Editing Winter Is Coming

{{Infobox GOT episode
| season   = 1
| episode  = 1
| image    = Sean Bean as Eddard Stark.png
| airdate  = April 17, 2011
| length   = 62 minutes
| director = [[w:Tim Van Patten|Tim Van Patten]]
| writer   = [[w:David Benioff|David Benioff]] & [[w:D. B. Weiss|D.B. Weiss]]
}}

"'''Winter Is Coming'''" is the first episode of  [[w:medieval fantasy|medieval fantasy]] television series ''[[Game of Thrones]]''. Running 62 minutes long, it premiered April 17, 2011.<ref name="wic">{{Cite web|url=http://winter-is-coming.net/features/episode-guide/|title=Episode Guide|work=Winter is Coming.net|accessdate=May 24, 2011}}</ref> It was written by the show creators [[w:David Benioff|David Benioff]] and [[w:D. B. Weiss|D. B. Weiss]], in a faithful adaptation of the first chapters of [[George R. R. Martin]]'s [[A Game of Thrones|book of the same name]]. Music was composed by [[w:Ramin Djawadi|Ramin Djawadi]]. The episode was directed by [[w:Tim Van Patten|Tim Van Patten]], paving over the work done by director [[w:Thomas McCarthy (actor)|Thomas McCarthy]] in an unaired pilot.<ref name="guardian">{{Cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2011/apr/18/game-of-thrones-dont-believe-the-gripes|title=Game Of Thrones: don't believe the gripes|work=The Guardian|accessdate=May 24, 2011}}</ref>

As the first episode of the series, it introduces the setting and the main characters of the show. The episode centers on the [[House Stark|Stark family]], and how its lord gets involved in the court politics after the king chooses him to replace his recently dead Hand.

==Official synopsis==
Series Premiere. Lord Ned Stark is troubled by disturbing reports from a Night's Watch deserter, and King Robert arrives at Winterfell.<ref>HBO.com: [https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/season-1 Game of Thrones: Season 1]</ref>

==Plot==
{{See also|Differences between A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones}}
===In the North===
[[File:The Wall.png|thumb|left|The rangers leaving the [[Wall]].]]
The episode opens with three rangers of the [[Night's Watch]] scouting beyond [[the Wall]], following the track of a group of wildings. After finding their mutilated corpses, they are surprised by the White Walkers. Two of them are killed, while the youngest is able to flee, seemingly at the will of the White Walker.

After the opening sequence, the Starks of Winterfell are introduced. [[Eddard Stark|Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark]] ([[w:Sean Bean|Sean Bean]]) is informed that a deserter of the Night's Watch, the young ranger from the prologue, has been captured. Men of the Night's Watch are sworn never to desert their northern posts, upon penalty of death. Lord Stark takes with him his heir [[Robb Stark|Robb]] ([[w:Richard Madden|Richard Madden]]), his bastard son [[Jon Snow]] ([[w:Kit Harington|Kit Harington]]), and his ten-year-old son [[Bran Stark|Bran]] ([[w:Isaac Hempstead-Wright|Isaac Hempstead-Wright]]) to come with him to witness the execution. Upon their return, the Starks find the pups of a dead [[direwolf]]. Given that the direwolf is the sigil of the family and there are as many pups as the Stark children (even an albino runt for Jon), they take the pups with them.

