Each new season of Game of Thrones brings with it a number of new locations with which viewers need to become acquainted. Given the sprawling nature of the show, and the book series it's based upon, keeping track of all the various castles, kingdoms, and patches of land can be daunting. Luckily, the seventh and penultimate season of Game of Thrones has streamlined things considerably. A number of locations have been removed from the story and the action is all contained within the borders of Westeros. Still, that hasn't stopped the new season from debuting brand new locations that even book readers have yet to visit.Episode three, The Queen's Justice,' finally took us to Casterly Rock and Highgarden for the first time. The new season has also spent considerably more time in Oldtown, given us a new look at Dragonstone, and will soon be moving east along the Wall. As such, now's as a good a time as any for a primer on all of the key locations currently in play on Game of Thrones and what they mean to the narrative.
Casterly Rock
We've heard talk about Casterly Rock plenty of times on the show before, thanks to it being the seat of the once-mighty House Lannister, but even book readers have never visited the location. Though it's unknown whether the castle will be seen again after being taken by the Unsullied, its sudden appearance on the series after six seasons makes it worthy of mention.
Though the show reduced its scale quite a bit, the rock on which the castle sits is deemed to be thrice as tall as the Wall and the Hightower in Oldtown. Beneath the monstrous stone fortress are hundreds of gold veins - the original source of House Lannister's wealth. During the ancient days of Westeros, the children of the forest called it home before the first Casterly took control. From there, the proud family was tricked out of the castle thanks to the cunning of Lann the Clever.
The Lannisters descended from the great trickster, eventually bending the knee to Aegon after nearly all of the family were wiped out in the Field of Fire during the Targaryens' conquest. Nowadays, the gold has run dry and the Rock is held by cousins of the main Lannisters. Still, taking it could have been a great blow to the pride of Cersei and Jaime if they hadn't given it up in their gamble to conquer Highgarden. As it stands, not much would prevent them from taking it back if they were to defeat Daenerys.
Highgarden
Like Casterly Rock, both viewers of the show and readers of the book have never been to Highgarden. And as with the Rock, its future on the show seems minimal. Still, it's worth examining thanks to the prominence it holds in Westeros.
Despite Casterly Rock housing much of the gold in Westeros, Highgarden is easily the most opulent of the great castles of the Seven Kingdoms. Built by Garth the Gardener in the Age of Heroes, the ancient family lost their home after their defeat at the hands of Aegon at the Field of Fire. Opening the gates for the conqueror were the Tyrells, the stewards of House Gardener. Serving as the Wardens of the South while the Lannisters do the same for the West, the Tyrells command a sizable army, a hefty amount of gold, and much of the food the Seven Kingdoms relies upon. With their downfall at the hands of Cersei and Jaime, however, the Tyrells are all but eradicated and the future of Highgarden and the Reach is uncertain.
Dragonstone
You'd be forgiven for thinking Dragonstone was a new location on the show. Despite frequent visits to the island during season 2, when Stannis occupied the castle, the location has been given quite an upgrade since then. Even book readers will be surprised with how lush the lands look as Jon and Tyrion talk along the cliffs.
In the books, Dragonstone is the furthest part of the Valyrian Freehold, held by the Targaryen family. Following the Doom, it remains the home to some of the last remaining dragonriders. Eventually, Aegon uses it as the launching point for his invasion and keeps it as a seat of power for his family for generations.
When Robert takes the throne, he gives it to his brother Stannis, who's none too happy about the dour place. Described as grim and dark in the books, the Targaryens used fire and sorcery to shape the very stones into grisly designs. Like many things on the show, the flair of the books is downgraded. Still, there's some impressive stone work throughout and a number of dragons on display. It may not be as dank and dismal as in the books, but it certainly has an impressive feel to it.
The location is also a fitting place for Dany to launch her invasion, just like her ancestor did. And while Dany will likely be heading to King's Landing to take it, the city and keep actually sprung up from nothingness there hundreds of years ago as the spot where Aegon and his sisters first touched down. Following Robert's Rebellion, the castle was where Dany was born, amidst a mighty storm. She was quickly whisked across the narrow sea, only now returning to her birthplace and the ancient seat of her family.
King's Landing
King's Landing wasn't much of anything before Aegon made his eponymous landing and began conquering the Seven Kingdoms. Once he did, he and his followers built the Red Keep, the main castle of the city. Eventually, a sept, the dragon pits, and untold shops and hovels sprung up to create a massive port and city that still serves as the capital of Westeros.
Given how embedded the Red Keep is in the city, it's actually fairly protected from threats. It's also full of secrets, as Maegor the Cruel designed dozens of passages within it before killing the architects. Though the port and city are smaller than Oldtown, King's Landing is still the most populous location in the Seven Kingdoms. It also houses the Iron Throne, the great seat with which the denizens of Westeros have played their game over the centuries. Forged from the blades of all those who bent the knee to Aegon, the titular throne of the show is actually a towering monstrosity in the books.
