Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5 Now Available to Watch on Hotstar

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 is now available to watch on Hotstar in India. It is the fifth of six episodes in the final season and the penultimate episode of the HBO epic fantasy series, which delivered one of its worst episodes to date last week with “The Last of the Starks”. The fifth episode of Game of Thrones season 8 will run for about 78 minutes, since Hotstar doesn't include recaps, making it one of the longer episodes in the new season of Game of Thrones. (The only remaining episode, the series finale, is about a minute longer.) Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 will pick up right where we left off at the end of the fourth episode, with the two sides headed into an inevitable war, even though Cersei had a chance to end it for good last week itself.

Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5 Photos — the Calm Before the War

Spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones season 8.

Last week, Game of Thrones season 8 compressed a couple of months' worth of narrative into a single episode, as it stretched from a poignant reflection on the aftermath of the Great War to setting up the table for the upcoming war against Cersei Lannister. Owing to that, scenes that needed time between them were presented next to each other. Case in point, Sansa learning about Jon's true parentage and swearing she wouldn't tell anyone, and then breaking his trust to Tyrion to gain some political points.

Elsewhere, Game of Thrones season 8 defied logic as it went about taking one of Dany's dragons — Rhaegal — off the chess board, and with the nonsensical meeting of Bronn, Jaime, and Tyrion. Both scenes made exactly zero sense and were simply shooed in by the writers to advance the plot without bothering to set them up properly. They were further signs of Game of Thrones' waywardness since it went off George R.R. Martin's books and do not inspire confidence for the show's finish.

Can Game of Thrones Season 8 Deliver a Finale Worthy of the Biggest TV Show?

Either way, there's another war on our doorstep now. Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 has been directed by Emmy-winner Miguel Sapochnik, who is best known for directing the third episode of this season “The Long Night”, in addition to the final two episodes of season 6, “Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter”, and the season 5 episode “Hardhome”. Sapochnik won the Emmy for his work on “Battle of the Bastards”. This is Sapochnik's last-ever Game of Thrones episode.

Game of Thrones season 8 episode 5 has been written by creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss themselves, who are also responsible for the series finale. Together, the duo has co-written 49 out of the previous 71 episodes. Benioff and Weiss have won a shared five Emmys for their work on Game of Thrones, including two for writing: season 5 finale “Mother's Mercy”, and season 6 episode “Battle of the Bastards”.

The returning main cast for Game of Thrones season 8 includes Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Liam Cunnigham, Nathalie Emmanuel, Alfie Allen, John Bradley, Isaac Hempstead-Wright, Gwendoline Christie, Conleth Hill, Rory McCann, Jerome Flynn, Kristofer Hivju, Joe Dempsie, Jacob Anderson, Iain Glen, Hannah Murray, and Carice van Houten.

Pilou Asbæk, Anton Lesser, Richard Dormer, Gemma Whelan, Ben Crompton, Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson, Daniel Portman, Rupert Vansittart, Bella Ramsey, Marc Rissmann, Staz Nair, Lion Facioli, Vladimir Furdik, and Tobias Menzies are part of the supporting cast on the final season of Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones season 8 will return with its final episode and the series finale on May 20 in India. If you prefer to watch Game of Thrones on cable TV, episode 5 will air Tuesday at 10pm on Star World in India.