On Sundayâs episode of âGame of Thronesâ (Season 7, Episode 2), a long-awaited reunion finally happened: Arya reconnected with her beloved direwolf, Nymeria.
Arya and Nymeria first parted ways all the way back in Season 1, when the Stark daughter set her massive wolf free to save her from Cersei and Joffreyâs clutches. Their reunion all these seasons later was so heartbreaking, in part, because it was all too brief. But also, because Arya delivered a puzzling goodbye: âThatâs not you,â she told Nymeria.
Thankfully, showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss have explained the confusing farewell in full detail.

In a behind-the-scenes interview (available on HBO Go) released after Sundayâs episode aired, Benioff and Weiss explained that that line harks back to a Season 1 exchange between Arya and her father, Ned. The late, great Stark once told his daughter that sheâd be a lady of a castle one day â that sheâd marry a lord in a ânice frilly dressâ â to which Arya responded passionately: âNo, thatâs not me.â
âWhen she finally finds Nymeria again, or Nymeria finds her, and she of course wants her to come back home with her and be her loyal companion again, but Nymeriaâs found her own life,â Benioff says.
âAryaâs not domesticated,â Weiss adds, and so it would make sense that Nymeria wouldnât be either.
âOnce the wolf walks away, at first sheâs heartbroken to have come this close,â he says, âand then she realizes the wolf is doing exactly what she would do if she were that wolf.â

There are still so many questions: Will Arya continue on to Kingâs Landing to take on Cersei? Or will she end up in Winterfell, as sheâs just found out that her brother Jon is the King of the North? Will we meet Nymeria again?
We do know one thing for sure: Itâs going to be a long, stressful couple of weeks for âGame of Thronesâ fans.Â