‘Game of Thrones’: A Not-so Creepy ‘Ghost’ Sighting

This article contains spoilers for “Game of Thrones” Season 8 episode 2, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”, read our review of the episode here.

The first two episodes of Game of Thrones has been serving long-awaited and tear-jerking reunions left and right. And it might be one of the most pleasant moments of the show even with the horrifying threat of the dead drawing nearer and nearer to Winterfell. There was one reunion, however, that could’ve been easily missed if you blinked at the wrong moment. There were no words and no acknowledgment even, but Jon’s beloved dire wolf Ghost has returned.

In a few seconds, while Jon was talking to his old Nightwatch pals Sam and Edd, Ghost pops up in the background. He was literally just standing as if he’s been there the whole time  After a three-year absence from the show, now he’s back to Jon’s side with no explanation when he returned or where he’d been this whole time.

Ghost is only one of the two remaining dire wolves alive in the show. And he was last seen back in Season 7 before Jon leaves Winterfell to seek out Dany. The other remaining dire wolf Nymeria, on the other hand, was also last seen in Season 7. When she reunited with Arya, we saw that she had become a powerful and wild leader of a wolf pack. However, in one of the most bittersweet moments of the show, the two ultimately separated.

Ghost’s return on the second episode of the season right before the battle—though unexplained—seems to have a little more weight to it. In an interview with HuffPost, VFX supervisor Joe Bauer did say that the dire wolf was returning to Season 8. Not only that, Ghost is going to get a fair amount of screen time. “He’s very present and does some pretty cool things in Season 8,” Bauer said. So, we can expect more than just standing and brooding from Jon’s loyal dire wolf from now on. It’s still not clear if he’s going to join the fight against the dead and survive along the way. But, at least we get to see and know what happens to Jon’s loyal companion.

Game of Thrones continues next Sunday, April 28th at 9/8c on HBO.