Warning: Spoilers ahead for season six of "Game of Thrones."
There were a lot of deaths in "Oathbreaker," the third episode of HBO’s "Game of Thrones" season six.
But one death stood out more than the hangings and battles combined — and it wasn't even a human.
In "Oathbreaker," fans were shocked when Lord Umber presented Ramsay Bolton with Rickon Stark and the wildling Osha as a gift. Ramsay asks how he can know for sure if this is actually Rickon Stark, and Lord Umber throws the severed head of Rickon’s direwolf Shaggydog on the table.
The reveal did not sit well with fans.
—taryn (@bernthaI) May 9, 2016
—#PrayForRickon (@motelsonthemoon) May 9, 2016
—Saskia (@SaskiaMrls) May 9, 2016
—Shelby Fiegel (@shelbyfiegel) May 9, 2016
Just like his brothers and sisters, Rickon received a direwolf puppy after a litter was found outside of Winterfell in the woods. Jon Snow got his white direwolf Ghost, Arya named her pup Nymeria, Bran received his dog Summer, Robb called his direwolf Grey Wind, Sansa’s puppy was named Lady, and Rickon very appropriately named his dog Shaggydog.
Many pointed out that with the direwolf’s death, only three others remain. Lady was killed on the order of Queen Cersei after Arya’s wolf Nymeria bit then-Prince Joffrey. Because Arya released Nymeria before Queen Cersei could have the wolf killed, Sansa's dog Lady was killed in her place.
Robb’s wolf Grey Wind was killed with him at the Red Wedding along with his mother Catelyn Stark and new wife Talisa, and now Shaggydog is dead, too.
—Ned Stark (@Eddard_Stark_) May 9, 2016
That leaves Ghost, who is currently with Jon at Castle Black; Summer, who is with Bran beyond the Wall with the Children of the Forest and Bloodraven; and Nymeria, who we haven’t seen since season one of "Game of Thrones" but who in the books we know is running around the Riverlands with a pack of wild wolves.
Not only are the direwolves the sigil of House Stark, but Catelyn Stark believes they serve as a protective force for her children. So far, she’s been proven right. When Robb ties up Grey Wind before the Red Wedding, he is murdered by the Freys. Though nothing has happened to Sansa yet, she has suffered horrible losses after her dog Lady was killed, as has Arya who is far away from her wolf Nymeria.
This could be bad news for Rickon. The loss of his direwolf companion may be a sign that the worse is yet to come.
And knowing both Ramsay Bolton and "Game of Thrones," it probably is.
