Here's a refresher on what you need to know going into 'Game of Thrones' season 6

daenerys game of thrones season 5
HBO

Warning: Spoilers ahead for season five of "Game of Thrones."

Advertisement

"Game of Thrones" returns to HBO on April 24, and fans are pumped to see their favorite characters back on screen. Since it's been nearly nine months since the season five finale, we took it upon ourselves to remind fans about all the important details you should know heading into Sunday's season six premiere.

Let's dive into everything you need to know. And don't worry — we left out any known details about season six in case you want to go in blind. 

Advertisement

Let's start up north. Roose Bolton and his wife, Walda Frey, are expecting a baby. Ramsay, Roose's bastard son, isn't too happy.

Roose Ramsay Bolton Walda Frey Helen Sloan:courtesy of HBO
HBO

Even though Ramsay was legitimized (dropping the surname Snow and taking Bolton), Roose's new baby — who is believed to be a boy — is technically a threat to Ramsay. The Boltons are currently occupying the Stark home of Winterfell, and are trying to secure their hold on the North. 

 

The Boltons were prepared for battle against Stannis, who wanted to conquer the North as part of his attempt at taking the Iron Throne.

Melisandre and Stannis
HBO

Stannis knew the Boltons were loyal to the Lannisters and King Tommen, which meant he would have to uproot them from Winterfell and take the North if he were to be king. 

Advertisement

Stannis and his wife, Selyse, made the choice to burn their daughter Shireen alive in order to please the Lord of Light.

Shireen Baratheon burned alive Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

They needed the snow to melt in order to attack the Boltons, and Melisandre promised this was the only way forward. Unfortunately, the child sacrifice actually caused sections of Stannis' troops to abandon their king. The snow did melt, however, and Stannis forged on.

Selyse couldn't live with her choice to kill her only child. She hung herself the morning after Shireen was murdered.

Stannis and Selyse Baratheon burn shireen Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

The guards told Stannis the news of his wife's suicide and the desertion of his troops at the same time. 

Advertisement

When Stannis learned of his wife's suicide, he decided the only course of action was to go forward with the attack on Winterfell. That didn't go so well.

Stannis Baratheon before death Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

His attack was fruitless, and the Bolton troops rode out to the battlefield and easily destroyed what remained of Stannis' army. Melisandre, however, gave up entirely. 

As a result, Melisandre left Stannis, disheartened by the results of her sacrifice.

Melisandre and Davos Game of Thrones
HBO

She rode back north to Castle Black, where she looked utterly forlorn as Davos and Jon Snow asked her what had happened. Her faith in the Lord of Light seems shattered.

Advertisement

Davos was heartbroken to learn that Shireen and Stannis were both gone, but he doesn't know how it happened — yet.

Davos and Jon Snow Game of Thrones
HBO

Davos could tell from Melisandre's expression that there was no hope for his king and surrogate daughter Shireen, but the red priestess didn't admit that she was to blame. Keep that in mind as season six progresses, because Davos is sure to learn the truth at some point. 

Shortly after Melisandre's arrival, Jon Snow was lured into a deadly trap by his steward Olly.

Olly tricks Jon Snow Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

Olly pretended there was news of Jon's missing Uncle Benjen, but it turned out to be a way to get him in front of mutinous men with daggers instead.

Advertisement

And yes, Jon Snow died.

Jon Snow Game of Thrones season five
HBO

No one can really argue that anymore. What happens in season six with his body (and it's possible return to life) is a whole other story. But for now, fans should remember that a small group of Night's Watch brothers, led by Alliser Thorne, murdered him. Jon had already led a large group of Wildlings past the Wall and into the land south of Castle Black. Be prepared to see a huge uproar from Jon's loyal followers.

Jon wasn't the only casualty of the finale. Brienne, who had been waiting for a sign to rescue Sansa, left her post to find and kill Stannis.

Brienne about to kill Stannis Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

Brienne found a wounded Stannis on the battlefield, and was finally able to avenge her king Renly. Stannis admitted to murdering his younger brother, and gave no fight when Brienne sentenced him to death. Though we didn't see the death onscreen, the character's death was confirmed.

