Now that Game of Thrones season 8 is in our rearview mirror, stories from behind the curtain are starting to come out. For instance, did you know there was almost a huge fanservice moment in “The Long Night” that included Arya’s direwolf, Nymeria?
Director Miguel Sapochnik (“Hardhome,” “Battle of the Bastards,” “The Winds of Winter”), who directed “The Long Night” and “The Bells,” was a guest in IndieWire’s Filmmaker Toolkit podcast and talked about ideas that got passed around for Episode 803. “There were many things that happened, that people would have been so happy to have happen,” he said. “Attack of direwolves and crazy stuff. At some point you’re like, ’50 direwolves attacking an undead dragon does not a good movie make.’”
Although he doesn’t actually mention Nymeria’s name, it’s probably safe to assume that’s she would have been part of the giant wolfpack attacking Viserion. If you haven’t read George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, then let me set it up for you: After Arya has to force Nymeria to leave or be killed by the Lannisters, the wolf goes off and eventually forms her own wolfpack.
Being that she’s a direwolf, she grows much larger than the normal wolves, and eventually, she gathers a huge wolfpack that runs around the Riverlands killing and eating everyone and everything in their path. There, now you have some context.
And to kind of touch on the last time we saw Nymeria on the show, it was season 7 and she was huge, and she had a few wolves with her.
While it would have been an awesome piece of fanservice to see Nymeria and her wolves join the battle against the Night King, ultimately, it would have added a ton of chaos to an already frenetic series of scenes. I can’t imagine having to track Jon and Arya as they both try to get to Bran and save him from the Night King, and watch a badass scene with Nymeria and a massive wolfpack.
Oh well, maybe Martin will include that in his next book, should he ever finish it.
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