Game of Thrones season 6: Fans furious as HBO Now goes down before Battle of the Bastards

Viewers prayed to the Lord of Light for the service to come back online

Season six of Game of Thrones is quickly coming to an end, viewers going into panic mode now that only one episode remains.

However, before the penultimate episode - titled ‘Battle of the Bastards’ - aired, fans were already feeling rather heated thanks to HBO.

On Sunday night, just as the highly-anticipated show was being broadcast, HBO Now went down, frustrating viewers hoping to stream the episode alongside those watching the terrestrial channel.

According to the downdetector.com, more than 15,000 reports were filed by users experiencing difficulties between 9pm and 10pm EST, 43 percent of which stemmed from people trying to watch via apps.

Tweeters were quick to blast the $14.99 a month service, criticising HBO for not being ready to handle the huge amounts of web traffic.

One viewer wrote on social media: “Good time for HBO Now to be down. Nobody is trying to watch anything important. Seriously, though, HBO, how were you not ready for this?” Another added: “This is the ONE night a week we need you to work.”

Soon after the first reports came in, HBO issued a statement on Twitter saying: “We're aware members are experiencing technical difficulties tonight. We hope to resolve this ASAP.” At 10.15pm, they posted: “We are pleased to confirm that successful streaming has resumed across all devices.”

Luckily, those outraged fans can watch their favourite show once more. And what an episode it was, the choreography stunning watchers. Meanwhile, another romance was teased (as was an intriguing bromance).