Videos were captured by someone filming the screen with a secondary device, with House of the Dragon seeing a similar leak back in 2022 when the finale episode was illegally made available just days before the season one finale aired. The leak was thought to have originated by a distribution partner in Europe, the Middle East or Africa at the time, with a company spokesperson saying:
“It appears to have originated from a distribution partner in the EMEA region. HBO is aggressively monitoring and pulling these copies from the internet. We’re disappointed that this unlawful action has disrupted the viewing experience for loyal fans of the show, who will get to see a pristine version of the episode when it premieres Sunday on HBO and HBO Max, where it will stream exclusively in 4K.”
Likewise, HBO’s Game of Thrones series saw multiple leaks, with several episodes making their way online before they were officially released.
Following the penultimate episode, HBO released a season 2 finale teaser in which we see war breaking out between the Greens and the Blacks and them taking to the sea, though we’ll have to wait until August 4 to see it play out in all its glory.