Advertisement

While Brienne and the Boltons were distracted, Sansa and Theon made a daring escape.

Theon and Sansa Game of Thrones season five
HBO

After Theon pushed Ramsay's evil mistress Myranda to her death, he grabbed Sansa's hand and the two leapt from the castle walls and into a deep snowbank below. 

Sam and Gilly left Castle Black — they're heading to Oldtown, where the Citadel is located.

Sam and Gilly Oldtown Game of Thrones season five
HBO

At the citadel, Sam will train to become a maester, a member of the special order of scholars, healers, and quasi-scientists. Gilly (and baby Sam) will be safer in the Citadel, since there aren't as many rapists and thieves lurking in Oldtown. But Sam still isn't allowed to have "relations" with a woman, since he's still a man of the Night's Watch. We'll have to see how faithful he is to that rule. Maesters are also supposed to be celibate, so he'd be breaking two oaths if he sleeps with Gilly again.

Advertisement

Meanwhile, the Night's King is leading the White Walkers and their army of wights closer to Westeros.

Nights King rising
hbogo.com

We saw the Night's King, a mega-powerful White Walker, raise an enormous army of the dead at Hardhome. Jon Snow and some of the wildlings managed to escape, but who knows when the Night's King will strike again. Can they get past the Wall? Will anyone in Westeros finally believe the Night's Watch? 

Bran Stark didn't appear in season five at all, but we last saw him beyond the Wall in Bloodraven's cave.

bran stark season 4 game of thrones three eye crow
HBO

Ever since his crippling fall, Bran has had dreams about a three-eyed raven. He spent a long time traveling north — with the help of Hodor, Jojen, and Meera — to finally meet the mysteriously powerful man known as Bloodraven, the three-eyed raven in physical form. Bloodraven promised to teach Bran the powers of greensight, the ability to see into the past, present, and future all from the comfort of his weirwood tree cave. 

Advertisement

Speaking of Stark children, Arya committed her most gruesome murder yet.

Arya with knife Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

She went after Meryn Trant, the Lannister Kingsguard member who killed Arya's sword-fighting instructor Syrio Forel and used to beat Sansa on Joffrey's orders. Arya went all out, stabbing him in both eyes and in the side and chest, before finally slitting his throat. She's crossed over into dangerous assassin territory.

But she took a face from the Hall of Faces without permission, and for that she was punished.

arya blind game of thrones
HBO

Arya was still a trainee among the Faceless Men, which meant she violated their code by taking a face to kill a man for personal revenge. Jaqen H'ghar, her longhaired mentor, punished Arya by magically blinding her. 

Advertisement

Over in Meereen, Daenerys was set to wed Hidzhar zo Loraq.

Hizdahr zo Loraq and Daenerys Game of Thrones Nick Wall HBO
Nick Wall/HBO

She also reopened the fighting pits as a concession to local tradition, a piece of advice offered by Hidzhar himself. 

But at the ceremonial reopening of the fighting pit, the rebel group Sons of the Harpy attacked, killing Hidzhar in the process.

Game Of Thrones Emilia Clarke Daenerys
Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in HBO's Game of Thrones Courtesy of HBO

Daenerys escaped when Drogon flew in to save the day. 

Advertisement

Unfortunately, Drogon flew her directly into the Dothraki Sea, where a large khalasar found and surrounded her.

Daenerys Targaryen Game of Thrones
HBO

The Dothraki probably won't be pleased to see Daenerys, because the last time she was among them as a Khaleesi things didn't go too well. She allowed a foreign woman to "heal" Khal Drogo, resulting in his eventual death. She's probably in for a rough time among them again. 

Back in Meereen, the people in Daenerys' life were left to figure out a plan.

Tyrion Daario and Jorah Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

Jorah and Daario decided to go look for her and bring her home, while Missandei and Greyworm would stay behind and help Tyrion rule the city. 

