This post contains big-time spoilers from next week’s Game of Thrones finale. Kindly leave if you want to protect yourself.
For the past two seasons, Game of Thrones has started on April 1 and March 31, respectively.
This year it premiered just one week later, on April 6. That could be for any number of reasons. But True Detective, HBO’s big winter Sunday drama, ended on March 9, so it’s not as if there was a clear schedule conflict.
Could there be something a little more fun behind the decision? Could it be that HBO and the Game of Thrones powers that be wanted the events of next Sunday’s finale to air on June 15, a.k.a. Father’s Day? What better day to watch Tyrion Lannister murder his dear old dad?
It may seem like a long way to go to pull off such a prank, but it wouldn’t be the first time Game of Thrones and HBO have paid attention to air dates. Or are you telling me it’s a coincidence that the promos for Season 3 looked like this?
Coincidence or not, the holiday is going to make Sunday’s finale that much more fun. The episode is titled “The Children” and another Westerosi parent is slated to make her return, so the theme of family should be a pretty strong one. To be clear, we don’t know for certain Tywin is going out next Sunday; this season has certainly deviated plenty from the books.
But it would be pretty astonishing for them to save this big moment until next year. So if we do have to say goodbye to Tywin Lannister, one of the greatest characters on Game of Thrones, at least we can take comfort in knowing that he’ll be exiting on an appropriate day.
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