Giant dragons, the massed icy undead, and fleets of warships brandishing enormous crossbows have all been brought to the screen in Game of Thrones, but the show's mega-budgets were too slim to reproduce a big dog.
In an interview with The Huffington Post UK, Game of Thrones director David Nutter has explained why Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) didn't embrace his loyal direwolf Ghost one last time before leaving Winterfell. Ghost, who guarded his master's dead body after his murder, was given little more than a 'Ta ra' as Jon departed. Harsh.
Nutter explained why Snow didn't give the good boy a proper patting and the reason is understandable, given Thrones's tight purse strings. "Since the direwolves are kind of CG creations, we felt it best to keep it as simple as possible,' he said. "And I think that it played out much more powerfully that way."
This is the same show where Daenerys - and Jon - climb aboard the backs of dragons, suggesting these creatures are not 'kind of CG creations' if those scenes are easy to film.