For now, Cersei and her myriad forces control the city and thus Westeros. But Dany's dragons mean flying straight to the Red Keep and taking back her family's castle wouldn't be too difficult. Regardless, it's likely to remain the most visited and important locale in the show and books until the bitter end.
Winterfell
Along with King's Landing, Winterfell is one of the locations at which we've spent the most time. Beyond the cold open of the first book and season of the show, Winterfell is where the story starts and is the home to the would-be protagonists the Starks. Like many great castles, a mythical figure is said to have built it long ago. According to legend, the infamous Bran the Builder erected the castle with the aid of giants in the time following the Long Night. Now, it stands as the capital of the North and has been home to the Starks for generations.
Though not one of the greatest structures in the Seven Kingdoms, it still serves as one of the largest cities for the North, especially given how little there is in the land between it and the Wall. Aside from briefly being held by Theon Greyjoy and later the Boltons, Winterfell has remained home to the Starks and was once where they ruled as the Kings in the North. Like all but Dorne, however, the Starks bent the knee to Aegon, maintaining dominion over the North until the present day in the series.
The Wall
The Wall is one of the most iconic places in all of Westeros - a 700-foot tall slab of ice and magic that keeps the Free Folk and the White Walkers out of the Seven Kingdoms. Along the Wall lie 13 castles, though all but three have been abandoned once the story opens.
With the Long Night faded from memory and the Free Folk failing to launch a successful attack in generations, the Night's Watch isn't as revered or provisioned as in the past. As such, only Castle Black, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and the Shadow Tower remain. Once Jon Snow becomes Lord Commander of the Night's Watch in the books, he begins working to open some of the other forts once again. Still, most of our time is spent at Castle Black.
A castle only in name, the central spot on the Wall is merely a collection of gates, posts, and some buildings. Unguarded to the South, the bulk of the Night's Watch man Castle Black. It's also here where much of the action at the Wall takes place in the books and show. But with Jon in Winterfell, we likely won't see much more of it. Instead, we'll be getting better acquainted with Eastwatch.
The last castle on the far east of the Wall, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea is the main port of the Night's Watch. It also sits near Hard Home, the settlement of the Free Folk where Jon fought off the White Walkers. In the opening credits this season, we can see the water by Eastwatch frozen over, meaning the White Walkers will likely walk right across the water.
The magic of the Wall prevents the Others from crossing it, but going around looks to be a loophole. It's also to Eastwatch that Jon sends Tormund and the remaining Free Folk, and it's the location the Hound has a vision of in the flames during the premiere. We've even seen teases of action in at the Wall in the various trailers for this season, and it's safe to assume these scenes take place at Eastwatch.
Pyke
Like Castle Black, Pyke isn't much of a castle. Sitting on an island of the same name in the Iron Islands, Pyke is home to the Greyjoys and serves as the seat for the Ironmen. Once, they were kings like others in the Seven Kingdoms. But Aegon ended that and each of their subsequent rebellions have been quashed.
For now, the location serves as the base for Euron and his men, who combined make one of the most fearsome naval powers in Westeros. Given Euron's current alliance with Cersei, there's no telling how much time we'll actually spend on Pyke in the remainder of the show. In plot terms, it's little more than a launching point for ships. Still, there's no telling what Euron has up his sleeve.
The Riverlands
Like Storm's End in the Stormlands and the Eyrie in the Vale, Riverrun, the Twins, and Harrenhal aren't likely to play into the show much anymore. That said, the Riverlands themselves have long been an important place in the show and books thanks to their central location.
The Riverlands were never a kingdom until the Tullys helped Aegon to settle the region below the Neck and above King's Landing. Since then, they've ruled the area from Riverrun, an impressive castle as the nexus point of three bodies of water. The Tullys and Freys look to be no more on the show, however, so Riverrun and the Twins probably won't be revisited. But the Riverlands placement between the North and the South means a number of characters spend time there. Arya was just there, and so were the Hound and the Brotherhood last we saw them. While the latter group are likely also headed North, the Riverlands will continue to be a key location in the story as characters continue to move about.
Oldtown
We first visited Oldtown last season, but this year has shown us a lot more of the impressive location. Boasting a massive city and port, Oldtown is best known for the Citadel where the maesters of Westeros train. It also features a massive lighthouse called Hightower where the ruler of the city, a Hightower, sits. Oldtown is also home to the Faith of the Seven. All told, most of the knowledge of Westeros sits in Oldtown and thus it's a place of both great power and mystery.
The books have only just begun to explore the area and there's no telling if we'll see more of it than where Sam's duties take him in the show. But given the maester's stance against magic, the knowledge Sam will need to gain to fight the White Walkers, and the sheer size of Oldtown, it will likely have an important role in the remainder of the series.