Choose your sides and swear your allegiances while you can. If there's anything we can be sure of in Game of Thrones®, it's that everything is about to change completely. Keep your bearings with this visual map of the characters and connections in the Seven Kingdoms.
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House Baratheon, founded after the conquest of Aegon Targaryen, has ruled the Seven Kingdoms since Robert seized the Iron Throne from the Mad King Aerys Targaryen. With Joffrey's parentage in question, Stannis, the only surviving Baratheon brother, believes himself to be the true king.
For centuries, the Tyrells served and occasionally intermarried with House Gardener, the ancient family of the King of the Reach. But after the Targaryen conquest eliminated the Gardeners, the Tyrells bent the knee to the Iron Throne — and then rose to become principal house and Warden of the South. They've since thrown their support to the Lannisters.
The wealthiest family in Westeros, the Lannisters of Casterly Rock ruled as kings in their realm until the Targaryen dragons conquered the continent. Cersei Lannister's marriage to King Robert Baratheon brought the Lannisters to King's Landing, and now her son Joffrey's ascendance to the Iron Throne has solidified their power.
Wealthy and powerful, the Freys are bannermen sworn to House Tully. The House is led by Walder Frey, who took his eighth wife, a 15-year-old, when he himself was over 90. Ever ambitious, Walder blocked Robb Stark's army in the Riverlands until a strategic marriage was brokered between the two families.
The principal house of the Riverlands, the Tullys rose to power during the Targaryen conquest. When the invaders attacked, Edmyn Tully rebelled against the King of the Isles, Harren the Black, and sided with Aegon Targaryen. Harren's other supporters soon followed suit, paving the way for the new king.
Located in the Vale, the Arryns serve as Warden of the East from their mountain stronghold, the Eyrie — a key defense against the violent clans that surround their home. The widowed Lysa Arryn rules from her perch, unwilling to involve herself, or her precious son, in the battles below.
The leading house of the North, the Starks reigned as Kings in the North until the Targaryen conquest and served as the region's warden for nearly 300 years. Following the execution of his father, Robb Stark severed ties with King's Landing and declared himself King in the North.
House Greyjoy's power dates back to the great Grey King during the Age of Heroes. Legend has it that the Grey King ruled the sea itself and took a mermaid for his wife. While still the ruling family of the Iron Islands, the Greyjoys have always had larger designs.
After a mysterious disaster known as the Doom of Valyria wiped out their homeland and killed most of the world's dragons, the Targaryens invaded Westeros. Robert's Rebellion eliminated most of the royal family, but from Essos, the exiled Daenerys Targaryen strives to reclaim her place on the Iron Throne.
Catch Up
Catch up on Seasons 1 & 2
The end of a dynasty
Aegon's son and heir Aerys Targaryen becomes known as "the Mad King" as his reign becomes more murderous. Aerys's eldest son, Prince Rhaegar, kidnaps Lyanna Stark of Winterfell, whom Robert Baratheon was going to marry. This sparks a civil war, known as Robert's Rebellion, that spells the end of Targaryen rule and the extermination of most of the family.
The Mad King's pregnant wife Rhaella and her younger son Viserys escape to Dragonstone where Daenerys is born and her mother soon dies. Years later Viserys sells his sister to Khal Drogo of the Dothraki in trade for an army to help him win back the throne of his father. Drogo and Daenerys wed, Drogo kills Viserys, then Drogo dies. Daenerys hatches three dragon eggs and sets out to reclaim the throne for herself.
The ties that bind
Tywin Lannister, the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms, served the Mad King for 20 years, but ultimately betrays the alliance during Robert's Rebellion and sacks King's Landing. Tywin's son Jaime Lannister kills the Mad King, breaking his oath as a knight of the Kingsguard and earning him the nickname "Kingslayer."
Robert Baratheon kills Prince Rhaegar and lays claim to the Iron Throne. Lyanna had already died of unknown causes during the war. Robert marries Tywin's daughter Cersei to cement the alliance between the Houses Baratheon and Lannister. He does not love her, but she has his children anyway, including Robert's heir Joffrey Baratheon.
When Hand of the King Jon Arryn dies mysteriously, Eddard Stark, lifelong friend to King Robert, agrees to replace him. He takes his daughters Sansa, who is betrothed to Joffrey, and Arya with him to King's Landing, to the distress of his wife, Lady Catelyn of House Tully.
The king is dead, long live the king
Eddard discovers that Joffrey Baratheon has no claim to the throne — he and his siblings are not Robert's, but the product of Queen Cersei's incestuous relationship with her twin brother Jaime, who's now Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. King Robert is killed by a wild boar while hunting.
Cersei installs Joffrey on the Iron Throne. Both his mother and his uncle "the Imp," Tyrion, who is the new Hand of the King, have trouble keeping him under control. Eddard tells Joffrey he has no right to rule. Instead of exiling him for treason as his mother suggests, Joffrey orders Eddard's execution and has him beheaded in front of Sansa. Arya is smuggled out of the city, poses as a boy, and joins a group of Night's Watch recruits headed north. They're all taken captive and Arya ends up serving as Tywin Lannister's cupbearer until the mysterious Jaqen H'ghar helps her escape.
