Everything you need to know before the new season of Game of Thrones starts

Los Angeles - Battling warriors and wrangling dragons on Game of Thrones is easy. Weathering the bitter cold north of The Wall is a snap.

What's difficult is keeping track of all the storylines and remembering how things were left hanging when last season ended all those months ago.

With the return of Thrones for its fifth season, here's a reminder of what some of the characters were up to, way back then.

And if you're not caught up, SPOILER ALERT:

— Jon Snow was attempting to broker peace with the wildling army of Mance Rayder, self-styled King-Beyond-the-Wall, when Mance's camp was attacked by troops led by One-True-King Stannis Baratheon.