The recently concluded seventh season of HBO's grim fantasy series “Game of Thrones” is the last one left before the six-episode farewell run that would air either next year or the year after. It is also the season best known for having been beset with some pretty bad breaks in production secrecy, judging by the number of times its episodes have been leaked.

It really can’t be helped with “Thrones” – starring Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, Lena Headey, Peter Dinklage and many more – being as popular a viewing fare as it is. Home Box Office has taken note, however, and the network is rumored to be doing something extreme to help keep the concluding events of the series hush-hush.

Multiple-choice conclusion

In order to make sure the secret of what will happen to the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros will remain intact until it comes on TV, the eighth and final season of “Game of Thrones” will apparently take the effort of filming multiple endings to misdirect potential leakers. This was revealed by Casey Bloys, HBO head of programming, during a media event at Bethlehem Moravian College. Bloys relates that the idea of shooting more than one versions of a show’s ending was a necessity for very long shows like “Thrones.” The amount of misdirection, he says, is needed to make certain that there are no definitive answers until the final episode of the last season is aired.

For the climactic end run of “Game of Thrones,” HBO is looking to start the production proper sometime about October of this year when the weather is starting to properly match the wintery condition of Westeros at the end of season 7.

This is even later than their production schedule last time, with the conclusion possibly not until August 2018. That means the last season will premiere, if not during the holidays, then well into 2019.

Others who tried it

HBO and “Game of Thrones” are not the original perpetrators of the bogus production to frustrate spying.

“The Walking Dead” on AMC allegedly filmed multiple takes of all its 11 major protagonists being murdered by show antagonist Negan in the season 6 finale, to mask which one of them will die when their season 7 starts. “Thrones” certainly needs a way to keep spoilers from leaking; they have already tried shooting fake scene takes in the previous season to foil overeager fans according to Kit Harrington, but popular “GoT” fan site “Watchers on the Wall” reportedly saw through the ruse.

In any case, the final season of “Game of Thrones” on HBO will hopefully resolve the wars between men, and between the living and the dead, that have been building up all through its run. And they will be filming many endings to keep the real one (hopefully) unspoiled.