And now our watch begins: 5 questions to recap Game of Thrones before season 7

Last season, the political battle royalthat is HBO's Game of Thrones removed far more players from the game than it added and often through gruesome or tragic means.

Ramsay Bolton: eaten by his dogs. Margaery and LorasTyrell: incinerated. Tommen Baratheon: suicide. Hodor: holding the door.

These characters and others joined the dead in a series based on George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire novels best known for regularly eviscerating the audience's expectation of happy endings or straightforward redemption narratives.

As the remaining power players of the Seven Kingdoms converge on Westerosand final battlesawaitfan favourite heroes, anti-heroes and schemers, here are some key questions to be answered heading into the cable TV juggernaut's penultimate season.

Where are the first families now?

After everything Game of Thronesensemble cast has been through, the great houses of Lannister, Stark and Targaryen remain at the heart of the drama.

After immolating manyof her political opponents with wildfire, Cersei won the queen's crown, but lost the last of her three children. She and twin brother Jaime are the only surviving Lannisters in King's Landing. Jaime earned the title "Kingslayer" by murdering Aerys Targaryenwhen he vowed to burn his subjects alive. Now that his sister hasfollowed through with the Mad King'spledge,will Jaime's nascent conscience bring the sibling lovers to blows?

After Jon Snow and Sansa Stark regained their family stronghold Winterfell from the Boltons, Jon is hailed the new king in the North. Meanwhile, younger siblings Bran (recently graduated mystic) and Arya (recently graduated assassin) appear homeward bound, teasing fans with the suggestion of a family reunion.

Yet all is not perfect: Sansamay well resent Jon's coronationespecially sinceit was her influence that helped turn the tide at last season's Battle ofthe Bastards. If Bran arrives, they'll also have to face the revelation from his vision: that Jon isn't their half-brother after all, but their cousin;the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and their aunt,LyannaStark.

Daenerys Targaryen is also on the move,backed by an army that includes Tyrion Lannister, the Greyjoy fleet led by Theon and Yara, her Unsullied warriors, Dothrakinomadsand three fully grown dragons. Trailers show Dany arriving on the Westeroscontinent specifically Dragonstone, her family's original seat of power.

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Who's brokering peace?

A few reasonable voices are warning of an even bigger threat: the nearly invincible White Walkers and their hordes of zombies approachingfrom north of the Wall.

"If we don't put aside our enmities and bound together, we will die. And then it doesn't matter whose skeleton sits on the Iron Throne," Davos Seaworthdeclares ominously in onepreviewtrailer.

Jon Snow repeats the point."For centuries, our families fought together against their common enemy despite their differences together. We need to do the same if we're going to survive."

Just whothe duo are addressing is unknown, but the conflicting houseswould be wise to heed their words after the horrific fifth season massacre at Hardhome.Still, is it likely that the remaining rulers will followthe advice? In trailers, Dany's Unsullied, Lannistersoldiers and Dothraki cavalry all appear in battleon multiple fronts in the North, at sea and at what appears to be Casterly Rock, the Lannisterancestral home.

Will Euron be the next mega-villain?

Euron Greyjoy could be the biggest wildcard of season 7. He made a strong first impression last year: tossing his elder brother Balon off a bridge and, immediately afterward, wresting the Iron Islands'crown from Theon and Yara. The siblingsfled to pledge their allegiance to Daenerys, but our last glimpse of Euron(portrayed by Pilou Asbaek) showed him rebuilding a new fleet of ships to stake his own claim to the Iron Throne.

Though viewers haven't seen much of the late sixth season arrival, Asbaek teased that Euronwill be even more hated than previous Game of Thronesvillains Joffrey Baratheonand Ramsay Bolton.

"After this season, Ramsay's gonna look like a little kid," the actor vowed to Empire. Considering Ramsay's favoured pastimes included flaying, torture, rape and murder, that's saying something.

Will we witness Cleganebowl?

The appearance of Sandor Clegane, a.k.a. the Hound, has reignitedfanhopes for a much-anticipated battle:a face-off to the death with his brother, the now-zombified Gregor Clegane, a.k.a. the Mountain an epic match-up unofficially dubbed "Cleganebowl."

If Cersei Lannisterfaces a trial for her wildfire slaughter, the Mountain could once again serve as her surrogate in a trial by combat. Could the stage be set for the bloodiest clash of champions yet?

Where the heck is Gendry?

It's a long shot, but hear us out. One of Game of Throneslongest dangling plot threads has been the whereabouts of Gendry,Arya's friend and believed to be the last heir of former King Robert Baratheon.

Last seen in season 3 escaping Dragonstone from red priestess Melisandre, he's been M.I.A. until earlier this year, when reports emerged on fan sites that actor JoeDempsie, who portrayedGendry, was spotted near filming locations in Iceland.

What role does Gendry still have to play? And what of other figures pulled from past seasons, like Beric Dondarrion?

Game of Thrones returns for a seventhseasonon HBO Canada on Sunday.