We finally have an answer to why Jon Snow did not pet Ghost in 'Game of Thrones' season 8 episode 4
Jon Snow and his dire wolf Ghost.
‘Game of Thrones’ season 8 episode 4 titled ‘The Last of the Starks’ might be the second lowest-rated ever in the series’ eight-year run but it started an important conversation around one scene that did not go down well with the fans. Read the review of episode here.
As the episode dealt with heartbreaks and farewells, one of the most important was how Jon Snow left his dire wolf Ghost in Winterfell in the hands of Tormund the Giantsbane. Jon also left behind his best friend Samwell Tarly, his sisters (Sansa and Arya) and all others who looked up to him at his home in Winterfell but what hurt fans the most was the way he left Ghost.
Jon was shown talking to Tormund that when he leaves for North of the Wall, he must take Ghost with him as a dire wolf has no place in the South and so he can’t take the animal with him. Jon didn’t pet him, nor did he go close to him; basically there was lack of any love and compassion between two characters who have been together since season 1 of the show.
As fans have complained and asked for answers as to why Jon did not do what is expected of anyone who has a pet, the series director David Nutter has finally opened up and solved the mystery.
These are some fan reactions to the scene:
“Since the dire wolves are kind of CG creations, we felt it best to keep it as simple as possible,” said Nutter. “And I think that it played out much more powerfully that way. Keeping Ghost off to the side, I thought that played out better,” said Nutter, adding that it gave Jon a chance to be with Tormund and Gilly before having one last moment with his wolf.
“Then he just walks off by himself, he turns to Ghost and has this moment with Ghost that I thought was very, very powerful.”
‘Game of Thrones’ visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer previously explained the difficulties of bringing the dire wolves to life ahead of Season 8, saying real wolves need to be filmed and scaled up. And unfortunately, those wolves “only behave in certain ways.”