Back at [[Winterfell]], Lady [[Catelyn Stark]] ([[w:Michelle Fairley|Michelle Fairley]]) informs her husband that a raven has come bearing a letter that announces the death of [[Jon Arryn]], The [[Hand of the King]] and Eddard's old mentor. The message also reports that the king himself is coming to Winterfell. Winterfell receives the royal court where King [[Robert Baratheon|Robert]] ([[w:Mark Addy|Mark Addy]]) confides to his old friend Ned that he doesn't trust anyone around him. He decides to name Ned as the new Hand of the King, and to solidify the alliance between the two families he suggests that Ned's daughter, [[Sansa Stark]] (Sophie Turner) be betrothed to his son and the heir of the crown, Prince [[Joffrey]] (Jack Gleeson). At night, Catelyn receives a troubling message from her sister, Lord Arryn's widow. She suspects her husband Jon was murdered by the king's family-in-law, the powerful [[House Lannister|Lannisters]]. Ned, who at first was reluctant to accept the position of Hand of the King, finally does so in order to protect his old friend.On an abandoned section of Winterfell, young Bran enjoys climbing on the walls where he stumbles on Queen [[Cersei Lannister]] ([[w:Lena Headey|Lena Headey]]) having sex with her twin brother [[Jaime Lannister]] ([[w:Nikolaj Coster-Waldau|Nikolaj Coster-Waldau]]). In order to keep the incestuous relationship a secret, Jaime shoves the boy out of the high window.

===Across the Narrow Sea===
[[File:Khal Drogo2.png|thumb|250px|Khal Drogo arrives to meet [[Daenerys Targaryen|his bride]].]]
The exiled prince [[Viserys Targaryen]] ([[w:Harry Lloyd|Harry Lloyd]]) plots to overthrow King Robert and reclaim his father's throne. To this end, he brokers a marriage between his sister [[Daenerys Targaryen]] ([[w:Emilia Clarke|Emilia Clarke]]) and the powerful horselord Khal [[Drogo]] ([[w:Jason Momoa|Jason Momoa]]) in exchange for the Khal's army. Daenerys voices her fear of the barbarian lord, but her brother forces her to marry him against her will. During the wedding ceremony, Daenerys is given two particular wedding gifts. The first gifts are books from the Seven Kingdoms by Ser [[Jorah Mormont]], an exiled knight who swears his fealty to the Targaryens. The second gifts are three dragon eggs by Magister [[Illyrio Mopatis]], the man who helped arrange the marriage between her and Khal Drogo.  After the ceremony, Drogo removes Daenerys' clothing as she cries. He then pushes her to the ground and the scene ends.

==Guest cast ==  
* [[w:Donald Sumpter|Donald Sumpter]] as Maester [[Luwin]]
* [[w:Jamie Sives|Jamie Sives]] as [[Jory Cassel]]
* [[w:Ron Donachie|Ron Donachie]] as [[Rodrik Cassel]]
* [[w:Joseph Mawle|Joseph Mawle]] as [[Benjen Stark]]
* [[w:Roger Allam|Roger Allam]] as [[Illyrio Mopatis]]
* [[w:Dar Salim|Dar Salim]] as [[Qotho]]
* [[w:Esmé Bianco|Esmé Bianco]] as Ros
* [[w:Susan Brown (English actress)|Susan Brown]] as Septa [[Mordane]]
* [[w:Bronson Webb|Bronson Webb]] as [[Will]] 
* [[w:John Standing|John Standing]] as [[Jon Arryn]]
* [[w:Rob Ostlere|Rob Ostlere]] as [[Waymar Royce]] 
* Dermot Keaney as [[Gared]]
* [[w:Art Parkinson|Art Parkinson]] as [[Rickon Stark]] 
* Callum Wharry as [[Tommen Baratheon]]
* [[w:Aimee Richardson|Aimee Richardson]] as [[Myrcella Baratheon]] 
* [[w:Kristian Nairn|Kristian Nairn]] as [[Hodor]]
* Rania Zouari as Pentoshi slave 
* [[w:Ian Whyte (actor)|Ian Whyte]] as [[Others|White Walker]]
* [[w:Spencer Wilding|Spencer Wilding]] as White Walker
* Claire Wright as Wildling girl wight

