It's that time of year again. The summer is over. There's a chill in the air. Winter is coming and it's been too long since Game of Thrones was on television. We have Season 5 Game of Thrones casting announcements to keep us warm. We're even looking all the way ahead to Season 7 of HBO's adaptation of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. But the future in Westeros is almost always bleak. Let's focus on the past instead. Season 4 had so many memorable moments. What about a good old fashioned re-watch? If you don't have HBO, your best bet legally is to buy the season and stream it on your television or other device. When will iTunes release Season 4 of Game of Thrones ? Save the iTunes gift cards you get at the holidays (or start putting them on your wish list now), because it looks like we may have to wait until 2015 to get our digital download on. The night is dark and full of terrors indeed.
A re-watch will do us all good, since we won't be seeing Bran next season. Or Hodor, presumably. Hodor! I might fast forward through some of the more gruesome or creepy scenes. I might skip "The Watchers on the Wall" entirely and put on the Battle of Helm's Deep in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers instead. Sorry, Jon Snow. I'm over your emo life. Anyway, here's when you can expect iTunes to make that re-watch possible.
Game of Numbers
The short answer? I know nothing. There has not been an official announcement as to when the last season will be released for download by Apple. However, I can make some educated guesses. These decisions are typically made based on when the following season will air on HBO and how popular the demand is for the season in question. I think they want you to binge as close to the new season as possible to increase your chances of sucking it up and subscribing to HBO. While the second season hit iTunes the December after it aired, Game of Thrones Season 3 was released on iTunes Jan. 6, 2013. The fifth season will premiere on HBO in April or March or 2015, so it's possible that they will go with a January release again for the fourth.
I'll see you in Oz, folks!
If you are reading this from Down Under, you're in luck! The fourth season of GOT is on Australian iTunes already. I envy your good fortune, but I do not envy your snack choices. Keep the vegemite to yourselves, mates.
Brace Yourselves
It could be even longer than that. If iTunes doesn't release the 10 latest episodes until the DVDs and BluRays are made available, we'll be sitting tight for a while. Season 4 will be out on disc Feb. 15.
Images: Macall B. Polay/HBO, Giphy (3)
