Inbred kings, the onslaught of winter and the deaths of beloved characters — it’s been eight months since a new episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones aired.
Although season four doesn’t premiere until April 6, students at Ohio University have the opportunity to watch the first episode Sunday during a pre-screening of the season, hosted by OU’s HBO Campus Agents.
OU was selected as one of 11 universities around the country to have a pre-screening of the season, and OU is the first of the universities to premiere the episode.
Bridget Gibson, a sophomore studying communications, and Stacy Boesch, a senior studying marketing and management, are the first HBO Campus Agents at OU.
As campus agents, the job is to promote and raise awareness of the HBO brand, Boesch said.
To promote the event, Gibson and Boesch have been tabling and holding contests in Baker as well aws on their Facebook Event Page, in which contestants can win free Game of Thrones and HBO swag.
Participants can also win green and blue wristbands that will secure their seat for the event. Otherwise the event is on a first-come first-serve basis.
Claire Sterling, a senior studying anthropology, won a green wristband to sit in the first three rows of the pre-screening from Facebook and an HBO GO tote bag at one of the tabling events.
It’s exciting to be able to see the first episodes before others, and since the books are slow to come out, the show is something to look forward to, Sterling said.
“I’ve had a lot of fun telling my friends who are fans that don’t go to OU how I get to see it before them,” Sterling said.
The doors open at 7 p.m., with Black Sheep Improv performing a fantasy-themed skit at 7:30 p.m. and Blue Pencil Comedy performing related jokes before the episode starts at 8 p.m., Boesch said.
“We reached out to organizations on campus because we wanted to promote their work and help them out as well,” Boesch said. “We also wanted stuff that related to what we are doing, and these groups are centering their performances around the theme.”
It’s been hectic putting everything together, but it’s going to be a great event, Gibson said.
“I’m looking forward to not only watching the episode, but seeing everyone’s excitement about Game of Thrones and seeing how many people watch it on campus,” she said. “Planning all of this is going to have its rewards.”
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