Winter Is Coming (17 Apr. 2011)

Jon Arryn, the Hand of the King, is dead. King Robert Baratheon plans to ask his oldest friend, Eddard Stark, to take Jon's place. Across the sea, Viserys Targaryen plans to wed his sister to a nomadic warlord in exchange for an army.

Director:

Timothy Van Patten

Writers:

David Benioff (creator), D.B. Weiss (creator),

Stars:

Sean Bean, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Sean Bean	...	Eddard 'Ned' Stark
Mark Addy	...	Robert Baratheon
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau	...	Jaime Lannister
Michelle Fairley	...	Catelyn Stark
Lena Headey	...	Cersei Lannister
Emilia Clarke	...	Daenerys Targaryen
Iain Glen	...	Jorah Mormont
Harry Lloyd	...	Viserys Targaryen
Kit Harington	...	Jon Snow
Sophie Turner	...	Sansa Stark
Maisie Williams	...	Arya Stark
Richard Madden	...	Robb Stark
Alfie Allen	...	Theon Greyjoy
Isaac Hempstead Wright	...	Bran Stark
Jack Gleeson	...	Joffrey Baratheon

Storyline

In the land of Winterfell, Lord Ned Stark begins to believe that something is amiss. A deserter from the Night Watch, the guardians of the giant ice wall at the northern boundary of their territory, says he's seen the white walkers. Later, Ned and his sons find animals slain in the woods, including a she-wolf whose six pups they keep, one for each of Ned's children. They also welcome the arrival of Ned's good friend King Robert who was once betrothed to Ned's sister. She was killed before they could marry and he wed Cersei Lannister who has given him a son, Joffrey. Along with them are Cersei's two brothers, the handsome Jaime and Tyrion, a dwarf with very large appetites. The King wants Ned to return with him to his capital, King's Landing, and become the King's Hand. Ned accepts but his young son Bran accidentally sees something he should not have and suffers a serious fall as a result. Meanwhile, in the land across the narrow sea, Viserys Targaryen needs an army to attack King's ...

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Plot Keywords:

king | deserter | castle | queen | little sister | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 April 2011 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Malta

Company Credits

Production Co:

Home Box Office (HBO), Television 360, Grok! Studio

Technical Specs

Runtime:

62 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sansa Stark named her wolf Lady. Lady was played by Zunni from Mahlek Northern Inuit Dogs. (Sophie Turner, who plays Sansa in the series, adopted Lady as her own pet when the series wrapped).

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Goofs

When Khal Drogo places Daenerys Targaryen on her horse after the wedding, he clearly places her side saddle. The next shot shows her straddling the horse, with no time for her to have moved to that position.

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Quotes

Tyrion Lannister: Let me tell you something, Bastard. Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor and it can never be used to hurt you.
Jon Snow: What the hell do you know about being a bastard?
Tyrion Lannister: All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes.

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Crazy Credits

The sun tells an important part of the series back story, on its panels. It does so in three segments. First, as the credits start up, the sun depicts how the Targaryens and their dragons conquered Westeros. The second time the sun is shown, a dragon is depicted in a mortal struggle with 3 other animals: The Stag, the Lion and the Wolf. It is a very literal way to show how Robert Beratheon and Ned Stark rebelled, with Tywin Lannister reluctantly supporting them, in the end. Finally, the third time the sun is shown, before the series title enter the scene, a lion (among other animals) is shown "kneeling" to a triumphant Stag. Just as Robert was crowned King after winning the war.

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Soundtracks

"Main Title"
(uncredited)
Written and Performed by Ramin Djawadi

User Reviews

A pilot to unthrone them all

Cinéma has Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings, Now TV has the Game of Thrones by the master of Sandkings. George R. R. Martin in heaven his work should spawn at least Four Seasons, The cold-blooded beginning will burn your latent emotions and freeze your dual reasons.

Closing black metal door and opening credits scavenging for unknown kingdoms, Highlander and fantastic territories as surreal as a wonderful forest of giant mushrooms. Almighty production with only a few minor glitches and heroic sets, From lifelike costumes and lurking soundtrack to majestic visual effects.

Sean Bean as lead and Lena Headey as queen plunged in a pool of steep talent. Kids to glide a smile, the bastard and the dwarf, vertiginous curves with riding knights. A cascade of refreshing characters to escort us through black days and white nights. Cuddly wolves, history books, dragon eggs. A universe has never been so magnificent.

Tolkienian by its numerous names and great attention to details, Despite the labyrinth an enchainting viewing and intriguing parallel stories. Winter warriors, white haired incest or blue savages are struggling families. A balance of Braveheart blood and medieval epicness to crimp biogenic trails.