"Game of Thrones" fans wage epic battle to avoid spoilers

More than 12 million people watch "Game of Thrones" on TV, and another five million on other platforms. But for those loyal viewers who fall behind, the crisis of spoilers is real. For devoted fans unable to catch last night's episode of the series, avoiding spoilers may feel like its own epic battle.

Correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti asked one fan, "Why does it anger you so much?"

"Because it ruins the whole rollercoaster ride, the experience, and then you see it in a different way," she replied.

Francesca Segal said, "It's like before you walk into your surprise party, and someone's telling you you're about to walk into your surprise party."

But keeping plot twists secret has become nearly impossible in this digital age.

Consider this: There were 7.8 million tweets about last week's "Game of Thrones" episode, "The Long Night," making it the most-tweeted-about episode in TV history.  

Those who loved other popular shows, like "Breaking Bad," The Sopranos" and "Lost," say internet abstinence is the only way to protect yourself. 

"You can't go on your phone, you can't go on the internet, you can't do anything," said Tim Banks.

Spoilers have gotten so bad that directors of the blockbuster hit "Avengers: Endgame" used the A-List cast to encourage audiences to keep quiet.  The hashtag #DontSpoilTheEndgame underscored the admonition against leaks.

"We are in a hyper-sensitive environment for spoilers," said the Hollywood Reporter's Matt Belloni, "and if you spoil something on the internet, social media will let you have it."

Even journalists have to be careful.

Belloni said, "The problem that outlets have is when they give away something in a headline or a sub-headline where they really don't want to know, and you've told them."

But most fans agree, in a world where jaw-dropping plot twists rule the screen, it's hard to keep secrets for long.

"It's not anyone's fault, we're just excited about what we're seeing," said Cassandra Cronin.

Vigliotti said, "For a second, it sounded like you were confessing to having spoiled things before."

"I might have done that!" she laughed.