'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Spoilers: Arya Finds Nymeria? What The Direwolf's Return Could Mean For Her Storyline

The team behind Game of Thrones returned to Calgary, Canada last week to film some direwolf footage, and Maisie Williams was also spotted in the area by fans. This suggests Arya Stark, back in Westeros after her long stint in Braavos, could finally be reunited with her direwolf, Nymeria.

Watchers on the Wall reports Williams had been spotted in Calgary during the same timeframe as a GoT shoot with Instinct Animals for Film, professional animal trainers who help to transform real-life wolves into Westerosi direwolves.

Keen-eyed Game of Thrones fans were quick to point out that one of the wolves pictured in Instinct Animals’ social media posts bore a strong resemblance to Nymeria back in Season 1. Here’s the new wolf being used for the show:

And here’s some vintage Season 1 Nymeria:

There’s certainly a resemblance between the two wolves, with their predominantly gray and white coloring, interspersed with hints of brown. But how can we be sure Williams was in Calgary at the same time? She posed for selfies with several GoT fans in the area last week and even hit the stage for some karaoke. Of course, it’s not 100 percent certain that Williams was in Calgary for GoT, but it seems the most likely explanation.

Nymeria’s likely return offers us some clues about what Season 7 might have in store for Arya, and by extension the rest of the Stark family. (Season 6 spoilers ahead!) Last we saw Arya, she’d returned to Westeros in the most dramatic fashion imaginable, slitting Walder Frey’s throat after serving his two sons to him in a pie, finally getting revenge for the Red Wedding that capped off Season 3.

Given we last saw her at The Twins, it’s likely Arya’s story in Season 7 will resume somewhere in the Riverlands, which also happens to be where we last saw Nymeria. In the second episode of Season 1, as Ned Stark travels with his daughters down the Kingsroad to King’s Landing, Nymeria bites Joffrey after the prince attacks Arya. Arya sends the wolf away, and Cersei orders Sansa’s direwolf, Lady, killed in her stead. Unless Nymeria roamed further afield in the past five seasons (entirely possible), then Arya could be reunited with her direwolf rather early on in Season 7.

This reunion with Nymeria, which likely be welcome to many fans, does present some complications for Arya’s kill list. Judging from the serious side-eye Arya (in disguise) was throwing Jaime Lannister’s way in the Season 6 finale, it seemed as though Cersei might be her next target. It’s hard to say if Jamie would be lumped into Arya’s bloody mission; she clearly had few qualms about taking out Walder Frey’s sons, even though they weren’t specifically on the list.

It’s very possible Arya starts off heading south toward King’s Landing -- or even Casterly Rock -- hellbent on spilling some Lannister blood, but then gets waylaid by Nymeria. This will likely remind her of her defiant words upon leaving the House of Black and White: “A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell, and I’m going home.” (You can rewatch the scene below.) This hypothetical Arya-meets-Nymeria storyline lines up neatly with earlier set leak photos of one of Arya’s Season 7 costumes, which suggest her return to the North. What remains to be seen is how Arya will manage to put her long stint of training with the Faceless Men to use back in Winterfell. She can't have spent nearly two years in training to only take out Walder Frey; it would seem like a bit of a waste just to see her sat on a horse alongside the newly minted King in da Norf for the whole season.

Not only would the return of Nymeria tug at Arya’s heartstrings and prompt her to seek out her fellow Starks, but the logistics of having the direwolf back in the fold might put a damper on ger bloodbath plans. Even while wearing someone else's face, it’s awfully hard to discreetly sneak around King’s Landing with a giant wolf in tow. Even so, seeing her reunited with Jon, Sansa and Bran might make it all worthwhile. We've been avoiding spoilers, so can't exactly predict the direction Arya's story will take in Season 7.

Will we see all the living Stark children return to Winterfell in Game of Thrones Season 7? Which reunions are you most looking forward to? Share your thoughts and predictions in the comments, and be sure to stay tuned to iDigitalTimes for more Game of Thrones coverage.

Game of Thrones Season 7 Premiere Date

Game of Thrones Season 7 will debut on HBO this summer. There is no firm premiere date at this time. However, back in January The Sun reported IMDb had listed the Season 7 premiere date as Sunday June 25, 2017. The listing has since been removed, but this strikes us as a plausible date. The show normally resumes in April, but this year's production was held back so that filming could take place in more suitably wintry conditions.