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Nerd Talk: Spoiler Warnings

Megan Roth’s weekly column about pop culture and all thigns nerdy.

Incase you missed it, the headline is your warning. I will be talking about various shows from the past year in this week’s column.

I will be talking about Game of Thrones, however there will be nothing from the current season.

Spoilers are everywhere. Thankfully most places have the decency to say there will be spoilers before you get to far into an article.

Even then spoilers are hard to miss.

Many places put the spoiler right in the headline for everyone to see.

Some examples - some real, some not - are: “What does Glenn’s Death mean for the gang?” “Is the Hound actually dead?” “Olicity is gone with Oliver’s marriage.”

I don’t mind spoilers, really they are fine. What bothers me is if you don’t give someone the chance to decide if you want to continue reading despite a clear spoiler warning.

All thanks to Netflix, I have become a fan of bing-watching T.V. This is only exacerbated by my impatience.

So I tend to wait until the season is over and I can watch it all at once within roughly a week.

Due to this, I tend to stay away from spoilers while surfing the internet, which I do a lot.

I’ve gotten decently good at avoiding shattering spoilers about the season.

In the last season of Arrow, I knew the character of Deathstroke came back at some point but I had no idea in what capacity.

That kind of “spoiler” is fine, because to me it isn’t really spoil anything.

A spoiler is where a major plot point in a show, movie or book is openly discussed and often gives away the ending.

Normally the spoilers are within an article or discussion with a clear warning.

However, some place seem to disregard the warning all together.

The last season of The Walking Dead ended on a huge cliffhanger. Someone was beaten to death, but you don’t know who until the start of the next season.

Of course there were rumours and theories afloat, especially based on the graphic novel the show is based on.

After the first episode premiered last October, the Internet went crazy. And, many of the headlines proudly proclaimed ‘Glenn is Dead.’

I still haven’t had the chance to watch this last season, I’m still catching up on my T.V. shows from last season, but I’m almost there.

Then came summer, and Game of Thrones hit like hurricane.

I’ve been having a hard time staying away from spoilers, they are everywhere. Articles that discuss theories just throw out spoilers everywhere. No warnings just “Last night on Game of Thrones...”

So I’ve come up with a solution. I stay away from it all.

If I see a name of a character, or the show or anything even slightly alluding to the show, movie or book I steer clear.

Headline: Actor Steven Yuen discusses… Skip

Headline: We dissect last night’s episode of Game of Thrones … Skip

Headline: Where is Malcom Merlyn? … Skip

It has helped me stay away from spoilers for the most part. If you are like me and prefer to bing-watch your shows all at once, maybe my spoiler-free technique will help.

Remeber to read headlines carefully for the name of the show or movie or book. If you even see mention of the show, head in the oposite direction.

Be careful when it comes to actors, they let things slip all the time.

Before the cast was announced for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, John Boyega famously let slip he was cast in the movie. Despite being written in the contract he first told a taxi cab driver he was cast in a lead role in the next Star Wars movie.

Beware the internet when living a spoiler-free life, there be spoilers everywhere.