Pirate sites claim to have House of the Dragon episode 9... don't be fooled!

The season 2 finale of House of the Dragon perfectly set up an epic next installment, so everyone was left a little frustrated when they realized it was actually the end of the season. We've now got to wait a couple of years for season 3 to air, which will undoubtedly begin with the battle we're all desperate to see. Now, some pirate sites are taking advantage of fans' impatience, claiming to have the 'bonus' episode 9...which is actually malware.

If you don't want to put yourself in a position where you might fall for this scam, the solution is simple: don't use pirate sites. But the reality remains that both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are two of the most-pirated TV shows of all time. In fact, Game of Thrones held the 'most-pirated' record for several years running. When House of the Dragon premiered in 2022, it claimed a huge 17% share of the streams and downloads of the 10 biggest most-pirated TV series.

The idea of pirate sites creating a fake episode and offering it to fans sounds (and is) silly, but given the droves of people who use these sites, there's bound to be a few who fall for it. HBO has already responded to the case. Per TorrentFreak, HBO has asked Google to take down an “infringing” link to the fake ninth episode.

It's rare that we see a case like this, where pirates completely fake a new episode and upload a link that is purely intended to spread visruses. And people are indeed falling for it. The TorrentFreak report suggests that the non-existent episode has been downloaded "hundreds, or even thousands of times." Yikes.

The season finale of House of the Dragon set people up for this; I think everyone was a little confused by how it ended. The pirates have clearly taken advantage of its lack of resolution.

It goes without saying: don't use pirate sites, folks. Support the original creators of these shows; your one viewing may not seem like much, but it all adds up. House of the Dragon season 2 is streaming on Max. And no, you're not missing out on a mysterious 'bonus' episode.

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