"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.