The direwolves of Game of Thrones are in, ahem, dire straits. In the very beginning of the first season of Game of Thrones and in the book A Game of Thrones, the Stark children discover six direwolf pups in the snow, their mother dead around them. Each Stark, as well as the Stark bastard Jon Snow, got one. Sadly, like the human characters in the series, the direwolves were hardly invincible… and many of them are now dead. Let’s take a look at the status of each direwolf in both the show at the end of season 6 and the books at the end of A Dance With Dragons.

The Fate of the Stark Direwolves

Grey Wind

Grey Wind, Robb Stark’s direwolf, is dead in both the books and the show. He has been since the third season and third book, for he died along with Robb during the show’s most momentous and famous moment: The Red Wedding. The Freys went on to disrespect Robb’s corpse by sawing off his head and sewing on Grey Wind’s head in its place—their last insult to the poor young King in the North.

Lady

Lady was the first direwolf to die in both the books and the show—indeed, she is probably the first significant death in the series and a key part of setting the tone. Long before Ned Stark lost his head, Lady lost hers—to Ned Stark himself, in an act of mercy. Squabbles between Joffrey, Arya and Sansa led to an unfortunate incident where Nymeria attacked Joffrey. Although Lady was innocent, she became the scapegoat for Joffrey and Queen Cersei’s wrath and King Robert’s annoyed sense of justice. Ned put her down so she would go painlessly—but the dog’s early death foreshadowed Sansa’s dark and miserable years ahead.

Summer

Summer is one of a handful of direwolves whose fates have diverged in the show and the books. In the books, Summer is alive and well, and is guarding his master Bran at the cave of the last greenseer. That was true in the show as well—until the most recent season. Like Hodor, Summer fought valiantly to allow Bran’s escape when the Night King came a-calling. Like Hodor, Summer died in the process. That hasn’t happened in the books—at least not yet. We’ll see if it does when Bran runs into trouble up north beyond the Wall.

Nymeria

Nymeria , Arya’s direwolf, is still alive and kicking in both the show and the books—but she hasn’t been seen in years. The dread hound was involved in the same incident that led to Lady’s death, but Arya saw what was coming and drove Nymeria away—with rocks and insults—to save her life. Since then, Nymeria has wandered the riverlands on her own, occasionally seen through Arya’s wolf dreams, and has become the mother of an enormous and increasingly dangerous pack of normal wolves. Will Arya and Nymeria ever reunite? And will they still have that bond? That remains to be seen.

Shaggydog

In the books, Rickon Stark’s direwolf Shaggydog is still alive and well, as far as we know—like Rickon, we’ve heard little from him in the last two books, since he’s off in hiding with Osha, possibly in Skagos. In the books, he didn’t make it that far. Rickon was captured at The Last Hearth, and Smalljon Umber turned the boy over to Ramsay Bolton… with the head of Shaggydog as proof that the boy really was a Stark. It was an ignominious end for a brutal wolf. Can he escape such an ignoble death in Winds of Winter? Or will Ramsay take down Rickon in the books as well? I’m certainly hoping for a smooth escape.

Ghost

Jon Snow’s direwolf, Ghost, is a little different than the rest. He started out as the runt of the litter, but has become the largest of the pack. And, of course, he’s an albino. Like Bran, Jon has a very strong connection with his direwolf and can warg into him, although he doesn’t have Bran’s level of control over the process. Ghost is still alive and well. In the books, we don’t know what happened to him upon Jon Snow’s death, but we haven’t heard anything to suggest he was hurt (and Jon Snow may still warg into him to survive). In the show, he lived through Jon’s death, and the two reconnected after his resurrection. The team is still going strong.

The Surviving Direwolves: Book Vs Show

So here’s our final tally of the direwolves: In the show, Grey Wind, Lady, Summer and Shaggydog are dead, leaving just two alive: Nymeria and Ghost. The books have been a little more merciful thus far, although that may well change when Winds of Winter catches up with the series. As of the end of Dance With Dragons, only Grey Wind and Lady are dead. Summer, Shaggydog, Nymeria and Ghost are all still alive. Let’s hope that the lack of CG budgets for the books means they’ll last a little while longer.