For all the great changes the Song of Ice & Fire adaptations have made, there are just as many that resulted in the narrative suffering. Game of Thrones left out several major things about Daenerys Targaryen, including her prophetic dreams. Game of Thrones also eliminated the critical importance of Lyanna Stark, Rhaegar Targaryen, and Elia Martell—three characters that consistently haunt the narrative in the books. However, one significant change that Game of Thrones implemented is often overlooked—the show significantly reduced House Stark's direwolves and the fantasy elements surrounding them, greatly hurting the Stark children's arcs.

Game Of Thrones Prioritized The Political Conflicts Over Fantasy

Game Of Thrones Played Down Fantasy Aspects Aside From Daenerys' Dragons

Game of Thrones, as a whole, minimized the fantastical aspects of A Song of Ice & Fire. Prophetic dreams are essentially eliminated—from Daenerys' time in the House of the Undying to Maester Aemon's visions on his deathbed. When Daenerys births her three dragons, she does not just bring dragons back to life; she revives magic in the world altogether. However, Game of Thrones largely focused on her dragons only, disregarding other fantastical elements. Game of Thrones rushes the Long Night to get to the political conflict, framing the fantastical events as less significant than the political ones.

“He has a song,” the man replied. “He is the prince that was promised, and his is the song of ice and fire.” - Rhaegar to Daenerys in A Clash of Kings

“When the red star bleeds and the darkness gathers, Azor Ahai shall be born again amidst smoke and salt to wake dragons out of stone.” - Melisandre in A Storm of Swords

A Song of Ice & Fire depicts the opposite of Game of Thrones: various parties are fighting over the Iron Throne, while the books are leading to the prophecy involving the prince that was promised. There are other fantastical elements that Game of Thrones left out. One of these elements is skinchanging—a person entering a human or animal body using their mind. People with this ability are known as skinchangers or wargs. While wargs are almost non-existent in Westeros, all six Stark children can skinchange because of their direwolves—critical characteristics that Game of Thrones left out.

Game Of Thrones Left Out Most Of House Stark’s Warg Abilities

All Of The Stark Children Have Magical Warg Abilities Through Their Connection To Their Direwolves

While Game of Thrones portrays Bran as a warg, he is not the only Stark with this unique ability. Skinchangers gain this power because of their bond with an animal. Without a bond, skinchangers are more likely to lose themselves and become unable to return to their human bodies. Skinchangers are also known as wargs, but they are not the same because skinchangers can enter any animal's mind, while wargs are specific to canines. When the Stark children adopt the discovered direwolves, they unknowingly establish a magical connection.

Although it is unknown why the Stark children possess the ability to warg, it is likely due to a gene ed down through the Stark line. Furthermore, House Stark's warg ability only begins in the Song of Ice & Fire book timeline because magic was dormant until Daenerys revived it. Bran, the first Stark child to unlock the warg ability, only does so in A Clash of Kings, and Daenerys births her dragons at the end of A Game of Thrones. Although Bran is the most advanced in skinchanging abilities, each Stark has the capacity to warg to some degree.

Each Stark Child's Warging Ability & How It Impacts Their Story

The Stark Children Have Various Warg Levels In The Books

Although Bran is the only Stark child to possess the warg ability in Game of Thrones, each Stark has displayed a level of skinchanging—including Sansa, although hers is minimal because of Lady's death. Each Stark forms a special bond with their respective direwolf that persists even if one party has died. Once magic is alive in the world again, the Starks' warg abilities slowly come to light, often beginning with wolf dreams. However, their abilities vary, and their skills are at different levels.

Jon Snow's Death Connects To Ghost

Although Jon Snow dies at the end of A Dance with Dragons, Ghost is alive. In fact, as Jon dies, the last word he utters is his direwolf's name. At the time of Jon Snow's death, Ghost is alive. It is unknown how Jon will come back to life, but Jon might have entered Ghost's mind when he died, preserving his soul. Jon has experienced wolf dreams, beginning in A Clash of Kings after he kills a wildling skinchanger. His dreams become more frequent in A Dance with Dragons.

Robb's Distancing From Grey Wind Is Part Of His Eventual Downfall

Grey Wind remains by Robb's side up until the Red Wedding, for the most part. However, once Robb marries Jeyne Westerling, he distances himself from Grey Wind because the direwolf does not like Sybil Spicer, Jeyne's mother, or Rolph Spicer, Jeyne's uncle. A Feast of Crows reveals that Grey Wind was most likely looking out for Robb because the Spicers betrayed Robb to House Frey and the Lannisters. Grey Wind growls at the Freys upon meeting them at the Twins, but Robb ignores his direwolf. Although Catelyn repeatedly tells Robb to listen to Grey Wind, he dismisses his mother.