==Production==
===The original pilot===
The series began development in January 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957532?refCatId=14|title=HBO turns Fire into fantasy series|work=[[w:Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|last=Fleming|first=Michael|accessdate=May 26, 2011}}</ref> HBO, after acquiring the rights to the novels with the intent of turning them into an international cable television series, hired David Benioff and D. B. Weiss to write and executive produce the series, which would cover one novel's worth of material per season. The first and second drafts of the [[w:pilot episode|pilot]] script, written by Benioff and Weiss, were submitted in August 2007 and June 2008<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://grrm.livejournal.com/2008/06/13/|title=Ice & Fire on HBO|work=Not a Blog|last=Martin|first=George R. R.|accessdate=May 26, 2011}}</ref> respectively. While HBO found both drafts to their liking, a pilot was not ordered until November 2008.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/live-feed/hbo-orders-fantasy-pilot-thrones-50937|title=HBO orders fantasy pilot 'Thrones'|work=The Hollywood Reporter|last=Hibberd|first=James|accessdate=May 26, 2011}}</ref> Director Tom McCarthy was chosen to direct the pilot episode, that was shot between 24 October and 19 November 2009 on location in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Morocco.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://winter-is-coming.net/features/faq/|title=FAQ|work=Winter is Coming.net|accessdate=May 26, 2011}}</ref> On September 2010 it was announced HBO's decision to greenlight the series.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hbo-greenlights-game-thrones-21228|title=HBO greenlights 'Game of Thrones'|work=The Hollywood Reporter|last=Hibberd|first=James|accessdate=May 26, 2011}}</ref> However, due to artistic and casting reasons, it was decided that the pilot would not serve as the first episode and a reshoot was in order. The actors appearing in the original pilot that did not return for the series were:
*[[w:Tamzin Merchant|Tamzin Merchant]] was recast as [[Daenerys Targaryen]] by [[w:Emilia Clarke|Emilia Clarke]].
*[[w:Jennifer Ehle|Jennifer Ehle]] was recast as [[Catelyn Stark]] by [[w:Michelle Fairley|Michelle Fairley]].
*[[w:Ian McNeice|Ian McNeice]] was recast as Magister [[Illyrio Mopatis|Illyrio]] by [[w:Roger Allam|Roger Allam]].
*[[w:Richard Ridings|Richard Ridings]] was recast as [[Gared]] by Dermot Keaney.
*[[w:Jamie Campbell Bower|Jamie Campbell Bower]] was recast as Ser [[Waymar Royce]] by Rob Ostlere.

Another difference is that the pilot featured scenes shot in Scotland (where Doune Castle was used to recreate Winterfell) and Morocco (reusing the sets of Kingdom of Heaven to stand in for [[Pentos]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://grrm.livejournal.com/118848.html|title=Magic in Morocco|work=Not a Blog|last=Martin|first=George R. R.|accessdate=May 26, 2011}}</ref> In the series, Winterfell was created combining different locations in Northern Ireland and all the scenes from Pentos were relocated to [[w:Malta|Malta]]. The pilot remained unaired and the first episode was filmed by new director Tim Van Patten, although some scenes from the original pilot were used in the final cut.

===Writing===
Scripted by the show creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, the first episode includes the plot of the prologue and first six chapters of [[A Game of Thrones|the book]], the eighth, and the 11th (the second Daenerys chapter is pulled forward ahead of events that will be covered in the next episode). [[A Game of Thrones-Prologue|Prologue]], [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 1|Bran I]], [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 2|Catelyn I]], [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 3|Daenerys I]], [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 4|Eddard I]], [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 5|Jon I]], [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 6|Catelyn II]], [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 11|Daenerys II]], [[A Game of Thrones-Chapter 8|Bran II]]) The main changes in the adaptation to the screen are the modification of the sequence of events in the prologue (most significantly, in the books it is Gared and not Will who survives and is beheaded by Eddard afterwards), the introduction of the Lannisters twins as independent point-of-view with new scenes created to show their perspective, and the modification of Daenerys' wedding night with Drogo having sex without waiting for her consent. The creators stated that this last change was made to simplify the narrative arc, having the situation improve gradually.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.westeros.org/GoT/Episodes/Entry/The_Kingsroad/Book_Spoilers/#Book_to_Screen|title=EP101: Winter is Coming|work=Westeros.org|last=Garcia|first=Elio|accessdate=May 26, 2011}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Ratings===
The first episode of ''Game of Thrones'' obtained 2.2 million viewers in its premiere airing, with an additional 2 million viewers in the reruns aired during the same night. The day after the premiere HBO aired the episode six additional times, adding another 1.2 million to the viewer's figures.<ref name="insidetv1">{{Cite web|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/19/game-of-thrones-premiere-ratings/|title='Game of Thrones' premiere ratings are in|work=Inside TV|last=Hibberd|first=James|accessdate=May 24, 2011}}</ref> Reruns aired during the following week climbed the total viewership to 6.8 million.<ref name="insidetv2">{{Cite web|url=http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/04/26/game-of-thrones-ratings-for-second-episode/|title='Game of Thrones' ratings steady for second episode|work=Inside TV|last=Hibberd|first=James|accessdate=May 26, 2011}}</ref> On April 18, 2011, the show premiered in United Kingdom and Ireland through [[w:Sky Atlantic|Sky Atlantic]]. The show gathered 750,000 viewers, a ratings record for the network.<ref name="insidetv1"/>

