The seventh and last episode of Mare of Easttown was must-see television on Sunday night, so much so that not everyone could see it. In a weird example of overwhelming success, demand to watch the big finish to the Kate Winslet-starring mystery-drama was so high it collapsed the HBO Max app. (Frustrated viewers with thick Philly accents may have been reminded of similar problems with Game of Thrones on HBO Geouw.)
For 28 exasperating minutes, would-be viewers hit refresh and checked other streaming services to see if the outage was actually on their end. HBO Max then tweeted a mea culpa to let users know their engineers were on the case.
In the meantime, there were some jokes.
This being a particularly peculiar age, some wondered if intentionally rendering a highly visible product inoperable during a clutch holiday weekend was actually some 3D marketing chess.
Nearly three hours later, many were still facing service issues. HBO Max swooped in with the suggestion of, yes, turning it off and turning it back on again.
In time, though, everyone who wanted it got their Mare fix, while consumers who never cut the cord were long tucked in bed. The overall consensus was that it stuck the landing.
With the series concluded, talk now turns to whether Kate Winslet has checkmated Anya Taylor-Joy for the Emmy award, and also which actress deserves to get the prestige HBO treatment next.
— A First Look at Leonardo DiCaprio in Killers of the Flower Moon
— 15 Summer Movies Worth Returning to Theaters For
— Why Evan Peters Needed a Hug After His Big Mare of Easttown Scene
— Shadow and Bone Creators Break Down Those Big Book Changes
— The Particular Bravery of Elliot Page’s Oprah Interview
— Inside the Collapse of the Golden Globes
— Watch Justin Theroux Break Down His Career
— For the Love of Real Housewives: An Obsession That Never Quits
— From the Archive: The Sky’s the Limit for Leonardo DiCaprio
— Not a subscriber? Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now.