If there's any family that's suffered greatly during the course of Game of Thrones, it's the Starks of Winterfell. Since the first season, they've endured pitfall after pitfall, and it's frankly a miracle even one of them has made it to the final season. But through pure strength of will, the teachings of the Faceless Men, the grace of R'hllor, and just being the Three-Eyed Raven, there are still four Starks alive, and they don't plan on dying anytime soon. Keep reading for a refresher on the remaining Starks and where we last saw them before season eight premieres!
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The eldest of the Stark siblings and Lady of Winterfell. Sansa started out as a spoiled, bratty young lady of a noble house who dreams of traveling to the South and marrying a knight. Her actual journey to Kings Landing and betrothal to Prince Joffrey quickly show her the error of her ways — though witnessing the death of her father really hammers it in. She learns to use her passive exterior to her advantage while a prisoner of the throne, until Petyr Bealish whisks her away to the Vale.
Sansa doesn't last long there before her aunt's behavior leads to older woman to be pushed through the Moon Door by her conniving husband, Petyr. The man weds Sansa to Ramsey Bolton, a cruel savage who assaults Sansa on their wedding night. She escapes with Theon and finds her way to Castle Black, where she reunites with a recently resurrected Jon Snow. Sansa convinces him to join her in taking back their ancestral home and comes through with the knights of the Vale when Jon is losing the Battle of the Bastards.
After doling out her personal justice against her husband, Sansa aids the newly crowned King in the North with handling castle affairs. Though the two regularly butt heads, Sansa readily steps up to take charge when Jon takes off to Dragonstone to speak with the Dragon Queen. At the end of season seven, Sansa works with her siblings to bring Petyr to justice for his crimes against their family and celebrates the arrival of Winter.
Bran is the first Stark to be struck by tragedy, in the very first episode of Game of Thrones. When , King Robert, his wife, Queen Cersei, and her twin brother, Jaime, visit the Starks in Winterfell, Bran goes exploring and climbs the tallest tower he can find. Unbeknownst to Bran, once he reaches the top of the tower, balancing himself on the ledge of a window, he finds Queen Cersei and Jaime engaging in incestuous sexual intercourse. Startled and worried they will be discovered if the boy reveals anything, Jaime pushes Bran out of the window, presumably falling to his death — but Bran survives. He survives another assassination attempt while lying comatose in his bed, and eventually wakes up to find his memory foggy and his legs unable to move. From there, Bran is carried by his companion Hodor, pushed on a sled, and finally given a wheelchair.
Bran and his brother Rickon are separated from their family when his sister go to Kings Landing with their father, Robb goes off to war, and their mother follows him. The two escape Winterfell when the Theon Greyjoy betrays the Starks, and then are separated from one another. Bran begins a treacherous journey in which he loses his direworlf, Summer, two of his faithful companions Hodor and Benjen, and his sense of humanity. By season seven, he's gone through probably the most impressive physical change of any character and completely lost himself to the special power of the Three-Eyed Raven. Last time we see him in season seven, he and Samwell Tarly are discussing Jon's birthright as the rightful king of the Seven Kingdoms.
In the case of Arya Stark, a girl has some seriously messed up adventures. When we first meet Arya, she's a young girl desperate to prove herself as tough and strong, but with no idea of how the world truly works. She's very similar to her older sister in that way, but that's where their similarities (and civility) ends. She never takes to the South as Sansa does, and instead works to learn as much as she can from Syrio Forel, her sword fighting teacher. When the Lannisters declare her father a traitor, she runs away, saving herself from being a prisoner like her sister.
While Arya doesn't go through the same hardships as her sister, she finds herself in numerous dangers situations. She makes friends with Hot Pie and Grendy Waters, before the Red Witch takes the latter away. She journeys with the Hound, though that doesn't last long either. Finally, Arya travels across the world to Braavos to learn how to become a killer and take revenge on the people who destroyed her family.
By the time she reunites with her older sister and brother, she's crossed off a few people from her kill list. When we last see her in season seven, she manages to make one more kill that isn't even on her list!
Jon Snow may only be half Stark, but he's Stark enough to have a direwolf and be crowned King in the North, so he counts!
Jon starts off the series as a surly bastard of Winterfell who decides to take the Black with the Night's Watch to make a name for himself. What he expects to be a long, lonely existence on the Wall turns into a series of escalating trials and tribulations, that result in him making peace with the Wildlings and becoming the 998th Lord Commander of the Night Watch. Of course, this also leads to his death by mutiny from his brothers at the Wall.
But if there's anything to be said, Jon certainly doesn't let anything keep him down for long! He's resurrected by Melisandre in season six and promptly leaves the Night Watch behind (understandably). His planned vacation to Essos is interrupted when Sansa arrives at Castle Black and convinces him to take Winterfell with her. The subsequent battle inspires the lords and ladies of the North to crown him King. He doesn't get to enjoy his crown for long, as soon after he's summoned by Daenerys Targaryen to bend the knee at Dragonstone.
Instead of doing that, Jon convinces her to join his cause and their adventures take them from Dragonstone to beyond the Wall, to Kings Landing. Dany loses a dragon, gains an "alliance" with Cersei, and then a Warden of the North when Jon decides to bend the knee to her. And then they do some other things. Which will definitely make things a little awkward when they arrive in Winterfell in season eight . . .
