The article contains spoilers from ASOIAF.
Bran: Where are the rest of you?
Leaf: Gone down into the earth…Into the stones, into the trees. Before the First Men came all this land that you call Westeros was home to us, yet even in those days we were few. The gods gave us long lives but not great numbers, lest we overrun the world as deer will overrun a wood where there are no wolves to hunt them. That was in the dawn of days, when our sun was rising. Now it sinks, and this is our long dwindling. The giants are almost gone as well, they who were our bane and our brothers. The great lions of the western hills have been slain, the unicorns are all but gone, the mammoths down to a few hundred. The direwolves will outlast us all, but their time will come as well. In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us.
– A Dance with Dragons, Bran III
Direwolves are named after an actual prehistoric wolf species. The real-life dire wolves disappeared along with many other megafaunal species, though the reasons behind the extinction event are still being debated. Climate change is one of the many hypotheses, though it wasn’t winter what came for them, but a rise in temperature instead.
The Ice & Fire Direwolves seem to have been extinct south of the Wall for quite some time now, to the point they have achieved a near-mythical status, enough to be considered “freaks” by some. Beyond the Wall, where the land remains mostly untouched by human beings (apart from the wildlings), it is said they can still be found.
Despite the fact they’re considerably larger and stronger than common wolves, and also more intelligent, they have no magical attributes or skills that would set them too much apart from their smaller relatives. Otherwise, the Starks would’ve had an easier time against their enemies.
The way the direwolves were introduced in the story was a beautiful way to foreshadow the fate that would befall the Stark family. An adult direwolf wolf killed by a stag, survived by her six pups. After reading the story, the symbolism is clear: Ned Stark died as a consequence of Robert making him his Hand – that, or Joffrey (who was officially a Baratheon) ordering his execution. It works both ways.
One of the six pups was found distanced from the others, a subtle touch by George R.R. Martin to signal Jon wasn’t really the son of Ned. Later on, Ned’s thoughts and memories about the Tower of Joy would make this fact obvious, but the direwolf moment remains really poetic for me.
Sadly (and rather infamously) the limitations that come with the live-action adaptation of a fantasy story would mean less screen time for the direwolves, with Daenerys’ dragons taking the lion’s share of the CGI budget. It’s easy to understand why: the dragons are a big selling point for the show and also help to make more spectacular set pieces. But it’s a shame nonetheless to see the poor direwolves sitting on the bench, since they have hardly seen any action at all.
Last time in From the Maester’s Desk, we took a look at some of the dragons from the Ice and Fire saga. It’s only fair that this time I give the same treatment to the amazing creatures represented in House Stark’s sigil.
Lady
Status in the books: Deceased.
Status in the show: Deceased.
Lady was the direwolf adopted and raised by Sansa Stark. The smallest of the litter, she soon learned to be as elegant and graceful as her owner.
Sadly, she became collateral damage as a result of both Joffrey’s cruelty and Sansa’s defense of him instead of siding with her sister Arya. Sansa can’t be blamed too harshly, since she was young and in love. Being in love with someone can lead anyone to ignore the other person’s worst impulses. And speaking out against Joffrey would’ve surely ended the relationship.
The TV adaptation pretty much adapted the sad end of Lady verbatim. And even if the mercy killing by Ned happened off-screen, many people still got upset and complained about it on the internet, prompting a response from Martin himself, who assured the audience the real Lady (a Northern Inuit named Zunni) was alive and well, and not only that, but was also adopted by actress Sophie Turner.
Nymeria
Status in the books: Alive.
Status in the show: Alive.
Nymeria, Arya’s direwolf, also left us early, but fortunately not because she died. After biting Joffrey Baratheon, who was abusing Mycah (the son of a butcher who was a friend of Arya, and later killed by the Hound), Arya realized she had to chase her away. Otherwise, Nymeria would’ve faced certain death (which is what happened to Lady in the end).
She finally returned to the show this year, after six years of absence, if only to let us now that she was still alive. Nymeria recognized Arya, but refused to come home with her. She has a new home now in the Riverlands, and a wolf pack of her own.
In the books, however, we kept getting nuggets of information, suggesting Nymeria’s still around. Rumors of a monstrous female wolf leading a pack of wolves in the Riverlands, showing no fear for men nor hounds.
From A Storm of Swords onwards, Arya starts having “wolf dreams”, much like Bran’s, meaning she’s a warg too. This trait for Arya was cut from the show, though currently we can only speculate on the reasons why. Most likely it was a matter of streamlining, and a desire to leave each Stark kid with an unique set of skills. Bran gets to be a warg, and Arya a Faceless assassin.
I think it’s unlikely Nymeria will return in Season 8, and that her brief appearance in Season 7 is enough closure for her story, but surely George is planning something different for her. Arya seems to be going through a darker path in the novels, to the point of enjoying munching on innocent shepherds and their dogs during her wolf dreams. Her show counterpart, on the other hand, has never harmed anyone who’s innocent.
Grey Wind
Status in the books: Deceased.
Status in the show: Deceased.
Grey Wind, Robb’s direwolf, got his name due to his fast speed and grey fur.
Unlike his brothers and sisters (with the exception of Ghost), he participated in many battles alongside the Young Wolf, and earned fearsome reputation for both himself and his owner. Terrified and defeated Lannister forces would tell stories of how Robb could turn into a wolf at will, or how he couldn’t be killed.
Despite their prowess in the battlefield, both Grey Wind and Robb were ultimately killed at the Red Wedding, at the orders of the treacherous Walder Frey. Much like the direwolf corpse at the beginning of the story was a sign of things to come, Walder was very much like the stereotypical troll who guards a bridge. Robb tried to renege on his payment by marrying Talisa (who replaced Jeyne Westerling in the books, a character with a similar role) instead of one of Frey’s daughters.
