‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1 Finale: Watch the ‘Game of Thrones’ Prequel for Free

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House of the Dragon is a hit! The season finale on Sunday (Oct. 23) raked in an estimated 9.3 million viewers, giving HBO its largest season finale numbers since the Game of Thrones series finale, Variety reports.

The House of the Dragon debut episode drew nearly 10 million viewers across HBO and HBO Max, more than 16 million watched episode three and the series averaged 29 million viewers per episode in the first five episodes, according to Variety. 

The 10-episode series, which premiered Aug. 21, is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood novel set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and shares the story of House Targaryen. New episodes of House of the Dragon debuted weekly leading to the season 1 finale.

Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno and Rhys Ifans star in the series.

Fans can dive even deeper into the show by listening to The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon, featuring interviews with cast, crew and celebrity fans.

Keep reading for details on when and how to watch the House of the Dragon season finale and other episodes from the first season.

How to Watch House of the Dragon Online for Free

House of the Dragon aired on Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. ET/PT, and streamed exclusively on HBO Max at no extra cost to subscribers. If you’re a cable or HBO Max customer, you can stream episodes on demand.

Not subscribed to HBO Max? Plans starts at $9.99 a month for the ad-supported package, or $14.99 a month to stream without ads. Annual plans are usually priced at $99.99 a year for HBO Max with ads, and $149.99 for commercial-free streaming. But for a limited time only, new and returning HBO Max customers can save up to 40% off annual streaming plans, which drops the price down to $69.99 a year or $104.99 for the ad-free package. This promo ends on Oct. 30.

Although HBO Max offers discounts and free episodes, the platform does not provide a free trial, but there are ways to get HBO Max for free. For starters, if you’re subscribed to HBO through a cable or streaming provider, you may already have free HBO Max to watch House of the Dragon. Not sure if you already have HBO Max? Click here for more details.

Direct TV Stream is another way to land a free trial to HBO Max. Get free HBO Max, Showtime, Starz and other premium channels for up to three months when you subscribe to the Choice or Ultimate Package. Subscriptions to those plans currently start at $69.99 a month after a free 5-day trial, and include up to 140+ channels.  

With HBO Max, Game of Thrones fans can stream old episodes of the hit series and other exclusive shows, movies and documentaries, including Westworld, Succession, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Hard Knocks, Katrina Babies, The Princess, Euphoria, Hacks, Selena + Chef, Gossip Girl, The Sex Lives of College Girls, Insecure, The White Lotus, The Gilded Age, The Staircase, Sweet Life: Los Angeles, Belfast, Rap Sh!t, Elvis, The Batman, Father of the Bride and more. Stream programs on your smart TV, laptop, smartphone or another compatible streaming device via the HBO Max app. And if you’re outside of the U.S., stream HBO Max through ExpressVPN.

Shopping for Game of Thrones gear? The Warner Bros. merch shop launched an official House of the Dragon collection featuring Funko Pop! figurines including the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen, Viserys Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon, along with T-shirts, hoodies, a tote bag, coffee mugs, computer accessories, and more collectibles. Fans can find House of the Dragon merch at Amazon and Walmart as well. Shop items from the official House of the Dragon Warner Bros. merch collection below.