The Ultimate Game of Thrones Refresher for Every Character Still Alive

Jamie & Cersei Lannister

Admit it: Season 6 was a bit of a roller coaster for the Lannister Queen. Cersei began in total imprisonment in the Red Keep, recovering from her arrest, which involved a walk (and pixie cut) of shame. About to be put on trial, Cersei detonated a huge stash of wildfire under the Sept, killing a huge number of characters, including Queen Margaery and the High Sparrow. Tommen, her one surviving son and the king, jumped to his death after he witnessed the explosion. Cersei was then crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms and donned a pretty awesome, intense black gown. 
Her brother and lover (we'll never get used to saying that), Jamie, spent much of Season 6 off on various missions. First, he tried to bring home his daughter Myrcella from Dorne (that failed), and then he went to Riverrun to peacefully untangle House Frey and House Tully (that was a success). In the season finale, Jamie returned to King’s Landing to find his last surviving son dead and his lover/sister on a murderous power trip. Needless to say, he was a bit shocked.

Daenerys Targaryen

Dany started Season 6 in a bad place: captured by a Khal and imprisoned in the Dosh Khaleen in Vaes Dothrak since she is the widow of Khal Drogo. Before long, though, she escaped by setting fire to a building filled with Khals and emerged unscathed by the fire, showing her power in front of the onlooking Dothraki people. 
She and her people returned to Meereen to find it taken again by the slaveowners that she had been fighting before her departure. Daenerys attacked the city with the help of her ever-growing dragons and then, finally, after many seasons of planning, set sail for Westeros with her enormous army. 

Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion had his most boring storyline yet in Season 6. Basically, he spent the whole season embroiled in the politics of Meereen and the surrounding slave cities. Snooze!

After lots of drama and chaos — and some dragon action — he was named Hand of the Queen (a position he's pretty familiar with) and is setting sail for Westeros with the rest of Dany’s followers. We are definitely hoping for a Season 7 with more Tyrion, including his plotting, smarts and awesome one-liners. 

Jon Snow

It's hard to forget that Jon Snow, our very favorite bastard, started Season 6 very dead after being stabbed Caesar-style during a mutiny. After being resurrected by Melisandre, he returned to the world of the living — and a whole bunch of problems. 
When Sansa arrived at Castle Black, she and Jon left on a mission to retake Winterfell and get revenge on Ramsay Bolton. It was bumpy at first, with Sansa and Jon having trouble convincing small groups of soldiers to ally with them. Even when they managed to get a decent army, in the heat of the moment, Jon was forced to face Ramsay with only a small army; the deck looked stacked in Ramsay's favor. At the last moment, he was bailed out by Sansa, Littlefinger and House Arryn. 
In the end, we (but not Jon) found out that Jon's parents are Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Meanwhile, Jon was crowned King of the North.

Sansa Stark & Littlefinger

Freed from her psychopath husband, Ramsay Bolton, Sansa ran to Castle Black and was reunited with her half-brother, Jon Snow, at the beginning of Season 6. When he left to take back Winterfell, she went with him to secure soldiers. She was even sly enough to secretly secure the soldiers of House Arryn, which came in handy when she had to bail Jon out of the Battle of the Bastards minutes before he would have been killed. Her ex is captured and she doesn't hesitate to feed him to his own dogs, much to the delight of viewers. 
At the end of Season 6, Sansa is left feeling conflicted about both Jon Snow and about Littlefinger, who swears he wants to rule the land with her at his side. We are pretty sure a lot of Season 7 will feature Sansa making some hard choices about the future.

Arya Stark

As Season 6 opened, Arya was still being schooled at the House of Black and White. But, as always, our all-time favorite Stark doesn't submit to authority. After breaking a lot of rules and killing one of her teachers, she retrieved her beloved Needle and returned to Westeros. There, she started in on her revenge murders, beginning with the Freys (who were responsible for killing her mother and brother, Robb). Who will Arya murder next? 

Bran Stark

Bran was learning how to become the Three-Eyed Raven during much of Season 6 and, yeah, it's pretty boring except for the flashbacks. By the end of the season, he had escaped from the Wights (with the help of Hodor, who was killed) with Meera at his side. They were found by his back-from-the-dead, probably-a-zombie uncle Benjen and returned to the other side of the Wall. 
The big question this season is: Can Bran get all of the juicy information he learned in those flashbacks to the people who need to hear it? 

Melisandre

Melisandre spent the beginning of Season 6 questioning her faith after Stannis fell, but she sees new hope in the world after successfully resurrecting Jon Snow. She realized that he's probably the real prophet she's had visions of, the Lord of Light. Just as Melisandre was settling into her new role as Jon's aide, loyal to him and ready to fight the White Walkers for him, Davos figured out that she burned Shireen Baratheon, the young girl he cared for, alive at the stake. For her crime, she was banished South.

