The Game of Thrones director explained why Jon Snow didn’t pet Ghost goodbye, and this still doesn’t feel right

Warning: The following contains Game of Thrones spoilers for Season 8, Episode 4.

The most recent Game of Thrones episode, “The Last of the Starks,” upset a lot of people—and for a crime far more egregious than a poorly-placed coffee cup. In the episode, which aired Sunday, May 5th, Jon Snow asks Tormund Giantsbane to take his beloved direwolf Ghost up north. He thinks his longtime furry friend will have a better life there while Snow leads the Northern army down south, and he believes he’s making the best decision for them both.

That, while heartbreaking, isn’t the problem. No, the problem is that while Jon hugs Tormund, Gilly, and Samwell Tarly goodbye, he doesn’t give Ghost so much as a scratch behind the ears. Ghost deserves better than this!

Fans were so upset by the glaring lack of a real goodbye that the episode’s director, David Nutter, addressed the issue in an interview with HuffPost.

"Since the direwolves are kind of CG creations, we felt it best to keep it as simple as possible, he explained. “And I think that it played out much more powerfully that way.

“Keeping Ghost off to the side, I thought that played out better,” he continued. “Then he just walks off by himself, he turns to Ghost and has this moment with Ghost that I thought was very, very powerful.”

Powerful or not, many still firmly believe Ghost deserved more. (Also, this explanation is a little thin: CGI never got in the way of petting a dragon snout for Jon, right?)

Jon Snow with Ghost

vs.

Anyone with a soul with Ghost#GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/DLm5y4qLf3

— Chris Walder (@WalderSports) May 6, 2019

https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/1125227867518984192

can we all agree the real villain here is Jon Snow for not saying goodbye to Ghost ? #GOTS8E4 pic.twitter.com/QY86lMuRFW

— Rachel φ (@thisbtchempty) May 6, 2019

Thoughts?