We only got precious few shots of Grey Wind, but I really lament we didn’t get a particular moment from the books among them. That is, when Robb and his host arrive at the Twins, and Grey Wind growls at some of the Frey brothers, as if suspecting something, and Catelyn urges his son to trust the direwolf. Grey Wind was locked in the stables instead, and we know what happened later.
Apart from budget concerns, I imagine that potential scene was nixed because it heavily telegraphs the Frey betrayal, but it would’ve been nice to see such a display of intelligence from Robb’s wolfish friend.
Summer
Status in the books: Alive.
Status in the show: Deceased.
Summer was Bran’s direwolf. In the books, his fur is a mix between silver and grey, whereas in the show he was mostly white, with a dash of light brown.
A loyal friend to the crippled Stark kid, he saved him from the catspaw assassin and later sacrificed himself to give Bran time to escape from the wights that were invading the cave where the Three-Eyed Raven used to live.
Before his demise, Summer’s role seemed to be serving as training wheels for Bran to test his warging abilities.
As of A Dance with Dragons, Summer’s still alive and kicking in the novels, remaining by Bran’s side. It is likely that even if the dramatic “Hold the Door” moment doesn’t play out like in the screen adaptation (and it likely won’t, considering Jojen is still alive), Summer will die before or shortly after Bran finishes his training with Bloodraven and becomes the new “three eyed crow”. If only because it is fitting that such transformation comes with a cost: not only the loss of Bran’s previous identity, but also the lives of the friends who helped him reach his goal.
Shaggydog
Status in the books: Alive.
Status in the show: Deceased.
Lady had the least number of appearances in both the show and the novels, but Shaggydog is a close second. Rickon’s direwolf, with his unique black fur, was the most feral of the pack -something that was exemplified when he jumped at Bran and Osha, scaring them.
Very much like his master, Shaggy didn’t have too large of a presence in either the screen adaptation or the source material. After leaving Winterfell, and realizing he wouldn’t be able to make his little brother travel so far up North, Bran made the call to send Rickon away, along with Osha and Shaggy, thinking they’d be safe under the protection of House Umber.
Turns out the Umbers had different plans for them, and after two seasons of absence, Shaggy finally returned in Season 6 in the form of a severed head. It was a rather ignoble end for him, but at least we can assume he didn’t go down without a fight, trying to protect Rickon.
Shaggy’s still alive in the books, same as Summer. Apparently (if we are to take the vision from a dream at face value) hunting and eating unicorns in Skagos. An unicorn injured him with its horn, but I doubt it’s a grave wound. Most likely just a flesh wound.
I feel like the unceremonious death of the Rickon-Osha-Shaggy trio in the show had to do more with the importance of tying up a loose end and the restructuring/abbreviation of the story than with George’s plans. Should they reappear in The Winds of Winter or A Dream of Spring, it’ll be under different circumstances and Rickon would effectively be lord of Winterfell (if we consider Bran is unable to take that role and Jon isn’t a Stark). My prediction is that him and Shaggy will be around and ready by the time the Others come down from Beyond the Wall.
Ghost
Status in the books: Alive.
Status in the show: Alive.
All the direwolves have their fans, but the favorite has to be Jon’s. Ghost was the runt of the litter, an albino with fur as white as snow and red eyes. In the novels he’s the inseparable companion of Jon Snow, but budget limitations has kept him mostly absent from the screen: he didn’t show up at all in Season 7. Sure, we all loved “The Spoils of War,” but Ghost’s disappearance was a shame all the same (there’s allegedly a brief scene in which Jon says farewell to Ghost before departing to Dragonstone that was cut from the final product, so we’ll have to wait and see if it’s included as an extra in the Blu-ray/DVD release).
Just like Arya, Jon is revealed to be a warg and have “wolf dreams” in the novels. That’s the main reason so many fans believe he warged into Ghost after he was betrayed and stabbed during the mutiny at Castle Black. This character trait didn’t make it to the show, so apart from the “Ghost” theory, it’s somewhat hard to see how it’ll factor in the two remaining novels, if it does in any significant way, that is.
As the war against the Night King (and Cersei) looms, and having in mind that Season 8 will be something akin to a Hollywood blockbuster thanks to the shortened number of episodes, surely Ghost will take part in a major battle this time. He had to sit out The Battle of the Bastards because of Wun Wun (it wasn’t possible to have both of them) so with a bit of luck, the dragons, undead giants and (possibly) elephants won’t prevent Ghost from kicking some wight (or Golden Company) butt.
If Ghost remains MIA, it wouldn’t be surprising, though. And perhaps it’d be for the best -as I said before in a past article, an absent Ghost is a live one. I sincerely hope he doesn’t go out the way of Summer (despite it was a noble sacrifice). Liam Cunningham said it best: “I would prefer to have Ghost with Davos [rather] than with Jon. […] A big battle like that is no place for a direwolf. They’re not gonna last very long”.
Even if the “warging” theory doesn’t come to fruition, it’s a safe bet to assume Ghost will see more action in the final two novels, which are free from the limitations of a CGI budget. Same as with the show, I’d hope George doesn’t kill him, even if it’s just a fool’s hope. If the dragons are bound to die, at least let us keep one of the direwolves (well, two if you count Nymeria).
And that’s it for our furry friends, for the time being at least. What do you think? Will the direwolves be around for longer than we think? Or will they become extinct (south of the Wall at least) after the two great wars that are about to happen? Will Nymeria have pups of her own one day? And are we getting more Ghost in Season 8 or do you think he’ll remain inside with Davos where no arrows or ice spears can reach him? Which is your favorite direwolf?
The post From the Maester’s Desk: The Lone Wolf Dies, but the Pack Survives appeared first on Watchers on the Wall.
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