The Wars to Come

"**The Wars to Come**"
"The Wars to Come"
Game of Thrones episode
Episode no.	Season 5; Episode 1
Directed by	Michael Slovis
Written by	David Benioff; D. B. Weiss
Featured music	Ramin Djawadi
Cinematography by	David Franco
Editing by	Katie Weiland
Original air date	April 12, 2015
Running time	52 minutes
Guest appearances
	Ciarán Hinds as Mance Rayder; Owen Teale as Alliser Thorne; Ian McElhinney as Ser Barristan Selmy; Julian Glover as Grand Maester Pycelle; Tara Fitzgerald as Selyse Baratheon; Roger Ashton-Griffiths as Mace Tyrell; Jacob Anderson as Grey Worm; Finn Jones as Loras Tyrell; Daniel Portman as Podrick Payne; Jodhi May as Maggy; Dominic Carter as Janos Slynt; Joel Fry as Hizdahr zo Loraq; Ben Crompton as Edd Tollett; Eugene Simon as Lancel Lannister; Will Tudor as Olyvar; Rupert Vansittart as Yohn Royce; Ian Beattie as Ser Meryn Trant; Ian Gelder as Kevan Lannister; Brenock O'Connor as Olly; Kerry Ingram as Shireen Baratheon; Paul Bentley as the High Septon; Reece Noi as Mossador; Michael Condron as Bowen Marsh; Lino Facioli as Robin Arryn; Nell Williams as young Cersei Lannister; Isabella Steinbarth as Melara Hetherspoon; Marcos James as White Rat; Allan Gildea as Samwell Stone; Meena Rayann as Vala; Stephen Brown as a sparring boy; Joe Hewetson as Helliweg;
Episode chronology
← Previous; "The Children"	Next →; "The House of Black and White"
	Game of Thrones season 5
	List of episodes

"The Wars to Come" is the first episode of the fifth season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 41st overall. The episode was directed by Michael Slovis, his directorial debut for the series, and written by series co-creates David Benioff and D. B. Weiss.^[1] It first aired on April 12, 2015.

Prior to airing, the episode, along with the other first four episodes of the season, were leaked online.^[2] According to HBO, the leak likely originated from a group of early access screeners that HBO authorized to receive the episode, so that they could prepare reviews ahead of their airdates.^[3]^[4] According to TorrentFreak, the leaked episodes were downloaded more than 100,000 times within three hours of being uploaded, and over a million times by the following day.^[5]

The episode received positive reviews, with many critics singling out Peter Dinklage's performance and his returning comic relief role. It marks the final appearances of Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister) and Ciarán Hinds (Mance Rayder).

^ Hibberd, James (July 15, 2014). "'Game of Thrones' season 5 directors chosen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
^ Goldman, David (April 12, 2015). "'Game of Thrones': First four episodes leaked before premiere". CNN. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
^ Warren, Tom (April 12, 2015). "First four episodes of Game of Thrones season 5 leak online". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
^ Andreeva, Nellie (April 12, 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Season 5 Episodes Leak Online, HBO Assesses Breach – Update". Deadline. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
^ Van der Sar, Ernesto (April 12, 2015). "First Episodes of Game of Thrones Season 5 Leak Online". TorrentFreak. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

[s5_directors-1] Hibberd, James (July 15, 2014). "'Game of Thrones' season 5 directors chosen". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 15, 2014.

[2] Goldman, David (April 12, 2015). "'Game of Thrones': First four episodes leaked before premiere". CNN. Retrieved April 13, 2015.

[3] Warren, Tom (April 12, 2015). "First four episodes of Game of Thrones season 5 leak online". The Verge. Vox Media. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

[4] Andreeva, Nellie (April 12, 2015). "'Game of Thrones' Season 5 Episodes Leak Online, HBO Assesses Breach – Update". Deadline. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

[5] Van der Sar, Ernesto (April 12, 2015). "First Episodes of Game of Thrones Season 5 Leak Online". TorrentFreak. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

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