Robb would likely have died anyway because too many people betrayed him, including those closest to him. However, Robb's bond with Grey Wind runs so deeply that Grey Wind instinctively knows who he can trust and who he should not. If Robb had valued Grey Wind and their bond more, he might have taken more precautions that would have given him a fighting chance. Robb's personality also hardens the more battles he endures, which is reflected in Grey Wind's personality as well.

Sansa Still Dreams Of Lady

Sansa's warg abilities are unknown because Lady dies early in the narrative. However, she continues to dream about Lady in A Clash of Kings and A Storm of Swords. Sansa thinks about Lady during her worst moments, such as her nightmares of the King's Landing riots or the Battle of Blackwater. Sansa's dreams about Lady demonstrate how strong their bond is, even in death. It is unclear whether Sansa will find another way to unlock her warg abilities, but the narrative continues to present reminders that she has them.

Arya Stark's Warg Abilities Reflect Her Identity Struggle

In A Storm of Swords, Arya begins dreaming of Nymeria. Although they have been separated since A Game of Thrones, Arya dreams through Nymeria's eyes. When Arya is asleep, she becomes Nymeria. Her dreams persist even when Arya arrives in Braavos—if anything, they become more frequent. When Arya becomes blind, she can still see when skinchanging into Nymeria or a cat, making her the most advanced Stark warg after Bran. Arya and Nymeria's bond does not just remain strong despite being eons apart; their bond is also what grounds Arya in her identity struggle.

Related

Did Game Of Thrones' Creator Just Tease An Arya Stark Spinoff Is In The Works?! I Hope So, As It's The Only Sequel That Makes Sense

George R.R. Martin has teased a secret project with Maisie Williams, and a Game of Thrones spinoff about Arya Stark would be a great option for it.

Posts

Arya trains to become No One to serve the House of Black and White and the Faceless Men. However, she must forget her identity as Arya Stark to become No One. Two things tether Arya to her Stark identity: her sword, Needle, which she buries beneath the steps of the House of Black and White, and her dreams, where she becomes Nymeria. Game of Thrones opting to eliminate this part of Arya's character significantly reduces her arc in Braavos and her identity struggle, which will eventually lead back to Winterfell in the books.

Bran's Warg Skills Are Much More Advanced In The Books

Although Game of Thrones incorporates Bran's skinchanging abilities, the show still vastly underestimates Bran and Summer's connection. Game of Thrones made several changes regarding Bran Stark, including scaling back Summer's importance. Bran's warg powers are so advanced in A Song of Ice & Fire that sometimes he and Summer seem like one entity rather than a boy and a direwolf. Bran has also skinchanged into Hodor, a raven, and Winterfell's weirwood tree. By the end of A Dance with Dragons, Bran's warg skills are highly advanced, but he is still training, indicating he will likely skinchange into more bodies.

Rickon & Shaggydog Are One And The Same

As of the end of A Dance with Dragons, Rickon Stark is in Skagos since that is where Osha is taking him. However, no character has seen him since he left with Osha at the end of A Clash of Kings. As a result, there is not much information regarding Rickon's warg abilities, but one thing is certain—Shaggydog's personality reflects Rickon's. A Song of Ice & Fire portrays Rickon as aggressive, wild, and stubborn, characteristics that Shaggydog also has. Their similarities reflect their close bond and suggest Rickon might be close to unlocking his warg powers.

Game Of Thrones Struggled With The Direwolves In General

Budgeting Was The Biggest Reason Why Game Of Thrones Cut Out The Direwolves' Importance

Game of Thrones faced many challenges in bringing the direwolves to life. According to an interview for Business Insider with the director Miguel Sapochnik—who directed Game of Thrones season 6, episode 9, "Battle of the Bastards,"—it is much more expensive and difficult to incorporate direwolves, especially when CGI is necessary for other elements, such as giants. Vulture provides a more in-depth explanation of the expectations when incorporating the direwolves. They are considerably more expensive because direwolves are rooted in reality, unlike dragons.

Game of Thrones used real wolves to shoot scenes, requiring additional specialties to film the wolves correctly. Then, the VFX team went back to add CGI to the wolves, making it a much more complex, expensive, and time-consuming process that Game of Thrones just did not have. Production having to scale back on fantastical elements due to budget and CGI reasons could also explain why Game of Thrones chose to prioritize the political conflicts instead.

Why Eliminating House Stark’s Warg Abilities Was A Poor Decision In Game Of Thrones

The Direwolves Will Play A Significant Role In The Long Night & Other Events In The Books

Ultimately, Game of Thrones disservice House Stark and their direwolves by minimizing the creatures' importance. Similarly to Daenerys' dragons, the direwolves will most likely play a critical role in A Song of Ice & Fire's Long Night. The Stark children's advanced warg abilities might also be a significant advantage when facing the white walkers, especially for non-fighters such as Sansa—if she ever unlocks her powers. The direwolves also illustrate that Daenerys is not the only important magical character, since the Starks have their own magic with their canine companions.