With Game of Thrones just two (short) season away from its series finale, the time has come to look ahead to the show's ending. Season 6 was chock full of major payoffs, validating the years spent watching people decapitate each other. And one of the most satisfying of these payoffs was Jon and Sansa's reunion at The Wall. After seeing the Stark family separated since back in Season 1, it was great to see two of Ned's kids reunite, and then promptly take back The North from Ramsay Bolton and his dogs. And now it appears that another big reunion is happening, reintroducing a figure from back in Season 1.
Watchers on the Wall usually reports on the secret inner workings during Game of Thrones' production. Through some detective work and social media stalking, it became clear that Maisie Williams (Arya) is filming Season 7 in Calgary, Canada. While this doesn't sound mind blowing, that location is the exact place where they shoot wolves in front of a green screen, before digitally enhancing them into the show's Direwolves. That's right, it looks like Arya's wolf Nymeria may be returning to the series after being absent for six seasons.
This theory was further corroborated the private Instagram of Instinct Animals for Film, which is the company that trains the wolves for the series. An image was posted which features a wolf that is definitely NOT Jon's white direwolf Ghost. And since they've otherwise all died at this point, that means Nymeria may be finally returning to Game of Thrones.
For those who don't remember, Nymeria is Arya's direwolf which she received from Ned in Season 1. When she and that little shit Joffrey got into a tussle early in the series, Nymeria came to her aid and bit the young prince. Knowing this would likely result in Nymeria being killed, Arya instructed her direwolf to run away, and she was never seen again.
Since then, we've seen every other direwolf besides Ghost die. Lady was killed because of Nymeria's attack, Rob's direwolf was killed at the Red Wedding, Rickon's Shaggydog head was shown last season, and Bran's Summer perished saving him before the infamous "hold the door" scene. While Game of Thrones audiences are used to seeing characters killed off in brutal ways, each direwolf death seems to really resonate with and upset the fans. So Nymeria's impending return will surely elate the fandom.
In George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, it certainly hints that Nymeria could return one day. Arya regularly dreams that she is the wolf, who is now leading a pack of her own. And with Game of Thrones now giving us so many payoffs, it stands to reason that she would return before the series ends.
Game of Thrones will return this summer to HBO.
