We’re not going to mess around because there’s a lot of revision to get through.
A new series Game Of Thrones is tantalisingly close, so this is the last chance saloon when it comes to brushing up on your knowledge before the action starts.
Given the tremendous amount of characters who’ve made it this far (RIP to those we’ve lost along the way), you’d be forgiven for forgetting where we left a number of them.
So here’s our guide on just that...
Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen
We’ll start with these two, as 1) They were together and 2) You probably haven’t forgotten them, so let’s just get that out of the way.
During a heated meeting with Cersei Lannister et al., Jon swore his allegiance to the Mother of Dragons, an unwise yet undeniably hot move. It was no surprise then, when Jon and Daenerys ended up in bed together.
As this was happening, viewers got confirmation that the characters are related, which is a fact that will presumably provide the starting point for an incredibly awkward conversation at some point.
Cersei Lannister
While many other characters are in the North (or heading North) to fight the Army of the Dead, Cersei is sticking to her guns and remaining in King’s Landing.
Following Jon’s pledge of allegiance, she was understandably furious and refused to stand her armies down so the others could fight the dead without worrying about another threat.
A meeting with Tyrion then saw Cersei change her mind, telling Jon and Daenerys that her armies would join with theirs and face down the terrifying enemies in the North… unfortunately, this was a total lie and she has no plans to help. Classic Cersei.
Euron Greyjoy
God, we hate him. Euron was last seen storming out of King’s Landing and telling the inhabitants of the mainland that they can fight the terrifying White Walkers without him.
But after lying to Jon, Cersei revealed the truth – Euron has actually gone to Essos to pick up more paid-for soldiers, who will help defend King’s Landing when the time comes.
Arya and Sansa Stark
While their brother has been dealing with the Queen and his aunt (nope, we’re not over it), the Stark sisters have eradicated a threat closer to home, in Winterfell. The long-separated sisters’ reunion began with a series of tense exchanges, as Arya refused to forgive Sansa for her role in their father’s death, and Sansa tried to come to terms with the fact her little sister is now a cold-blooded (and highly-skilled) killer.
In one of the most welcome twists in Game Of Thrones history, the sisters ended the series by taking down Littlefinger, whose conniving ways were finally rumbled by Sansa. Exercising her powers as the Lady of Winterfell, Sansa ordered Littlefinger’s execution and Arya happily obliged in slitting his throat. It was family bonding, the Game Of Thrones way.
Jaime Lannister
When Cersei revealed that she wasn’t actually going to help fight the Army of the Dead, Jaime was understandably furious, having what might be his last ever falling out with his sister and riding off.
As if his position wasn’t clear enough, Jaime was seen literally approaching a fork in the road as he headed North and tussled with whether to stay true to his sister (who may or may not be expecting his baby!) or save the entire human race.
Given that season eight will probably complete his much-talked about redemption arc, it seems the Kingslayer will go through with choosing the latter.
Gendry
Gendry played a heroic role in episode six of the seventh series, running back to Eastwatch to send a raven and notify Daenerys about Operation: Kidnap A White Walker going a wee bit wrong.
Worryingly, he hasn’t been seen since collapsing at the gate and (again, worryingly) HBO haven’t bothered making a season eight character poster for him. While we reckon it’s highly unlikely he’s been killed off – he might be Cersei’s son and therefore a possible heir, after all – we’re still going to breathe a sigh of relief when he appears on screen next.
Yara Greyjoy
Currently a prisoner on Euron’s ship, Yara is not having a good time of it. That could be about to change…
Theon Greyjoy
He’s properly back and Reek is no more. Theon was last seen dashing after Yara, following a much-needed pep talk from Jon ‘Actually he’s a Targaryen’ Snow.
Rescuing his sister won’t be easy though and things are set to be complicated further by the fact Theon thinks Euron is sailing back to the Iron Islands to take cover, rather than to Essos to become even more entangled in this war.
Brienne of Tarth
Determined to keep her oath to Catelyn Stark (RIP), Brienne represented Sansa Stark at the King’s Landing meeting, bringing her face to face with old friend Jaime.
