COURTESY: THEVERGE.COM
This Sunday marks both the debut of the fifth season of HBO’s hit series “Game of Thrones” and our collective deliverance from the Seven Hells that is life without it.
With a year gone by and a cast that features thirty main and countless supporting characters, remembering the plot points and storylines of the series can be about as difficult as surviving a wedding in Westeros.
While winter may be winding down in the real world, Westeros is about to experience the winter the Starks have been warning us about since the beginning. To prepare for the winter and wars to come, here is everything you need to know before Sunday night.
(Read no further if you want to avoid spoilers from last year’s season.)
THE WALL & BEYOND THE WALL
When we last left the frigid Wall, Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) and the rest of the Night’s Watch had just fended off a Wildling invasion lead by King-beyond-the-Wall Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds).
During said battle, Jon’s fierce Wildling ex-lover Ygritte (Rose Leslie) was struck by an arrow, heartbreakingly dying in his arms.
In the aftermath of the carnage, Jon and Mance met beyond the Wall to discuss the situation, though Jon initially planned to assassinate the Wildling leader. Before he could do so, an army flying the banners of self-proclaimed King Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) rushed the Wildling encampment, saving the Night’s Watch and bringing the Wildlings to subjugation.
This season, expect to see a power struggle at the Wall between King Mance and his Wildlings and King Stannis, Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and his army, with the Night’s Watch caught in the middle. Hopefully, these factions can put their differences aside and unite to face the growing threat of the Others.
Also, if you were expecting to see Bran Stark’s (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) posse interact with the Three-Eyed Raven in the lands north of the Wall, you’re in for a disappointment. This storyline is confirmed by showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to be excluded from the fifth season, leaving us utterly Hodor-less.
THE NORTH
Poor, poor Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) – ahem, I mean Reek. We’ve seen him mutilated and tortured at the hands of the sadistic Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), and now that Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton) has taken control of Winterfell and the North, Theon is nowhere near being free.
Even his sister Yara (Gemma Whelan) and the Ironborn of the Iron Islands can’t save him now.
However, Theon may encounter some unexpected guests at Winterfell, including someone sure to be a blast from his past. Perhaps this could be the first glimmer of hope for Reek?
Even so, some interesting things should be going down in Winterfell, setting the stage for some much needed retribution for House Stark.
THE RIVERLANDS
Last season, Brienne of Tarth’s (Gwendoline Christie) journey to uphold her oaths to the late Catelyn Stark brought her and her squire Podrick Payne (Daniel Portman) back into the war-ravaged Riverlands. Her search for sisters Sansa and Arya Stark culminated in an epic showdown between Brienne and Sandor “The Hound” Clegane (Rory McCann).
Brienne wounded The Hound badly (possibly mortally), and Arya (Maisie Williams) escaped to Braavos.
This season, Brienne will presumably continue looking for Sansa, eventually heading to the Vale of Arryn based on the fact that Sansa shares blood with the current Arryns.
THE VALE
Much like the rest of her family, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) hasn’t caught a break since the beginning of the show. She and husband Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) were accused of poisoning one of the douchiest characters in TV history, King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson).
Because of Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish’s (Aiden Gillen) schemes, she successfully escaped from King’s Landing and made it safely to The Eyrie where her Aunt Lysa (Kate Dickie) ruled the Vale. Her Aunt Lysa proved to be insane, attempting to throw Sansa out of the Moon Door because of her odd relationship with Littlefinger. Littlefinger saved her by killing her aunt, and Sansa saved him in return by covering for his deed.
This season, the storyline in the Vale is up in the air. Under Littlefinger’s tutelage, will Sansa finally be able to take vengeance against those who have destroyed her family? Will she finally beat the haters and become a major player?
KING’S LANDING
Meanwhile, King’s Landing definitely tops the list for Least Desirable Places to Live in Westeros. The death count here for major characters from last season includes the gruesome demises of King Joffrey, Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal) and Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance).
These deaths are key for the direction of season five. With Joffrey’s death, his much kinder younger brother Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) became king, to House Tyrell’s delight. Betrothed to kill-‘em-with-kindness, twice-widowed Margaery, Tommen will essentially be a Tyrell puppet king.
In the wake of Tywin’s death, Queen Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) will become more involved with their lives, with Cersei almost certainly using and abusing her newfound power, clinging to Tommen at all costs. Cersei versus the Tyrells should reach its boiling point this season, especially when Margaery’s grandmother Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg) returns to town for another wedding.
DORNE
When Oberyn volunteered to represent Tyrion in his trial for Joffrey’s murder, facing his long-time nemesis Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane, everyone knew something bad was bound to happen. Oberyn turned out to in way over his head, and his horrific death will more than likely result in Dorne and House Martell seeking open vengeance against the Lannisters.
Oberyn’s paramour Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma), his bastard daughters the Sand Snakes, and the Prince of Dorne Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig) will become key characters in season five.
Doran’s son Trystane (Toby Sebastian) is betrothed to Jaime and Cersei’s daughter Myrcella (Nell Tiger Free). With tensions rising between the two families, Jaime and Bronn (Jerome Flynn) will probably travel to Dorne to bring her safely back to the capital. Clashes between Jaime and the Sand Snakes are almost a given at this point.
ESSOS
Last season, Arya continued to become one of the most bad-ass characters on the show. She killed grown men thrice her size, left the Hound dying on the roadside in spite of him acting as a protector and boarded a ship set for Braavos, one of the Free Cities in Essos.
When in Braavos, Arya should finally put that coin given to her by Jaquen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) to use, allowing her to officially begin training as an assassin with the Faceless Men. I can’t wait to see her eventually use these skills to avenge her family.
After murdering his father Tywin and ex-lover Shae (Sibel Kekilli), Tyrion Lannister is also set for a tour of Essos thanks to his savior Varys (Conleth Hill). His ultimate destination should be the Queen of Meereen, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), or so it seems according to Varys’ master plan.
When we last saw Dany, she was struggling with ruling Meereen, the main city of Slaver’s Bay. Even with the guidance of lover Daario Naharis (Michiel Huisman), interpreter Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), and guard Barristan Selmy (Ian McElhinney), Dany finds herself at a crossroads between embracing her Targaryen heritage or adapting to Meereen.
Ultimately, she chose to forsake fire and blood, locking dragons Viserion and Rhaegal beneath the great pyramid from which she rules. However with Drogon still flying free and her rule being challenged from factions within the city, Daenerys should see a return to form this season.
Could we see her ride a dragon this season? One can only hope.
Regardless of what happens, season five should serve to be the most gruesome, heartbreaking and intense installment yet of “Game of Thrones.” Tune in on HBO Sunday night at 8 p.m.
