Watch the throne

It’s a familiar tune that plays before every episode. “Dun dun… dudu… dun… dun.” You are taken through the highs and lows of a mythical place called Westeros. The map is drawn, the legends animated, but nowhere near as animated as the actual legends themselves — stories of greed, avarice, lust and power struggle among the many houses clamoring for control of the Iron Throne. It’s the seven deadly sins of TV real estate, actualized by none other than network giant HBO. With series like Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire, HBO has since given movies a run for their money — fabulously ironic. Too long for my ADHD-ridden self, IMHO. But no need for summaries or introductions to George R.R. Martin’s story here. There is a prestige (or stigma) that predates mere mention of the names Lannister, Stark, or even Khaleesi. Welcome to the radioactive (or TV-active) new age, baby. Game of Thrones is officially back in business.

The show’s fourth season premiered a couple of weeks ago, by way of HBO GO, the broadband streaming service of HBO Asia, which may be ordered exclusively through SKYcable. The service allows users to enjoy almost 1,200 hours of uncut content on multiple devices (a factor to cheer for with something like Game of Thrones, considering all its bloody gore, nudity and sex). You can even enjoy episodes within 12 hours of the US premiere and even before its aired on HBO.

Following the jaw-dropping events of last season’s penultimate Red Wedding episode, we catch up with the Lannisters who currently hold the throne (not to be confused with Kanye and Jay-Z), Stannis Barratheon who rebuilds his army in Dragon Stone, Oberyn Martell who arrives at King’s Landing for the wedding of l’il bitch king Joffrey Barratheon, Daenerys and her ever-growing army of slaves made more potent by her cunning and her three dragons, and alas, what remains of the House of Stark (falling by the wayside faster than Britney’s career as a judge).

“HBO GO is a versatile service enabling subscribers to maximize their HBO experience,” shares HBO Asia CEO Jonathan Spink. Whether at home or on the move, subscribers can enjoy the service, allowing them to be updated with the developments in the story that gets more and more exciting (and f***ked up) by the episode. Especially at the rate fans take to social media for blow-by-blow commentary or even YouTube to record their reactions to episodes like the Red Wedding, or the now infamous Purple Wedding, the service comes in handy so that absolutely nobody can spoil your GOT experience for you, whether or not you’ve read the books. As to what jaw-dropping moments the creators have in store for us this season, we’ll have to wait and see. In the meantime, we’re rooting for you, l’il Arya Stark.

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Log on to www.hboasia.com for more information.