Winter is Coming

"Winter Is Coming"
Game of Thrones episode
Lord Eddard Stark, as portrayed by Sean Bean in a scene from the episode.
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 1
Directed by	Tim Van Patten
Written by	David Benioff D. B. Weiss
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	Alik Sakharov
Editing by	Oral Norrie Ottey
Original air date	April 17, 2011 (2011-04-17)
Running time	61 minutes
Guest appearance(s)
Donald Sumpter as Maester Luwin Jamie Sives as Jory Cassel Ron Donachie as Rodrik Cassel Joseph Mawle as Benjen Stark Roger Allam as Magister Illyrio Dar Salim as Qotho Esmé Bianco as Ros Susan Brown as Septa Mordane Bronson Webb as Will John Standing as Jon Arryn Rob Ostlere as Waymar Royce Dermot Keaney as Gared Art Parkinson as Rickon Stark Callum Wharry as Tommen Baratheon Aimee Richardson as Myrcella Baratheon Kristian Nairn as Hodor
Episode chronology
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Game of Thrones (season 1) List of Game of Thrones episodes

"Winter Is Coming" is the first episode of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. It was written by the show creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, in a faithful adaptation of the first chapters of George R. R. Martin's book A Game of Thrones. The episode was directed by Tim Van Patten, redoing the work done by director Thomas McCarthy in an unaired pilot.

As the first episode of the series, it introduces the setting and the main characters of the show. The episode centers on the Stark family, and how its lord, Eddard Stark, gets involved in the court politics after the king chooses Eddard to replace his recently deceased chief administrator ("Hand of the King"). The episode received largely positive reviews, and was seen initially by 2.2 million viewers. A week before the episode first aired, HBO made the first 15 minutes available as an Internet preview.

The title of the episode is the motto of House Stark, and it is alluded to several times in the episode and in the series.

The episode begins the process of interweaving action happening in multiple separate locations within and around the fictional continent of Westeros. Most of the action takes place in and around Winterfell where Lord Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) is the feudal overlord of the northern reaches of the kingdom. Outside of Westeros is a land across the Narrow Sea where the two surviving members of House Targaryen, previous rulers of Westeros, live in exile.

The episode opens with three rangers of the Night's Watch – Ser Waymar Royce (Rob Ostlere), Will (Bronson Webb) and Gared (Dermot Keaney) – scouting beyond the Wall, a massive barrier of ice at the north end of the kingdom. After finding the mutilated corpses of some wildlings (tribal humans who live north of the Wall), the rangers are confronted by White Walkers (demonic creatures) and undead wildlings. Two of the rangers are killed by the White Walkers, while the third, Will, is for some reason left alive. Fearing for his life, Will deserts the Night's Watch, going South, without returning to the Wall.