'House of the Dragon' S2 finale leaks online, HBO says 'aggressively removing clips' from internet

Los Angeles:The season two finale of "House of the Dragon" found its way on the internet, just five days ahead of its premiere, following broadcaster HBO saying it is aggressively monitoring and removing clips online so that fans can watch the episode in its entirety on Sunday.

According to Variety, HBO said an international third-party distributor shared the clips from the fantasy drama "unintentionally".

"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 (streamer) Max," the network said in a statement.

Several scenes from the second season leaked onto TikTok on Tuesday night. One TikTok account posted 14 videos and roughly 30 minutes of footage from the unaired finale.

The videos had garnered approximately 50,000 to 100,000 views at the time Variety published its report. Roughly three hours after the clips were posted, the TikTok account was banned, but videos had already made their way to other social media platforms like X and Reddit by then.

HBO had tried nipping piracy in the bud by not sending screeners of "House of the Dragon" season two finale to journalists, but to no avail.

Previously, the show's season one finale was also leaked online two days before its air date in October 2022. "Game of Thrones", the parent series of "House of the Dragon", suffered several such leaks in its 8-season run from 2011 to 2019.