Meeting over and help secured (only it’s not, because Cersei is playing all of them), Brienne is accompanying the gang back to the North, to fight the White Walkers. Seeing Brienne absolutely slay this battle is something we have been looking forward to for months so no, we won’t be addressing the fact many people think she’ll be one of the first to die, OK? And anyway, she looks like she’s doing a fine job in the trailer.
Tyrion Lannister
Having made it out of King’s Landing alive, the Hand of the Queen was last seen en route to Winterfell with Daenerys and Jon. He was also in the corridor as the aunt and nephew duo went to bed together, meaning he’s potentially the only person truly aware of how seriously they’re taking their allegiance.
Bran
Don’t they grow up fast? It seems like just yesterday that Bran was scaling the walls of Winterfell and catching incestuous couple numero uno in the tower together and look at him now.
Having gone on both a physical and spiritual journey as winter settled in, Bran is getting used to his new full-time role as the Three-Eyed-Raven. Putting his skillz to good use, Bran has been spying on the Night King’s army and will hopefully be able to offer vital information during the upcoming battle.
He’s one of only two people to know the truth about Jon’s parentage. The other person is…
Samwell Tarly
After calling time on his pretty shoddy stint with the Night’s Watch (well, apart from when he killed a White Walker, actually), Samwell headed to the Citadel to train to become a maester. When ravens from the North arrived, carrying warning message about an army of *dead* people, the experienced maesters did not see what the fuss about.
Trusting Bran’s messages, Samwell bailed on his training and headed North, where his tête-à-tête with Bran confirmed Jon is not a bastard after all. Nice work in the end, really.
The Night King
Alarmingly, the last time we saw the Night King, he was riding the dragon formerly known as Viserion over a gigantic hole in the Wall. This was the final scene of season seven and is something we’ve lost a lot of sleep over since.
Thanks to the fact he now has a dragon, the Night King and his army of White Walkers made light work of smashing through the gigantic structure designed to keep them out of the seven kingdoms.
Lord Varys
Varys’ years of scheming have paid off and he’s been rewarded for helping to orchestrate Daenerys’ return to Westeros with an advisory role.
When we left him, he was sailing back to Winterfell with Daenerys, Jon and everyone else crammed in on that boat. All in all, he’s doing well but his actions in season seven were a little more muted than we’d have liked. We’re hoping he goes BIG in the final season, with levels of conniving to match the intensity and scale of the hotly-anticipated battle scenes.
And Jorah Mormont
He’s also on the boat, and pretty livid about the fact Daenerys seems to be valuing Jon’s advice above his own. Just wait until he finds out what’s happened…
Oh, and Davos Seaworth
It’s a massive boat.
Melisandre
Last time we saw her, The Red Woman was riding off to Essos (having been exiled by Davos and Jon) but we can expect to see her back in Westeros at some point, given her promise to “to die in this strange country” – a fate she claims Varys will share.
The Hound
After being rattled by the quest to capture a White Walker, namely because fire is going to be a pretty key component in taking them down, The Hound was back to his usual tough self just in time for the big group meeting. Before playing a key role in the show and tell, The Hound took a few seconds to have a go at his partially-dead brother, which really set the tone for the meeting.
Tormund Giantsbane and Beric Dondarrion
As the Night King and his dragon made light work of destroying the Wall, Tormund and Beric could be seen among those fleeing for safety. After an agonising two-year wait to find out if they would make it out alive, fans finally discovered the characters’ fates when the first season eight trailer showed them very much alive. Phew.
Qyburn
While everyone else at the last episode’s summit recoiled at the sight of the White Walker, mad scientist Qyburn was visibly loving it. Quietly one of the most powerful men in Westeros, Qyburn is probably one of the only people who sway Cersei’s mind but he’s fiercely loyal to her to. Let’s just say, we’ll be keeping a very close on him from Monday.
Bronn
Now a Lord, Bronn stepped out of the dragonpit meeting to have a drink with Podrick instead and missed out on seeing the White Walker IRL. With Jaime and Tyrion (who are now on opposite sides, but both about to fight for the same thing) headed off to the North, will he follow them?
Missandei and Grey Worm
Perhaps the most consistent pair of people in the seven kingdoms, these two obviously remain at Daenerys’ side.
The Mountain
Last seen in our nightmares. On screen, he’s still guardian Cersei. But yeah, he’s mainly in our nightmares.