2019年很少有电视节目能像《权力的游戏》（Game of Thrones）最后一季（第8季）一样让人们满怀期待。该剧改编自乔治·R·R·马丁的玄幻小说，但电视剧进度已经远超原著，最后一季于4月14日首映，观众对这一季的兴趣达到史上最高。

问题是，很多人都没有看过这部HBO大热剧集的前7季。（看过的人里面还有很多决定在最终季首播前重温前7季，因为离上一季播出已经过了差不多20个月了。）

这很容易解决，进行马拉松式的煲剧狂欢吧。不过要确保你日程上所有的工作都已经做完了，因为要想看完全部7季，不吃不喝也要超过2天14小时。

即使你从现在开始到4月14日首映前每天都看，这要求也挺高的，因为你需要从现在开始到下周四每天都看6个小时以上。所以可以考虑架好DVR，到时先把第8季的首映录下来，还要尽量在追上进度之前避免被剧透。（如果你等到周末才开始狂欢，你每天至少要看9个小时。）

当然，要想赶上进度，还有其他办法。网络上有几百集，有文字也有视频。你可以忽略掉故事里的许多支线剧情，这么做肯定不会影响到最后的结局。甚至于哪怕你不知道（或不关心）为什么阿多如此受到广大观众的喜爱，你也能看完最后一季。

但这就像看《星球大战》（Star Wars）却不关注赫特人贾巴和贾瓦人。它们对故事结局可能并不重要，但它们是宇宙的一个重要组成部分。

毕竟《权力的游戏》赢得了47座艾美奖，总共被提名128次，打破了所有播出节目的最高纪录。此外，它还定期打破HBO的收视记录。要想真正地欣赏它，你会想要从头看起。（财富中文网）

译者：Agatha

There are few television events in 2019 that will match the anticipation of Game of Thrones‘ eighth and final season. As the televised adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy saga, which has long since passed the books, starts to come to a close with the season 8 premiere on April 14, interest in the show is higher than ever.

The problem is: A lot of people haven’t watched the first seven seasons of the HBO smash. (And many of those who have are determined to rewatch them before the premiere, since it’s been almost 20 months since a new episode aired.)

That’s easily fixed with a binge watching marathon. Just be sure you’ve cleared your calendar of all responsibilities, since doing so will take over two days and 14 hours of uninterrupted viewing.

Even if you take time off work between now and the April 14 debut, that’s going to a tall order, requiring you to watch more than six hours per day as of Thursday, so it’s not a bad idea to set your DVR to record the eight season premiere and try to avoid spoilers until you’re caught up. (And if you wait until the weekend to start your binge, you’ll be facing at least nine hours per day of viewing.)

There are, of course, other ways to catch up. There are hundreds of episode recaps online, both print and video. You could ignore many of the side stories that almost certainly won’t factor into the show’s conclusion. You could even watch the entire final season without understanding (or caring) why Hodor was so universally loved.

But that’d be like watching Star Wars and ignoring Jabba the Hutt and the Jawas. They might not be critical to the final story, but they’re a key part of the universe.

Game of Thrones, after all, has won 47 Emmys and been nominated 128 times, the most of any show ever aired. And it has smashed HBO viewership records regularly. To fully appreciate it, you’ll want to watch from the beginning.