The One 'Game Of Thrones' Episode You Need To Rewatch

With a show like Game of Thrones, it can be easy to forget all the little details, especially with so many months passing between the seasons. There's a massive cast of characters to keep track of, not to mention the political alliances that can change on a dime. While rewatching old episodes is the best way to keep it all fresh in your mind before a new season starts, no one has time to go through every single episode again. It's just not possible. So what can you do to make sure you're ready for the show when it returns on July 16? There's only one Game of Thrones episode you should rewatch before Season 7.

To be totally refreshed for the new season, there's a simple solution: you only need to give the final episode of Season 6 another watch. "The Winds of Winter" will give you all the information you need to keep in mind before the debut of the new season — and there is definitely a lot of new information. Season 6 Episode 10 dropped tons of major character developments that are going to reverberate throughout Season 7. You need to remember where each of the characters were so you can predict where they're going, and the Season 6 finale is the best way to prepare.

"The Winds of Winter" had enough plot for half a season: there was Cersei's ascendance to the throne, her murder of half the characters in King's Landing, the alliance being set up between Dorne and Highgarden, Jon Snow being named King in the North, Arya returning home after countless years away, and Daenerys finally setting sail to Westeros to claim the throne for herself. And that's just the big stuff. The Season 6 finale was where it finally felt like everything was falling into place, with all the pieces on the board inching ever closer to each other.

The episode wasn't just an hour-long plot dump, either. Though there was plenty of story advancement, thanks to the beautiful direction by Miguel Sapochnik, it was also a stunning episode to look at. The opening alone was worth tuning in for: a mostly dialogue-free sequence with an evocative instrumental score that made viewers feel the rising tension right up until the moment the Sept of Baelor exploded.

Everything is about to change in Westeros in Season 7. "The Winds of Winter" is where all of that began, so it's the one episode you should be sure to rewatch.