Here’s How To Efficiently Binge ‘Game Of Thrones’ Before The Season 7 Premiere

The long-awaited and slightly delayed seventh season of Game of Thrones is nearly upon us, and with that, comes binging. Lots of binging. Hardcore fans know that the only way to be truly prepared for the coming wars throughout Westeros is to go back to the beginning — how else can someone keep up with the rotating cast of characters that have been unceremoniously killed throughout the series?

Naturally, Game of Thrones fans are already beginning up for a massive binge to get caught up before season 7’s big premiere. Some are moving swiftly through previous seasons, possibly a little too early depending on how you want to slide into the new season.

So, how long will it take to make it through the whole series if you’re starting now? We’ve calculated the run times of every episode so you can plan your life around watching Game of Thrones accordingly. Here’s what you’re looking at in terms of time per episode, and per season:

In chunks, that’s pretty digestible, but of you need, there are some areas where you can save yourself some time. Opening credits vary but are typically 1:35-1:45 in length. You can skip all but the opening episode credits for every season, and season 6 episode 10 as it has the glorious reclamation of Winterfell by the Starks, so you’re skipping 53 opening credits, which would save you 88 minutes and 33 seconds.

With the premiere coming on July 16th, as of this writing, you have 41 days, with the seconds and minutes counting down. That means you’ll need to watch roughly 1.4 episodes per day, including on the day of the premiere, to get completely caught up on everything that’s happened in Westeros over the last few years. That said, you can obviously do more than just the recommended 1.4 episodes per day (that’s why it’s called binging), but just let it be known that this is the minimum amount of viewing required for you to make it to the premiere, and even then, with each passing day, the viewing requirements will be upped exponentially.

And granted, this doesn’t take into account any type of supplementary reading, theory video watching, or extra features. This is just watching the episodes, and there are holidays like Father’s Day and July 4th that could interfere with your plans. Please be advised. Here’s over eight minutes of somewhat necessary distraction. You will run into these things often. It’s on you to decide whether you’ll go down various, time-consuming rabbit holes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOAY_cgvvSM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTLeVA-WA88

There will also be countless theories and think pieces as we get closer to the premiere. Cast and crew will drop hints, which will spawn speculation, and George R. R. Martin will write a LiveJournal post about the Jets, which will spawn even more speculation. Finally, after what amounts to multiple days of your life dedicated to a brutal, cold world in which only the strong survive, you will rest.