GAME OF THRONES: WINTER IS COMING {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The premiere episode in this dramatic fantasy series, based on the book series by George R.R. Martin, about the warring royal families of Westeros. In this episode, several members of the Night's Watch, sworn guardians of the insurmountable Wall on the northern border of the Seven Kingdoms, track a group of wildlings in the forest and find them all slaughtered. The bodies then seem to vanish, however, and the men are caught by a walking corpse with glowing blue eyes that kills all but one of them. Elsewhere, Eddard "Ned" Stark and his wife Catelyn watch in amusement as their children practice archery at their home, Winterfell, and Ned receives word of the Night's Watch deserter, Will. Will accepts his fate but tells Ned of the "White Walkers," and Ned reluctantly follows the custom and beheads him, observed by his sons and his ward, Theon Greyjoy. They are then surprised to find a dead direwolf in the woods, as they are not usually found south of the Wall, and Ned takes the pups as pets for his children, including his illegitimate son Jon Snow, as the direwolf is the sigil of House Stark.
At King's Landing, Queen Cersei Lannister observes the body of Jon Arryn, Hand to her husband King Robert Baratheon, and frets to her twin brother Ser Jaime that Arryn may have "told someone" before his death. Ned is saddened to receive news of his brother-in-law and surrogate father's demise, and learns that Robert is riding north to Winterfell with his entire retinue. The Stark household prepares for the king, and Bran observes his arrival from the rooftop, though Cat scolds him for his dangerous climbing habit. Robert happily greets his old friend Ned and meets his children, and then asks Ned to be his new Hand, as expected. He notes that they were nearly brothers-in-law before Ned's sister Lyanna was murdered by the Targaryen dynasty, and suggests that his oldest son Joffrey should now marry Ned's daughter Sansa to officially join their families. Jaime finds his clever younger brother Tyrion, a dwarf, carousing at a local brothel, and reminds him to attend dinner at Winterfell. Across the Narrow Sea, young Daenerys Targaryen talks with her domineering older brother Viserys, who is determined to reclaim the throne stolen by Robert, "the Usurper," by marrying her off to a fearsome horselord, Khal Drogo. He threatens her when she objects, warning her not to "wake the dragon."
Sansa begs Cat to convince Ned to accept Robert's suggestion, dazzled by the idea of marrying Prince Joffrey and becoming queen. At the dinner party, a disinvited Jon encounters his uncle Benjen Stark and asks if he can join him as a brother of the Night's Watch, though Benjen warns him against taking the oath lightly. Tyrion then greets Jon and advises him to wear his bastard status "like armor," as he does his dwarfism. Benjen talks with Ned about Will's claim of seeing White Walkers and the strange appearance of the direwolves, and Sansa is surprised when Cersei bluntly questions her about her hopes to wed Joffrey. Jaime and Ned have a tense encounter as tomboyish Arya causes mischief at the dinner table, and Cat receives a message from her sister Lysa stating that Arryn was in fact murdered – by the Lannisters. Daenerys is wed to Drogo in a wild and violent Dothraki ceremony, though Viserys is impatient to plan his invasion with Drogo's army. Daenerys then meets Ser Jorah Mormont, an exiled knight who served her father, the "Mad King" Aerys, before his defeat. She receives a gift of three dragon eggs, though is told that they have turned to stone over the years. Drogo presents her with a white horse, though she is unhappy when he roughly begins to consummate the marriage. Ned finally agrees to be King Robert's Hand and sets off on a hunt with him, and Bran goes climbing again and scales a tall tower, where he catches Queen Cersei in an intimate moment with her own twin brother. Aware of what will happen if their secret is revealed, Jaime unconcernedly pushes Bran out of the window to the ground far below.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: April 17, 2011 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:01:34
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 110002
- GENRE: Drama, fantasy/science fiction
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, fantasy/science fiction; Drama, action/adventure; LGBT Collection
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 2011-2019
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Benioff … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- D.B. Weiss … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Vince Gerardis … Co-Executive Producer
- Ralph Vicinanza … Co-Executive Producer
- Guymon Casady … Co-Executive Producer
- Carolyn Strauss … Co-Executive Producer
- George R.R. Martin … Co-Executive Producer, Based on the books by
- Mark Huffam … Producer
- Joanna Burn … Producer
- Frank Doeleger … Producer
- Greg Spence … Co-Producer
- Jonathan Brytus … Associate Producer
- Tom McCarthy … Consulting Producer
- Chris Newman … Line Producer
- Guy Tannahill … Line Producer
- Lucy Ainsworth-Taylor … Visual Effects Producer
- Paddy Kelly … Visual Effects Producer
- Sanah Mooney … Visual Effects Producer
- Tim Van Patten … Director
- Ramin Djawadi … Music by
- Javier de Frutos … Choreographer
- Sean Bean … Cast, Eddard 'Ned' Stark
- Mark Addy … Cast, Robert Baratheon
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau … Cast, Jaime Lannister
- Michelle Fairley … Cast, Catelyn Stark
- Lena Headey … Cast, Cersei Lannister
- Emilia Clarke … Cast, Daenerys Targaryen
- Iain Glen … Cast, Jorah Mormont
- Harry Lloyd … Cast, Viserys Targaryen
- Kit Harington … Cast, Jon Snow
- Sophie Turner … Cast, Sansa Stark
- Maisie Williams … Cast, Arya Stark
- Richard Madden … Cast, Robb Stark
- Alfie Allen … Cast, Theon Greyjoy
- Isaac Hempstead-Wright … Cast, Bran Stark
- Jack Gleeson … Cast, Joffrey Baratheon
- Rory McCann … Cast, Sandor 'The Hound' Clegane
- Peter Dinklage … Cast, Tyrion Lannister
- Donald Sumpter … Cast, Maester Luwin
- Jamie Sives … Cast, Jory Cassel
- Ron Donachie … Cast, Rodrik Cassel
- Joseph Mawle … Cast, Benjen Stark
- Roger Allam … Cast, Illyrio Mopatis
- Dar Salim … Cast, Qotho
- Esmé Bianco … Cast, Ros
- Susan Brown … Cast, Septa Mordane
- Bronson Webb … Cast, Will
- John Standing … Cast, Jon Arryn
- Rob Ostlere … Cast, Waymar Royce
- Dermot Keaney … Cast, Gared
- Art Parkinson … Cast, Rickon Stark
- Callum Wharry … Cast, Tommen Baratheon
- Aimee Richardson … Cast, Myrcella Baratheon
- Kristian Nairn … Cast, Hodor
- Rania Zouari … Cast, Pentoshi Servant
- Ian Whyte … Cast, White Walker
- Spencer Wilding … Cast, White Walker
- Claire Wright … Cast, Wildling Girl
- Jason Momoa … Cast, Khal Drogo