Winter is Coming

Harington appears as Jon Snow in the first episode of Game of Thrones, Winter is Coming. Sean Bean plays his father, Lord Eddard Stark. Jon accompanies his younger half-brother Bran Stark, played by Isaac Hempstead-Wright, to watch the execution by Lord Eddard of a deserter from the Night’s Watch. He praises Bran’s courage in being able to witness the act. Heading back to the Stark stronghold of Winterfell, the group encounter a dead direwolf by the road. They discover that it has five pups that are still alive, one for each of the trueborn Stark children. Jon convinces Lord Eddard to let the children raise them. He discovers a sixth pup, the smallest of the litter, and takes it for his own. At Winterfell, King Robert Baratheon arrives to name Lord Eddard the Hand of the King. As Lord Eddard’s illegitimate child, Jon is barred from attending the banquet with the royal party by Lady Catelyn Stark. He is comforted by Tyrion Lannister, played by Peter Dinklage, who relates the difficulties of being a dwarf with the difficulties of being illegitimate, and tells Jon that he must embrace who he is.