The Kingsroad

"The Kingsroad" is the second episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, first aired on April 24, 2011. It was written by series creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Tim Van Patten. Nearly all the action of the episode happens during travel: Eddard Stark and his daughters accompany the king's entourage to King's Landing to occupy the post of Hand of the King, Tyrion Lannister joins Jon in his travel to the Wall, and the newly wed Daenerys goes with her husband's khalasar to the city of Vaes Dothrak. Meanwhile, in Winterfell a grieving Catelyn Stark watches over her unconscious son Bran. The title of the episode refers to the long road that snakes throughout Westeros, eventually ending at King's Landing. Viewing figures were unchanged from the premiere, despite the second episode airing on Easter Sunday. Critical reception to the episode was favorable. Filming locations included several notable Northern Ireland locations, and the filming itself was complicated by the difficulty of integrating canine actors into several crucial scenes. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 2.2 million in its initial broadcast.