The keys players and plot lines in 'Game of Thrones'

It’s been a while since “Game of Thrones” ruled the airwaves, so here’s a cheat sheet for those whose memories of the sprawling epic have dimmed.
1. “GoT” takes place in the fictional lands of Westeros and Essos where seasons can last for decades at a time.
2. Winter is coming — and with it, ice zombies from the uncivilized north that seek to destroy everyone living south of a massive ice wall.
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3. Most people in Westeros have no idea that an army of supernatural creatures are gathering to kill them all. Instead they are focused on maneuvering — either politically or with force — to rule the land as the one true king who sits on an ancient throne made up of melted swords.
4. The three most important families who are at war with each other are the noble Starks (led by King Robb), the conniving Lannisters (whose malicious boy King Joffrey currently sits on the Iron Throne) and the one remaining Targaryen, Daenerys, exiled blond princess whose father was killed in a rebellion when she was a baby.
5. Daenerys is building an army as she wanders through Essos — a continent far away and across a sea from Westeros. She has charisma and magically hatched three dragons — a species long thought to be extinct.
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6. When it comes to war, dragons are such powerful creatures, they could be considered the equivalent of nuclear weapons.
7. A fourth king, Stannis, considers himself to be the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, but the Lannisters annihilated his navy in a battle last season for the capital city of King’s Landing. He is now under the influence of a mysterious and horrible sorceress Melisandre.
8. The Starks are scattered. While Robb leads an army against the Lannisters, his kid brother Bran — who is paralyzed from the waist down — is hiding in the wilderness.
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Half brother Jon Snow is a member of the Night’s Watch. Sister Sansa is being held hostage in King’s Landing by the Lannisters, while youngest girl Arya has escaped and is on the run.
The Starks have another brother, Theon Greyjoy, who they adopted. He double-crossed them, capturing the Starks’ castle, Winterfell.
9. The Lannisters are the richest family in the land. Patriarch Tywin is a brilliant strategist. His children are Ser Jaime, a skilled swordsman; Queen Cersei, evil King Joffrey’s conniving mother; and Tyrion, a dwarf whose mother died giving birth to him — forever earning the rest of his family’s scorn.
10. Ser Jaime had been Robb Stark’s prisoner for a year, until his mom, Lady Stark, set him free in a bid to rescue her daughter Sansa. He is currently on the run.

( From NYdailynews )