HBO is not TV . It ’s HBO . Which mean HBO does not play by TV ’s ruler . rather , it play by HBO ’s rules , which are nothing like TV ’s rules . HBO does n’t have to squelch an " time of day - longsighted " episode in 42 minutes . That ’s TV . An HBO show cans run however all-fired long it pleases . Because it ’s not television – it ’s HBO .
fount in point : after establishingGame of Thronesas a 55 - min - ish serial publication , descale it back in Season 2 to a 52 - second average , then daring to go a full 60 minute in Season 3 , Divine D.B. Weiss and David Benioff will once again agitate the runtime limits with a 69 - moment Season 6 closing curtain . 69 minutes ! Nice .
Along with the programing announcements , HBO also revealed the deed of the net two episode , further stoke the speculation fires . Episode 9 – a slot traditionally save for the serial publication ' most larger-than-life military action sequences – is called " conflict of the Bastards . " Really , the season ’s been construct to this minute : a showdown between Jon Snow ’s cobble - together forces and Ramsay Bolton ’s deadly US Army . Here ’s hopingSansa ’s the one sticking it to the sadistic clownby the end of the episode ( which will run 60 minutes ) .
HBO
Weiss and Benioff will then wrap up time of year 6 with " The wind of Winter , " a citation to George R.R. Martin ’s 6th , yet - to - be - publishedThronestome . Why does the writing duo need nine surplus minutes , a bump that ’ll make the episode the longest in the serial ' history ? Well , we ’re still waiting for Bran to learnwhat endure down in the Tower of Joy , Daenerys to fly back to Meereen and contact up with Tyrion , Theon and Yara to meet them both witha fleet of new ship , Jon to figure out his next move , Arya to finally ditch the Faceless once and for all , the potential " Cleganebowl " duelin King ’s landing place , whatever the heckBenjen Coldhandsdoes , and quite perhaps , a MAJOR death . Yeah , we made a prediction . We ’ll see .
" The Winds of Winter " airs June 26 . Not on TV ! HBO .
Check out all the latestGame of Thrones Season 6 photosthat tease the next episode .
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