Robert has two brothers with claim to the throne. Stannis Baratheon, King in the Narrow Sea, is involved with Melisandre, Priestess of the Lord of Light. Stannis's right-hand man Davos is suspicious of her. Renly Baratheon, King in Highgarden, is married to Margaery of House Tyrell, but he's in love with one of his knights, Loras. Brienne of Tarth is Renly's protector but later swears allegiance to Catelyn Stark.
Waking the Direwolves
Robb Stark declares war on the Lannisters for killing his father. He agrees to marry one of Lord Frey's daughters and they join forces. He beats Jaime Lannister's forces and takes him captive. His followers declare him King in the North and his fighting skills earn him the nickname "the Young Wolf." Robb falls in love with a healer named Talisa even though he's supposed to marry Lord Frey's daughter.
Robb sends his childhood friend Theon Greyjoy to get support from his father, but instead he betrays Robb and attacks Winterfell (even though he grew up there) with his sister Yara. His occupation doesn't last long. Renly is killed by Melisandre's magic just after he makes a deal with Catelyn Stark to join Robb's forces. His men swear allegiance to his brother Stannis instead. Catelyn returns to Robb with Brienne, who wants to avenge Renly's death. Catelyn sends Brienne to exchange Jaime for her daughters who she thinks are still at King's Landing — only Sansa is there. This angers Robb and he puts his mother under arrest.
Winter is coming
All this time Jon Snow, Eddard Stark's illegitimate son, has been training to be a member of the Night's Watch, protectors of the Seven Kingdoms from threats north of the Wall. Lord Commander Jeor Mormont (father to Jorah Mormont, who is advising Daenerys Targaryen) prepares Jon for a command role. They head north to find out what the wilding King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder, is up to. Meanwhile, Jon's fellow recruit Samwell Tarly witnesses a White Walker on an undead horse leading a vast horde south toward the Wall.
Catch up on Season 3
Autumn has fallen across the world, where the seasons can last for years, with winter not far behind. But instead of preparing for years of snow and ice, the people of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros are still gripped by a civil war, which spells the end for many key characters.
Would-be king Renly Baratheon has been assassinated, shaking up many alliances. Completely outside Cersei's control, the sadistic and hateful boy-king Joffrey Baratheon (though we all know he's really a Lannister) has successfully secured an alliance with House Tyrell, with his supporters defeating his uncle Stannis in an epic battle.
Joffrey now commands the largest armies in the realm and his triumph appears inevitable. Also in King's Landing, Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark must stick together to survive a much more dangerous court. Meanwhile, carrying out the orders of her mistress Catelyn Stark, Brienne of Tarth has the thankless task of taking the captive Jaime Lannister home across hundreds of miles of battlefields and carnage. This ends up creating an unexpected bond between the two, and a new perspective on Jamie for viewers.
Stannis Baratheon may be defeated and most of his army destroyed or scattered, but he is not out of the fight yet. Having retreated to his headquarters on Dragonstone island with his handful of surviving soldiers, Stannis' status as the last legitimate heir to his older brother Robert still casts a shadow over Joffrey's claim to the throne. With the priestess Melisandre at his side, Stannis can still influence the course of the war by striking where least expected.
For most of the season King Robb Stark remained in the field, winning every battle he fought, while his homeland in the North is partially under Ironborn occupation. However, in episode 9, dubbed the Red Wedding, things go terribly wrong when he attempts to win back the allegiance of House Frey, whom he offended by breaking his marriage pact to them. It's a major turning point in the story and one that leaves viewers shocked and heartbroken.
The lives of the younger Stark children and their companions still hang in the balance. Bran Stark and his protectors must cross the frozen wastelands of the North to reach the Wall, while Arya, with the unlikely help of Sandor "The Hound" Clegane, has to brave the war-torn Riverlands in a hopeless search of her mother and brother Robb. Once considered a sibling of sorts to the Starks, Theon Greyjoy is facing the grisly consequences of his misguided actions at Winterfell.
Beyond the Wall, the White Walkers are on the move, threatening both the Seven Kingdoms and the lands of the Free Folk. While the Night's Watch faces the threat of the White Walkers in the field, Jon Snow infiltrates the wildling army of Mance Rayder to discover the King-Beyond-the-Wall's plans. Torn between his loyalties to the Night's Watch and his attraction to the fiercely independent wildling Ygritte, he breaks his vows — and wins the wildings trust.
On the eastern continent, Daenerys Targaryen has fled the political viper-pit of Qarth. Her dragons are growing and her fame is spreading, but to take the Iron Throne she will need supporters and an army. Both may be found in the corrupt cities of Slaver's Bay for a price, and she succeeds in winning the devotion of thousands there, as well as a new warrior husband perhaps? Only time will tell …