The impermanence of Jon Snow's death was well and truly spoiled during filming on Game of Thrones season 6 thanks to paparazzi photos from the set showing the character alive and well on the battlefield.

A similar event is obviously a huge concern for season 8 production, which will stage the final scene of Game of Thrones: the denouement to the entire saga we've been following for nearly a decade.

As such, HBO will go to great time and effort (not to mention budget) to obfuscate.

"I know in Game of Thrones, the ending, they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that nobody really know what happens," HBO original programming president Casey Bloys said at Moravian College in Pennsylvania last week.

"You have to do that on a long show. Because when you’re shooting something, people know. So they’re going to shoot multiple versions so that there’s no real definitive answer until the end."

This actually won't be the first time; Kit Harington previously revealed that he spent 15 hours filming fake scenes for season 7.

Season 8's faux endings could, intriguingly, also serve as alternate endings, though it is unlikely they will ever see the light of day - as long as they're not exposed via hack.

Speaking of hacking, I strongly suspect HBO will also prepare fake scripts and outlines for the final season of Game of Thrones, given the likelihood of these documents somehow being leaked again.