Game of Thrones Spoilers: The Five Stages of Grief

When you're a Game of Thrones fan, there's not much that can hurt you worse than a spoiler. These are the five stages you'll go through in your grieving process.

Maybe you missed an episode and it's waiting on your DVR. Maybe you've been binge-watching but haven't managed to catch up just yet. Or maybe you somehow managed to never even get into the show, like by living underground in a nuclear bunker, or being in a coma. The circumstances may be different, but the results are always the same:

At some point, someone will undoubtedly spoil a major death or plot point in Game of Thrones for you. But don't worry, we've all been there, and we've all gone through the same grieving process. To prepare yourself, here are the five stages you'll face on your way to recovery:

1. Denial

You try to convince yourself that you didn't hear what your friend just said. Or that you must have misread that Facebook status. It literally just premiered last night. There's no way someone would be that insensitive, right?

2. Anger

You lash out at those around you, especially the evil bastard who did the spoiling. You threaten to spoil something he hasn't seen yet just to even the score.

3. Bargaining

You begin to negotiate with your chosen deities, be it the Old Gods, the Seven, or the Lord of Light. You'll think things like "Lord, if you let this spoiler be a prank I'll never stream an episode illegally again," or "if you let me forget what I just heard I promise to close my eyes during all of the sex scenes."

4. Depression

You start to give up all desire to even watch it anymore. "Now that I know, what's the point?" you ask yourself. You rock back and forth in the fetal position, fixating on how you'll never be able to enjoy the episode the same way you would have spoiler-free.

5. Acceptance

After a whirlwind of emotions, you finally come to terms with your ordeal. You accept that you can never unlearn what you've learned, and that you have to be okay with that. You realize that you'll probably still enjoy the episode anyway, and probably feel a little embarrassed for getting so upset about something fictional in the first place. You remind yourself that there's always next week, and someone else will probably die then too. You've learned your lesson, and next time you'll stay off Facebook until you watch the new Game of Thrones.