The explanation: Gold and red have always been associated with royalty, yet the Lannisters have never crowned themselves kings. Blind loyalty doesn’t end well for the Starks - something that should be changing in season 7 thanks to Sansa’s new devious approach and Arya’s assassination skills.
Just like Eddard Stark got beheaded for his stubborn loyalty to the Baratheons rather than adapting to the new powers that were emerging, four out of six of the direwolves are dead because they followed their masters into danger.
They’re good dogs Bran… but loyalty is a double-edged sword.
Like the Starks, direwolves are incredibly loyal to their masters and will attack those who threaten them - Nymeria attacked Joffrey when he was about to hit Arya, Grey Wind helped in Robb Stark’s Battle of the Whispering Woods, and Summer defended Bran from an assassin. The explanation: It doesn’t take much thinking to figure out that the white field of their sigil represents the snow of the north, and the direwolf is by far the most famous creature to come out of that frosty region.
