Very few shows in the history of television have created as much controversy as Game of Thrones managed to. A show who is capable of killing off main characters like they mean nothing is pretty much capable of doing anything. After events like Ned Stark's beheading and the Red Wedding, it would be expected that fans of the show would be used to having their hearts shattered with each new episode that airs.
However, the new and final season of Game of Thrones managed to take this skill to a whole new level. The direwolves have been one of the few heart-warming things about the show, but as the seasons went on, our favorite animals got less and less screen time—and most met their respective demises.
Everyone was excited to see Jon's direwolf, good boy Ghost, return and be a fleeting part of the battle of Winterfell against the Night King and his army. What no one was expecting was for Jon to give Ghost to Tormund and leave Winterfell without a proper goodbye. Nothing! He didn't even pet him, or hug him, or thank him for being by his side! Obviously, Game of Thrones' fans were outraged over this, which sparked a series of hilarious memes on the subject. Here are 10 memes that prove Ghost deserved better.
Tormund & Ghost
Jon is a great character. The bastard outcast turned brother of the Night's Watch turned Lord Commander turned corpse turned King of the North has been through some serious trauma. But then again, so has pretty much everyone on Game of Thrones. Still, the unanimous feeling after he pretty much gave Ghost away is that he didn't deserve this good boy.
Maybe it was for the best, but still, something more than simply turning his back on a friend like that didn't sit right with anyone. But at least now Ghost has Tormund, and Tormund has Ghost. It's no wonder fans used this as some form of comfort, and, of course, quality meme material! All of us would be more than willing to tune in every week to watch a quality show like Tormund and Ghost, right?
The Adventures In The North: Starring Tormund & Ghost
On the same note as the previous meme, and as it happens with every single moment on such a high profile show like Game of Thrones, one meme simply doesn't cut it. The solace provided to fans that Ghost and Tormund will now become the best friends we didn't know we needed but truly deserved made room for some creative undertakings.
Following the lives of these two magnificent northern creatures is incredibly tempting. Why stop at a TV show on HBO? Give Tormund and Ghost the movie they deserve, on a theater screen, and with all the quality CGI Ghost needs to shine like the star we all know he is! Introducing North, the motion picture that does these true heroes justice!
The Real MVP
Only someone who hasn't been paying very close attention to the show over the years would discard Ghost as nothing more than a pet. If you still have any lingering questions about why fans were so royally angry at the way showrunners treated him, then this meme is sure to put those doubts to rest - and if it doesn't, then you probably don't have a heart.
This good boy has done more for the show and its main characters than many regulars; he is a warrior who fought for the right side not only in one, but two battles, he guarded Jon's body when he was betrayed by his brothers, he saved Sam, and he made it for eight seasons without dying. Do you have any idea how hard that is? On a show like Game of Thrones?! Yes, Ghost deserves the world, and that's that.
George RR Martin VS D&D
It's no secret that showrunners reached a point where they no longer had George's books to rely on, and they had to keep the story going without the source material. And yes, every movie or TV show that's an adaptation of a novel invariably falls short on some details, but on a show like GoT, fans were very much okay with this because the deviation in characters was never too significant.
But oh boy, did they mess up when it comes to the relationship between Jon and Ghost! As if everything the two went through together on the show wasn't enough to give these two a proper farewell, at least reading a simple passage of the book should be enough. Apparently, not for D&D. Choices, bad choices everywhere.
It's Not Me Ghost, It's You
After the huge secret that was Jon's true parentage (spoiler alert: it wasn't a secret, fans had known it for years), there was certainly a need to drive the point home. With Jon being a Targaryen, and Targaryens being really into dragons and riding them and so on, we slowly got to see his relationship with Dany's children develop slowly.
He got to pet one during season 7, but he went full on Father of Dragons in season 8 when he rode them more than once. Perhaps the excitement of being able to befriend dragons completely made Jon forget why Ghost was such an amazing ally to begin with. Perhaps not, and fans were just bitter about how everything went down. Either way, we got this masterpiece of a meme—featuring a Toy Story crossover!
Olenna Tyrell Would've Been Proud
Olenna Tyrell will be forever remembered as one of the baddest women in the history of television. Homegirl took part in killing off Joffrey, and she wanted her nemesis Cersei to know. She made that pretty clear after drinking the poison Jaime so kindly provided her with, and that moment was pure gold.
Fans jumped at the chance of using Olenna's iconic last words and turning them into a Ghost-focused meme. After yet another dragon was murdered—which was also heartbreaking, by the way—we were blessed with this meme that presents us with the alternative reality were Ghost was responsible for the dragon's death... out of jealousy.
The Loving Ghost Club Has No Regrets
There's just something about animals that warms our cold, dead, human hearts. How common is it to watch an actual person die on a TV show, and we feel nothing? But the minute someone hurts the dog, we break down in tears? It is what it is, maybe it's biological, maybe we just really love pets.
Game of Thrones sure has a lot of interesting characters. They're not all good or bad, they're complex, and that's what makes the show so incredibly compelling in the first place, and explains the popularity it managed to amass over the years. But still...it's Ghost! And he's so good and brave! He deserved so much better, and fans of the show have no regrets for loving him the way that they do.
I'm Told You Were The Best
Some meme formats are like cockroaches—they simply don't die. In meme world, however, this tends to happen when the formats are so good and so incredibly adaptable to various situations. In this case, TV shows. Of course, the whole Ghost situation was memed to exhaustion, using both new and old formats. That's how much of a mark this left on fans.
The "Was I a good (...)? I was told you were the best" is one of the formats fans decided to use to cope with their feelings about Jon Snow leaving Ghost behind. And once again, surprise surprise, Tormund comes to the rescue! And for the record, Ghost: you truly were the best boy Game of Thrones ever got.
Where's The Budget Though?
We all know budget isn't a problem for Game of Thrones. HBO was willing to give showrunners all of the money they could possibly need to make the show last longer if they so wished. The actors get paid small fortunes for their roles on the show, and the battles alone—especially the last few we got to see—are enough proof that the money is there. I mean, we got dragons for crying out loud.
And yet, for some reason, they didn't have enough money to keep Ghost around. More than that, they didn't have the budget to at least make him look like the glorious direwolf we got to know and love throughout the show—it just got to a point where he was, well, a regular wolf. How is this possible? We demand answers, D&D!
Love Actually 2: Tormund Loves Ghost
Finishing this list on a slightly more positive note, let us all remember that Tormund didn't even blink when Jon asked him to keep Ghost. This big, ginger warrior has a heart of gold, and he also deserves to be happy (we're looking at you, Brienne of Tarth). We might not get the spin-off shows we so wished for starring Ghost and Tormund, but at least we got this heart-warming meme.
It's an iconic scene from all time favorite movie Love Actually, but it fits these two better than it could ever fit Keira Knightley and Andrew Lincoln. Don't worry Ghost! It's okay if Jon doesn't want you or appreciate you anymore. Tormund thinks you're perfect, and the two of you will be very happy together, just like you deserve.