===Critical response===
The critical response to the first episode of the series was overwhelmingly positive. James Poniewozik from [[w:Time (magazine)|Time]] considered it an "epic win",<ref name="time">{{Cite web|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2065251-1,00.html|title=Epic Win! HBO's Bloody, Bold Game of Thrones|work=TIME|last=Poniewozik|first=James|accessdate=May 24, 2011}}</ref> and Jace Lacob from ''[[w:The Daily Beast|The Daily Beast]]'' deemed it "unforgettable".<ref name="Televisionary">{{Cite web|url=http://www.televisionaryblog.com/2011/04/where-wolves-prey-advance-review-of.html|title=Where Wolves Prey: An Advance Review of HBO's Unforgettable Game of Thrones|work=Televisionary|last=Lacob|first=Jace|accessdate=May 24, 2011}}</ref> [[w:HitFix|HitFlix]]'s Alan Sepinwall wrote that while it was too early to say if ''Game of Thrones'' belonged to the HBO pantheon with shows like ''[[w:The Sopranos|The Sopranos]]'' or ''[[w:The Wire|The Wire]]'', it has many things in common with those shows.<ref name="hitfix">{{Cite web|url=http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/review-hbos-game-of-thrones-an-epic-mature-well-crafted-fantasy-series|title=HBO's 'Game of Thrones' an epic, mature, well-crafted fantasy series|work=HitFix|last=Sepinwall|first=Alan|accessdate=May 24, 2011}}</ref>Much praise was given to the production values and the acting: Scott Meslow from ''[[w:The Atlantic|The Atlantic]]'' states that "the show's immense cast is almost universally strong, and the fantasy land of Westeros feels lived-in, and looks terrific."<ref name="atlantic">{{Cite web|url=http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/04/game-of-thrones-premiere-winter-is-coming/237466/|title='Game of Thrones' Premiere: 'Winter Is Coming'|work=The Atlantic|last=Meslow|first=Scott|accessdate=May 24, 2011}}</ref> Alan Sepinwall also qualifies the casting as "really exceptional", and states that the show is "feast for the eyes", with all the different locations having their own memorable looks.<ref name="hitfix"/>The opening sequence, with an aerial view of the world where the series takes place with the different settings emerging from it, was also acclaimed.<ref name="hitfix"/><ref name="atlantic"/>

==References==
{{References}}
{{EnWP|Winter Is Coming|small=yes}}

==External links==
* [https://www.hbo.com/game-of-thrones/season-1/1-winter-is-coming "Winter Is Coming"] at [https://www.hbo.com/ HBO]
*{{WoW|Winter Is Coming|"Winter Is Coming"}}
*{{IMDb episode|1480055}}
*{{WP|Winter Is Coming|"Winter Is Coming"}}
* [http://www.tv.com/episode/1372608/summary.html "Winter Is Coming"] at [http://www.tv.com TV.com]
* [https://www.westeros.org/GoT/Episode/Winter_is_Coming Westeros episode Review and Recap]

{{GOT}}

[[Category:Game of Thrones (TV series)]]

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