The Wars to Come

"The Wars to Come"
Game of Thrones episode
Mance Rayder is burned at the stake.
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 1
Directed by	Michael Slovis
Written by	David Benioff D. B. Weiss
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	David Franco
Editing by	Katie Weiland
Original air date	April 12, 2015 (2015-04-12)
Running time	52 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Ciarán Hinds as Mance Rayder Owen Teale as Alliser Thorne Ian McElhinney as Barristan Selmy Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle Tara Fitzgerald as Selyse Baratheon Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Mace Tyrell Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm Finn Jones as Loras Tyrell Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne Jodhi May as Maggy Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq Ben Crompton as Edd Tollett Eugene Simon as Lancel Lannister Will Tudor as Olyvar Rupert Vansittart as Yohn Royce Ian Beattie as Meryn Trant Ian Gelder as Kevan Lannister Brenock O'Connor as Olly Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon Paul Bentley as the High Septon Reece Noi as Mossador Michael Condron as Bowen Marsh Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn Nell Williams as young Cersei Lannister Isabella Steinbarth as Melara Hetherspoon
Episode chronology
← Previous "The Children" Next → "The House of Black and White"
Game of Thrones (season 5) List of Game of Thrones episodes

"The Wars to Come" is the first episode of the fifth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 41st overall. The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Michael Slovis, his directorial debut for the series. It aired on April 12, 2015. Prior to airing, this episode along with the remaining first four episodes of the season were leaked online.

In a flashback, a young Cersei Lannister (Nell Williams) and her friend (Isabella Steinbarth) meet Maggy the Frog (Jodhi May), whom they know to be a witch and fortune teller. Cersei demands to know her future, and whether or not she will marry the prince, Rhaegar Targaryen, and have his children. Maggy informs her that she will instead be wed to "the king" (Robert Baratheon) and while she will have three children, the king will have twenty. She also says that all of Cersei's children will wear golden crowns, but also golden shrouds (meaning they will all die), and that another queen, younger and more beautiful than Cersei, will cast her down.

In the present, Cersei (Lena Headey) arrives at the Sept of Baelor to pay respects to her deceased father Tywin (Charles Dance). Once inside the Sept, she chastises her brother Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) for freeing their brother Tyrion and thus indirectly causing their father's death. At Tywin's wake, Cersei is approached by her uncle Kevan Lannister (Ian Gelder) and her cousin Lancel Lannister (Eugene Simon), who has become a devout member of the Sparrows, a religious group devoted to the Faith of the Seven. Lancel asks Cersei's forgiveness for their adulterous relationship and for his role in giving King Robert Baratheon wine before the hunt in which Robert was mortally wounded. Cersei denies any knowledge of her husband's murder, and leaves.

Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) walks in on her brother, Loras (Finn Jones), and his lover, Olyvar (Will Tudor), naked in bed. After dismissing Olyvar, she tells Loras that he should be more discreet but he dismisses this idea by saying that they already know about him and that he is unlikely to be married to Cersei as Tywin's death means no one can force her to do anything. He calls this bad news for Margaery as it means that Cersei will remain in King's Landing instead of going to Highgarden with him. Margaery hints that she may have a solution.