Game of Thrones Recap: Where Did Season 5 Leave Off?

Who Will Lead Us Through the Long Night?

Those who haven't spent the last 10 months poring over every frame of Game of Thrones' fifth season desperately trying to spot the exact moment Jon Snow warged into his direwolf, Ghost, may be in need of a refresher on where things stood as of last year's finale. Some of the show's best loved (and near-universally hated) characters who have somehow managed to not die so far, despite George R. R. Martin's seemingly indiscriminate tendency to murder anyone and everyone fans love, found themselves in some fairly precarious positions by the season's end. Take a moment to prepare for the arrival of Season 6 with this quick guide to where a few of the major characters ended up.

Game of Thrones, Season premiere, Sunday, April 24, 9/8c, HBO

Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey)

After being stripped of her power and marched naked through King’s Landing by religious fundamentalists, the queen mother is back in her castle and ready for revenge, with allies including the Frankenstein-like Mountain (Hafthór Júlíus Björnsson).

Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke)

The queen of Meereen and last known living Targaryen, who believes she is the rightful heir to the kingdom of Westeros, escaped an assassination attempt on the back of her dragon in the Season 5 finale. Now she finds herself alone and lost in unfamiliar lands, surrounded by Dothraki warriors.

Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage)

Tasked with ruling the former slave city of Meereen while others go in search of Daenerys, the clever former Hand of the King and youngest son of the Lannister clan is relieved to have his politically savvy friend Varys (Conleth Hill) by his side. Will Tyrion become a true leader?

Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham)

The onetime smuggler—who rose to knight and became the loyal ally of Stannis Baratheon (Stephen Dillane) and, later, Jon Snow (Kit Harington)—now finds himself without a leader at the Wall, with both men having been murdered in last year’s finale.

Arya Stark (Maisie Williams)

She was blinded by Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha), her mentor at the House of Black and White, after she broke the rules of her assassin training by killing her own target instead of the one chosen for her by the followers of the Many-Faced God.

Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner)

To escape her sadistic husband, Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), the eldest Stark sister took a desperate leap from a perilously high wall of Winterfell Castle while hand-in-hand with her childhood friend, Theon Greyjoy, aka Reek (Alfie Allen).