One of the biggest questions of Season 7 is what Melisandre will be up to and whose side she'll be on. 

The Hound & the Mountain

Sandor Clegane, aka the Hound, went deep into reforming himself and his wicked ways in Season 6. After he was nursed back to health by some kind villagers, he essentially joined a commune and attempted to build housing for all the followers of Brother Ray. When they were slaughtered, Sandor couldn't help but get super violent again (he has basically zero other coping skills), getting some revenge before joining the Brothers Without Banners as they marched North to fight the undead. 
The Hound's older brother, the Mountain, continued his duties as Cersei's extremely scary, mostly dead bodyguard. Could the Hound and the Mountain meet in a much-anticipated duel in Season 7? We are dying to know. 

Theon & Yara Greyjoy

After escaping the Boltons and returning to his old self, Theon made his way home to the Iron Islands and to his sister, Yara. He stumbled upon a lot of drama: his evil uncle Euron had murdered his father and taken control of the land. Theon and Yara escaped Euron as he plotted to off them, too, stealing a boat and sailing to Meereen. There, they joined forces with Daenerys, promising her their ships and soldiers for her cause. 
There's a lot of gossip that Euron is going to be the main bad guy during Season 7, and we look forward to deeply hating his guts. 

Brienne of Tarth & Podrick

Brienne and her loyal sidekick Podrick swore to protect Sansa, who at this point may be the next best thing to protecting the now-deceased Catelyn Stark; basically, it's ominous that Brienne and Pod are protecting a major target yet again.
Early in the season, they escorted Sansa to Castle Black after coming upon her and Theon as they escaped from Ramsay Bolton. At Castle Black, Brienne became the object of affection of Tormund, the Wildling. From there, she and Pod went to Riverrun to try to enlist the Blackfish to the Starks' cause but end up barely escaping with their lives. 
Brienne and Pod are now sailing along to who knows where. It'll be interesting to see where they pop up in Season 7.

Lord Varys

The Spider did a lot of traveling in Season 6 in an attempt to find more allies for Daenerys. In Dorne, he convinced Ellaria Sand and Olenna Tyrell to side with the dragons. Currently, he's on one of Dany's boats and on his way back to Westeros. 

Missandei & Grey Worm

These two lovebirds are now close advisors to Daenerys. They spent Season 6 in much the same way as others: helping Dany and the rest of her crew make the best decisions possible for their cause. When we left them last, they had survived everything that had been thrown at them and were sailing to Westeros with their queen. 

Samwell Tarly & Gilly

Sam and Gilly didn’t get much screen time in Season 6. Their odd little family traveled from Castle Black to the South so that Sam could attend school at the Citadel. Accompanied by Gilly and Little Sam, they thought they could live at Horn Hill with Sam’s family. However, the family visit with Sam's elitist relations didn’t go well. While almost everyone was welcoming, Sam’s father was a real jerk. All three decide to leave, traveling to the Citadel without a clear path forward for Gilly and her baby. 

Davos Seaworth

Davos, like many other characters, used to be loyal to Stannis Baratheon. In Season 6, he adjusted to his new situation as an ally and adviser to Jon Snow. Davos's bravery, wit, compassion and loyalty were on full display, and we really hope he makes it through the coming shitstorm. After discovering the cruel fate Shireen Baratheon suffered, Davos ordered the Red Priestess banished South, swearing he will kill her if she attempts to return. 

Lyanna Mormont

One of Season 6's new characters, Lyanna, is the 10-year-old leader of Bear Island. She quickly established herself as a fan favorite when she was first introduced in a scene with Jon and Sansa wherein the Starks begged her to give them her soldiers in their fight against Ramsay Bolton.

The brave, no-nonsense Northerner spent her time last season scowling at stupid people and making informed decisions, based on both her own knowledge and the input of her advisors, just like a leader should. In the coming season, we're going to guess she gets a greater amount of screen time and kicks butt, whether fighting beyond the Wall or down South. 

Beric Dondarrion

Beric, everyone’s favorite Lord of Light Zombie after Jon Snow, enjoyed a brief cameo in Season 6 when he and his Brotherhood Without Banners ran into the Hound. This time around, Dondarrion was about to hang three of his men for robbing some villagers. After allowing the Hound to kill a band of thieves who killed the followers of Brother Ray, Beric invited the Hound to join the Brotherhood. This is where we'll most likely rejoin Beric in Season 7.