Episode 1: Winter Is Coming Official

The episode ends with Ned’s son, Bran, witnessing Queen Cersei and her twin brother, Jaime Lannister, in an incestuous act. To protect their secret, Jaime pushes Bran from a high tower window. Core Themes & Symbolism

" Winter Is Coming ," the series premiere of , aired on April 17, 2011. Directed by Tim Van Patten and written by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, it adapts the opening chapters of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones . Plot Summary Episode 1: Winter is Coming

In Pentos, exiled Prince Viserys Targaryen arranges a marriage between his sister Daenerys and Dothraki warlord Khal Drogo to secure an army to reclaim the Iron Throne. The episode ends with Ned’s son, Bran, witnessing

King Robert Baratheon arrives to ask Ned to become the new "Hand of the King" following the mysterious death of their mentor, Jon Arryn. Directed by Tim Van Patten and written by

Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark executes Will for desertion, upholding the value that "the man who passes the sentence should also swing the sword". Afterward, the Starks find a dead direwolf with six pups—mirroring the number and genders of Ned’s children, including his bastard son, Jon Snow.