Just in case you don’t have time to re-watch seven seasons of Game of Thrones before the show’s upcoming eighth and final season premiere—it’s only 67 episodes; what’s wrong with you?—we here at Vanity Fair will be recapping every single season of the show, in order to make sure key events are fresh in your mind. Since this is a rather daunting undertaking—it’s 67 episodes; what do you expect of us?!—we’re boiling it all down to the essential stories of the surviving characters set to do battle in Season 8.
If you feel a little more ambitious, there’s an extra-credit section below with additional information that could be good to remember when the series returns. (Just because a character has died, for instance, that doesn’t mean they’re unimportant!) For a more in-depth look at some of the key episodes of Game of Thrones, you can dive into Vanity Fair’s list of the 15 most essential episodes of Game of Thrones to re-watch before the final season. But for now, here’s Season 3.
Previously on Game of Thrones Season 7.
Previously on Game of Thrones Season 6.
Previously on Game of Thrones Season 5.
Previously on Game of Thrones Season 4.
Previously on Game of Thrones Season 2.
Previously on Game of Thrones Season 1.
Essential Information
Cersei Lannister, Queen Regent of Westeros, is threatened early and often by a new player in King’s Landing: Margaery Tyrell. She is even more horrified when she learns she will have to marry Margaery’s brother (and known preferrer of men), Loras Tyrell. Cersei plans her son Joffrey’s wedding (which will go just fine, I’m sure), takes some perverse pleasure in marrying Sansa off to Tyrion, bonds with her little brother a bit, and is reunited with her twin (minus one hand).
Jaime Lannister, Her Twin Brother, hits the road with Brienne of Tarth, gets captured by Locke—a henchman from House Bolton. He loses his hand, meets Qyburn, takes a bath with Brienne, gets set free, swoops back to heroically rescue Brienne from a bear, and returns to King’s Landing to be reunited with Cersei.
Tyrion Lannister, Her Other Brother, demands that he be given Casterly Rock, but is given a Master of Coin title instead. He gives Podrick a gift, learns dark things about Varys’s bits, spars with Lady Olenna, is forced to marry Sansa Stark, gets super drunk, threatens Joffrey a bunch, and has a mildly heartwarming chat with his sister.
Bran Stark, the Last Surviving Son of Winterfell, meets Jojen and Meera, learns that he can warg into wolf bodies (and more!), camps out in the woods a bunch, visits a Windmill, wargs into Hodor, sends Rickon away with Osha, makes it to the Nightfort, meets Sam and Gilly, and passes through to the other side of the Wall.
Sansa Stark, His Sister, is offered a chance to leave King’s Landing, but declines because she thinks she’s going to marry Ser Loras. Then she is forced to marry Tyrion, seems to warm to Tyrion a bit, and finds out that her mother and brother were slaughtered at the Twins. Things go downhill from there.
Arya Stark, His Other Sister, is captured by Brotherhood Without Banners, watches the Hound kill Beric Dondarrion, watches Thoros of Myr bring Beric back to life, watches Beric hand Gendry over to the Red Woman, escapes the Brotherhood, gets captured by the Hound, travels to the Twins, almost attends the Red Wedding, brutally kills a Frey soldier, and remembers she has a certain Braavosi coin.
Jon Snow, the Bastard of Winterfell, meets Mance Rayder and Tormund, convinces them that he wants to be free, proves to Ygritte he knows where to put it, climbs the Wall, makes out with Ygritte at the top of the Wall, refuses to kill a horse breeder, escapes the Wildlings, gets shot by Ygritte, and barely makes it back to Castle Black.
Daenerys Targaryen, a Westerosi Exile, travels to Astapor, almost gets murdered by a child, meets Ser Barristan, makes a deal for 8,000 Unsullied, doesn’t trade away Drogon, burns Astapor the eff down, marches to Yunkai, threatens more slavers, meets Daario Naharis version 1.0, takes control of Yunkai, and does some #problematic crowdsurfing.
The Night King, a Big Scary Blue Guy, hasn’t shown up yet.
Notable Deaths
Hoster Tully, Craster, Lord Commander Mormont, Beric Dondarrion, the Titan’s Bastard, the other guy from the Second Sons, Orell the Warg, Rickard Karstark, Grey Wind, Walder Frey’s wife, Ros, Kraznyz mo Nakloz, Talisa Stark, unborn baby Ned Stark, Robb Stark, Catelyn Stark, and Theon’s favorite toy.
Defining Cultural Moment
It’s impossible to overemphasize the impact that the Red Wedding had on both the culture and on the popularity of Game of Thrones. According to co-executive producer Bryan Cogman, the morning after the Red Wedding air and the shocked, horrorified reactions to it went viral, the No. 1 downloaded TV episode on iTunes was Season 1, Episode 1 “Winter Is Coming.” Not wanting to be left out of the conversation, the rest of the world was now dying to catch up on Game of Thrones. Though the ratings for the show had seen healthy growth over its first three seasons, the numbers then jumped significantly in Season 4—not just within the “geek” world, but as the larger TV fandom climbed aboard for the rest of the ride.
Extra Credit
Sadly, the Greyjoy plotline is missing from these recaps—but suffice to say that this season, we slowly watch Theon turn into Reek at the hands of the sadistic Ramsay Bolton, who will emerge as a force of evil to replace Joffrey and Tywin when they depart in Season 4. At the time, many viewers objected to the seemingly endless scenes of Theon’s torment—which are only presented as flashback in the novels—but in retrospect, we likely needed to see every second of it in order to believe Alfie Allen’s dramatic transformation. Similarly, this season joyously introduces us to the ladies of House Tyrell—Margaery and Olenna—who will be sources of juicy and delicious palace intrigue for many seasons to come.
More Great Game of Thrones Stories from Vanity Fair
— It’s catch-up time: everything you need to know about Seasons 5, 6, and 7
— About that new Season 8 footage!
— The 15 most essential episodes to re-watch
— The best weaponry for a Thrones battle