Advertisement

Tyrion was left in charge, and then Varys turned up out of nowhere.

Tyrion Lannister Varys Game of Thrones trailer
HBO

Conveniently, Varys appeared right when Tyrion was feeling at a loss. Hopefully Varys will be useful in determining who the Sons of the Harpy are, and the best way to quash their deadly rebellion against Daenerys' rule.

Back in Westeros, Jaime and Myrcella were heading back to King's Landing with Trystane Martell in tow.

Ellaria Myrcella Trystane and Jaime Game of Thrones
HBO

The ruler of Dorne, Prince Doran, had agreed to let his son, Trystane, go to King's Landing and serve on King Tommen's small council. Myrcella and Trystane were betrothed, but Ellaria Sand (the late Prince Oberyn's lover) was furious. 

Advertisement

So Ellaria and the Sand Snakes (Oberyn's bastard daughters) murdered Myrcella using poison.

Jaime Lannister and Myrcella Game of Thrones season five
HBO

That means Jaime is on a boat with his daughter's dead body and her teen fiancé, heading back to King's Landing. Should make for an interesting disembarking party, to say the least.

In King's Landing, Cersei gave the new radical religious ruler the High Sparrow a lot of power.

Cersei and High Sparrow Game of Thrones Macall B. Polay
HBO

She had hoped to get rid of Maragaery and her brother, Loras, in one fell swoop. The High Sparrow and his Faith Militant soldiers have puritanical values that are brutally enforced.

Advertisement

Loras was arrested for being openly gay — something against the rules in the show's version of the Faith.

Loras being arrested Game of Thrones Macall B. Polay HBO
Macall B. Polay/HBO

His arrest led to a trial, where the man he had been sleeping with betrayed him. But the High Sparrow didn't stop there ... 

Margaery was taken prisoner, too. The High Sparrow arrested her for lying under oath about her brother's sexuality.

Margaery imprisoned Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

So now both Margaery and Loras are in prison, awaiting a trial for their crimes against the Faith. King Tommen is beside himself, but because his mother had convinced him that arming the Faith Militant was a good idea, he technically gave up his power. 

Advertisement

This ended up backfiring on Cersei as she was later arrested as well.

Cersei Lannister imprisoned Game of Thrones Helen Sloan HBO
Helen Sloan/HBO

She was accused of adultery (which happened), incest (with both her cousin and her brother), and conspiring to murder King Robert (also a thing).

Advertisement

She was allowed to return home, but was forced to do a naked "walk of atonement" for her crimes.

Qyburn and Cersei Game of Thrones Macall B. Polay HBO
Macall B. Polay/HBO

Cersei denied all accusations except adultery. As a reward for her confession to sleeping with a man outside of her marriage, the High Sparrow let her leave the prison cell. She still has to stand a trial in the upcoming season for her denied crimes, though.

 

 

Advertisement

We also met this dude in season five: A zombified version of the Mountain.

The Mountain Gregor Clegane Game of Thrones
HBO

Throughout season five, we saw the dubious ex-maester Qyburn working on the Mountain's dying body in his laboratory. Then, in the finale, Qyburn introduced this gigantic, silent man to Cersei, promising that he would avenge all those who wronged her. Prepare to see zombie-Mountain kill some (probably innocent) people.

Last but not least, let's look back at the Iron Islands. Balon Greyjoy is still technically rebelling against the crown and calling himself king.

balon greyjoy game of thrones
HBO

Balon, father to Theon and Yara, is a cross old man who feels deserving of the title "king." We last saw him when he refused to help Yara orchestrate a rescue mission to save Theon from the Bolton's grasp. 

Advertisement

Yara tried (and miserably failed) to save Theon in season four.

Yara Greyjoy Game of Thrones
HBO

Yara took her men on a tough and kind of ridiculous journey to try and rescue Theon. Her brother refused, too trained by Ramsay at that point to attempt leaving. Yara got back on the boat and headed to the Iron Islands again. Season six should be the time for fans to finally revisit Theon's hometown. 

TV Game of Thrones HBO
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.