Game of Thrones season 7 preview

Game of Thrones returns on July 16, and we’re here to fill you in on the where, what, who, how, and why of its new season. Settle in.

This is season 7 we’re talking about, the show’s penultimate year. Season 6 ended on a high note for a lot of our major players. Jon Snow and Sansa Stark kicked the Boltons out of Winterfell, and Jon Snow was elected King in the North. Cersei bested the Sparrows and was crowned Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Daenerys Targaryen returned to Meereen with a new Dothraki army, made a show of force in front of the slavers, and finally set out for Westeros after six years of promises. Theon Greyjoy escaped Ramsay Bolton and is now fighting for Daenerys alongside his sister Yara, Arya left the cult of the Faceless Men and got revenge on Walder Frey, and after a year offstage, the Hound turned up alive!

Sure, there were losses along the way (RIP Hodor and Margaery Tyrell), but overall, things are looking up for almost everybody. But this is Game of Thrones, a show that’s built a reputation on slathering its audience in misery, so don’t expect it to last. With Daenerys and Cersei on a collision course in the south and the White Walkers knocking on the Wall in the North, there’s trouble on the way. The official season 7 poster doesn’t feature the Night King glowering at us from the dark for nothing.

The point of this preview is to catch you up on where these characters have been, where they’re going, and what kind of trouble they’re likely to run in to. Look above this post. See the little bar labeled “Houses”? Click on that to go to separate pages all about the characters aligned with Houses Stark, Targaryen, Lannister, and Other, because there are plenty of characters who have yet to formally align themselves with anyone, even if their allegiance seems pretty inevitable.

Next: Thirteen Dire Predictions for Game of Thrones season 7

Or, head back to the front page and check out some of the posts in the slider. We’ve got information on trailers, images, episodes, directors, and maybe even a few SPOILERS, for those who are into that kind of thing. Winter is here. This is your guide to surviving it.