A farewell to the goodest boy of Winterfell, Ghost

With some rushed goodbyes, Game of Thrones closed a few character arcs in “The Last of the Starks”. That means the goodest boy too, Ghost.

Last Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones, “The Last of the Starks” saw farewells for many of the characters abstaining from the conflict in the south. These departures felt different than prior in the series, mostly because they didn’t involve beheading (not that there wasn’t a death or two this episode). Instead we saw a couple of beloved characters walking off into the sunset, assumed to be finding a peaceful home for themselves after the defeat of the Night King.

This means we may have seen the last of some of our folks from the Night’s Watch and beyond the wall. Samwell Tarly said his goodbyes to Jon, and it is safe to assume he and Gilly will be taking up lordship of Horn Hill in the Reach. Revealing that Gilly’s next boy will be named Jon before they go, I would not be surprised if the Tarlys popped up in an epilogue sequence or episode.

I am a little more doubtful of an on-screen return for the next couple of characters. Tormund Giantsbane, our fan favorite fiery free-folk, has told Jon that he has no plans to plunge the Wildlings into further conflict. According to Tormund, they will return beyond the wall to a life similar to their old days, of course, with much less of a mystical threat to worry about up there.

During this conversation with Tormund, Jon gifts him Ghost, his direwolf. Jon says Ghost has no business in the south, and would live a happier life roaming beyond the wall with the free-folk. I cannot disagree personally. I would much rather see the majestic sigil of house Stark living amongst the wild of the north, as direwolves are of just that. And it would certainly break my heart exponentially to see him ballistae’d down by everyone’s least favorite pirate, a la Rheagal. It is a happy thought after all, Tormund and Ghost huunting together in the frozen wastes.

What was not happy to witness was Jon giving a very cold shoulder to Ghost in his goodbye. Jon doesn’t give his destiny-bound direwolf familiar a bear hug good-bye, not so much as a pat on the head, despite him being bloodied and missing an ear from the last episode. The writers did not even do so much as write one line for Jon to say goodbye to Ghost. No explanation or even acknowledgement of the direwolf, as he sits there silently.

I think all of us fans wished we could have given the sad wolf a consolatory cuddle… or six. It’s all the more sad to think of it symbolically as well. Jon is turning his back on his Stark roots, metaphorically through Ghost, and literally in his allegiance to Daenerys.

Disappointment over the handling of the direwolves in the show has been noted among fans, and equally among showrunners when it comes to the difficulties of shooting with live animals. I believe the lack of their presence in general, Ghost specifically, can be chocked up to budget and convenience.

That said, it is still hard to think we won’t be seeing any direwolves in the final two episodes of the show — especially knowing Nymeria is leading a massive wolf-pack through the woods of Westeros, which could have huge implications. Knowing we’ll never see those furry troops in action is another missed opportunity to add to the pile from this season, which has grown sadly high with two weeks to go.

With all that said, we can still be happy that Ghost may get a happy ending for himself. I think the thought of him and Tormund in the North together would make any fan smile. It is safe to say the Ghost will have a bigger role to come in the books, but for now we must say goodbye.

With that, we say farewell to the goodest boy in the North, Ghost.

Game of Thrones continues next Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.

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