taken issue with the past few episodes, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that reactions to the finale will be mixed, and, of course, passionate fanbases are known to post their thoughts and opinions on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/Renton127/status/1130115165305753600
https://twitter.com/PandoraNPC/status/1130130759099011072
Can’t wait to watch the internet burndown after tonight’s episode of #Gameofthrones #GoT pic.twitter.com/FQSEUopBHY
— Duffee (@DuffeeLUL) May 19, 2019
Patiently waiting for twitter to crash tonight after the ending of #GameOfThrones #GOTFinale
— Roger (@Psolyx) May 19, 2019
https://twitter.com/Nesta2035/status/1129876775809552385
https://twitter.com/tcalaquilac/status/1130150856689459200
https://twitter.com/ChalenChambers/status/1130152196950188033
#gameofthronesfinale
”are you sad that game of thrones is ending tonight?”me: pic.twitter.com/fqBggUUFAK
— norrasthlm 🇵🇸 (@norrasthlm) May 19, 2019
While some longtime viewers might be concerned with their favorite social media platforms breaking after tonight’s finale, there’s an even bigger concern. In the past, HBO’s streaming apps have crashed and suffered outages due to an influx of viewers. It’s been an issue during previous Game of Thrones finales and premieres, so if you’re planning on watching tonight, you may want to have a backup plan in mind, just in case your stream cuts out. Of course, you can always watch on cable, assuming you haven’t cut the cord yet.
