The North Remembers

"The North Remembers"
Game of Thrones episode
Daenerys Targaryen leads her people through the Red Waste.
Episode no.	Season 2 Episode 1
Directed by	Alan Taylor
Written by	David Benioff D. B. Weiss
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	Kramer Morgenthau
Editing by	Frances Parker
Original air date	April 1, 2012 (2012-04-01)
Running time	53 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin Ron Donachie as Rodrik Cassel Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle Robert Pugh as Craster Natalia Tena as Osha Oliver Ford Davies as Maester Cressen Mark Stanley as Grenn Ben Crompton as Edd Tollet Joe Dempsie as Gendry Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie Eros Vlahos as Lommy Greenhands Roxanne McKee as Doreah Amrita Acharia as Irri Elyes Gabel as Rakharo Steven Cole as Kovarro Kristian Nairn as Hodor Esmé Bianco as Ros Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt Kerr Logan as Matthos Seaworth Tony Way as Ser Dontos Hollard Hannah Murray as Gilly Karl Davies as Alton Lannister Ian Beattie as Meryn Trant Pat Mooney as Northern Lord Sahara Knite as Armeca Maisie Dee as Daisy Antonia Christophers as Mhaegen Callum Wharry as Tommen Baratheon Aimee Richardson as Myrcella Baratheon
Episode chronology
← Previous "Fire and Blood" Next → "The Night Lands"
Game of Thrones (season 2) List of Game of Thrones episodes

"The North Remembers" is the first episode of the second season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and its 11th episode overall. First aired on April 1, 2012, it was written by the show creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by returning director Alan Taylor.

With a war on the horizon, the Seven Kingdoms are witnessing an ever-growing clash of kings. The boy king Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) sits on the Iron Throne guided by cruelty and deceit, while his honorable counterpart Robb Stark (Richard Madden) of the North heads south to avenge his father's death. Meanwhile, the late king Robert Baratheon's estranged brother Stannis (Stephen Dillane) emerges as yet another claimant to the throne. A frantic search for King Robert's bastard sons ensues, while the Queen sets to find the missing Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) in order to retrieve her lover and brother Jaime, now a captive to the Starks.

"The North Remembers" received universal acclaim from critics, who noted Tyrion Lannister's development as a key player as a highlight of the episode. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 3.86 million in its initial broadcast. The episode introduced a number of new cast members, including Stephen Dillane's Stannis Baratheon, Carice van Houten's Melisandre and Liam Cunningham as "the onion knight" Davos Seaworth. It also featured a number of new locations, both fictional and real, most notably the city of Dubrovnik, Croatia, which served as the capital city of King's Landing. It received a great amount of critical praise, with critics welcoming the new set of characters, which they saw as a great addition. The episode went on to win an American Society of Cinematographers for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in One-Hour Episodic Television Series.