'Game of Thrones': Here's Why Arya Told Nymeria 'That's Not You'
*Spoilers ahead from "Game of Thrones" Season 7, Episode 2*
It wasn't exactly the reunion "Game of Thrones" fans were hoping for, but it was exactly right for the characters. Season 7, Episode 2, "Stormborn," finally brought Arya Stark face-to-face with her direwolf Nymeria for the first time since Season 1. Their meeting included a Season 1 callback, and also some potential "foreshadowing" for Arya as a "lone wolf" herself.
Arya was on her way to Winterfell when she was surrounded by wolves in the woods. The wolves were led by Nymeria, whom Arya had sent away to save her from Joffrey's revenge. Arya invited Nymeria to come home with her, but Nymeria turned around, staying with her wolf pack. Arya smiled slightly, seeming to agree with the decision.
"That's not you."
Those three words confused some fans who took them literally. But no. That was Nymeria. It's just not who Nymeria is to go back to domesticity -- living in a castle as a human's sidekick -- after being wild and free. In saying "that's not you," Arya was referencing a talk she had with her father Ned Stark back in Season 1:
"That's not you" parallels to "That's not me" makes it even more bittersweet #GameOfThronespic.twitter.com/ml7IgOAnMx
— ashley tayag ☔️ (@ashileytayag) July 24, 2017
As co-showrunner D.B. Weiss told IGN:
"'That's not you' is a direct reference to what Arya herself said to her father when her father painted this picture for her of the life she could have as a lady of a castle and marrying some lord and wearing a nice frilly dress. Arya's not domesticated, and it makes total sense that her wolf wouldn't be either. Once the wolf walks away, at first she's heartbroken to have come this close, and then she realizes the wolf is doing exactly what she would do if she were that wolf."
???? Though I knew Arya & Nymeria wouldn't reunite permanently.
Nymeria isn't Arya's anymore.
"That's not you."#GameOfThrones#Stormbornpic.twitter.com/II6m0V3MCX
— Nymeria ???? (@GoT_Nymeria) July 24, 2017
Episode writer Bryan Cogman told Entertainment Weekly there might be "foreshadowing" in the reunion scene:
"So much of this season is swinging back to Season 1. Since we last had Arya in the Riverlands she's had all these crazy adventures. In a television show that's all about Nymeria the Wolf, she's had adventures too. She's gathered this pack of wolves and is now doing the Old Gods' work herself. Arya and Nymeria do and don't have the connection they've always had. In the end, they're both lone wolves. They can't go back to the way things were. And that might be foreshadowing for Arya too."
Maisie Williams told EW she appreciated the bittersweet reunion, because it felt right for both of them:
"Ever since the show got rid of Nymeria, it's one of the questions I've been tweeted the most. It's even nicer that they don't live happily ever after. Nymeria has created her own world and created her own pack and isn't ready to be Arya's pet. To be someone's pet would reverse everything she's learned. So they almost just regard each other and go their separate ways."
It was heartbreaking, but very honest. It does make us even more nervous for Arya's future, though, especially after the second big trailer included Sansa's voice-over saying the lone wolf dies but the pack survives. Will Arya be back with her own "pack" by that time?
GoT Season 7 continues Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO. Here's what's next in Episode 3.
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