We may be gaining Starks on Game of Thrones this season, but we are losing direwolves. Both Summer and Shaggydog were brutally killed, and Jon is the only sibling left who has his direwolf, Ghost, at his side. What happened to Nymeria on Game of Thrones ? Arya's direwolf could return soon.
Nymeria, if you remember from Season 1, is a total boss. We last saw the dog en route to King's Landing, back when that was a lengthy journey. (Have you noticed that travel is getting faster and Westeros is getting smaller with each Game of Thrones season?) When the then Prince Joffrey took Arya's play fighting with the butcher's son too far and cut him for real, Nymeria rushed in to defend Arya and Myca. In order to repay the favor, Arya chased her puppy away and spared Nymeria the King and Queen's justice — which was unfortunately carried out on Sansa's direwolf, Lady, instead.
The direwolf has not been seen since. So Nymeria is probably somewhere in the Riverlands. Curious. A lot is happening at the Riverlands right now. If Nymeria were to make a triumphant return on Game of Thrones, now might be the time.
In George R. R. Martin's novels, Nymeria has more of a presence — though it's almost in whispers and rumors. Arya hears people talking about a female wolf who has amassed a fearless pack. While in Riverrun with the Hound, she sees such a wolf and calls out to her. The wolf returns her call, but doesn't come close. Arya dreams of this pack (dreams that, like her brother Bran's dreams, are probably real) sometimes too. What is Nymeria up to?
Then, wolves start to take over the Riverlands, particularly the Trident — where, incidentally, Rhaegar Targaryen was killed by Robert Baratheon. The wolves have been known to attack members of House Frey. If they are being led by Nymeria, that's pretty rad. Nymeria is as loyal to House Stark as anybody. Jon even has a wolf dream through the eyes of Ghost, who seems to be communicating somehow with Nymeria as well.
By warging into her direwolf, Arya is also the one who drags Cat Stark's body out of the river, which results in the Brotherhood Without Banners finding her and resurrecting her as Lady Stoneheart. So while Nymerias hasn't been spotted on the HBO series, it's likely that she's been quite busy and could have a major comeback in Game of Thrones Season 6.
Images: HBO; Giphy
