Arya Stark’s journey through Game of Thrones: Rebellious tomboy to lethal assassin - Hindustan Times
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Arya Stark’s journey through Game of Thrones: Rebellious tomboy to lethal assassin

Hindustan Times | By, New Delhi
Aug 23, 2017 03:49 PM IST

With just a week to go for the seventh season finale of Game of Thrones, we look back at the journeys of seven main characters through the show. Let’s begin with the little assassin, Arya Stark.

“I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes sealed shut forever.”

Arya Stark has gone through a lot in her short life, more than any other character on the show.
Arya Stark has gone through a lot in her short life, more than any other character on the show.

When Melisandre said these words to Arya Stark back in season 3 – clutching her jaw, looking deep into her eyes – we did not think much of it. She was just a girl, running away from evil and back to her family. Except, whatever she said has come true. Arya is no longer a scared little child who witnessed her father’s head tumble off the executioner’s block; she is a woman out for revenge. And she is as prepared as anyone can be.

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In a show that has a queen who rose from the ashes to build an empire, a hero who’s duty-bound and brave, a misfit rejected by his family and a murderer who redeems himself with his kindness, there is no death of characters to root for. And yet, Arya manages to carve a special place of her own.

Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 1.
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 1.

When we first saw her, she was all about being anything but her sister. She didn’t want to knit like her, wear dresses like her, or even pine for a prince like her. She wanted to throw arrows like her brothers and learn to wield a sword. If you come to think of it, the entire machinery was set in motion due to her sword fighting. Had she not thrown Joffrey’s sword into the river in season 1, would things have turned out different?

This doesn’t take away from the fact that Arya managed to survive all these years only because of her ability to fight her way out of tough spots. However, she also knew when not to. When captured and thrown into Harrenhaal in season 2, Arya became the cup-bearer for Tywin Lannister – one of the most fascinating pairings she has had on the show. Harrenhaal was also where she met Jaqen H’gaar, the man who gave her the life she now lives.

Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 2.
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 2.

Essentially, Arya has learned most from the men she met on her journey. Jon, by giving her Needle, fostered the idea that she could be more than just another princess. Ned gave wind to do it by introducing her to a tutor who would teach her to be a fighter. Syrio Forell not only helped her master water dancing but also the art of survival: Saying ‘not today’ to death.

Rory McCann and Maisie Williams as The Hound and Arya Stark in Season 3.
Rory McCann and Maisie Williams as The Hound and Arya Stark in Season 3.

However, none of these men learnt anything from her. That happened only with Sandor Clegane – The Hound. In yet another curious case of Stockholm Syndrome, Arya and her captor develop a relationship like no other on the show.

On paper, he wants to trade her for bounty and she wants to kill him. But for the near-two seasons they partner through one of the longest journeys undertaken on foot, she learns the tricks of survival and brutality from Sandor while he learns how to be more human.

Rory McCann and Maisie Williams as The Hound and Arya Stark in Season 4.
Rory McCann and Maisie Williams as The Hound and Arya Stark in Season 4.

So, it comes as a shock when she leaves him to die at the end of season 4. How could she do this to a man who saved her life several times, a man whose wounds she tended to, a man who told her about his brother’s cruelty? While he may have grown kinder with her, she had turned cold. She had asked Beric Dondarrion for Sandor’s death when they met two seasons ago, now, she leaves him begging for it. It was proof that she no longer remained the Arya we knew.

Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 5.
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 5.

She leaves for Essos in the hope of becoming a warrior capable of killing the people on her list. While Bran has his Three-Eyed Ravenry, Jon has his blessing from the Lord of Light and Daenerys has her dragons, Jaqen helps Arya get a little extra something of her own. She had already turned cold and here she learned to be a killer, but not the one Jaqen wanted her to be. After months of washing floors and selling fish, she realises she cannot not be Arya Stark anymore – something that becomes evident when she kills Ser Meryn Trant with unforeseen brutality. Even becoming blind turns in an opportunity for Arya to learn how to kill people in the dark, yet another skill.

Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 6.
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 6.

Now that she has returned home, she doesn’t seem like the Arya we were expecting. Having taken a break from bringing those who killed her family to justice, she is now attacking her own sister in what seems like a really misguided decision. By turning the situation at home needlessly hostile, her days as an assassin seem to be behind her already.

Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 7.
Maisie Williams as Arya Stark in Season 7.

The viewers are not feeling it anymore either. Here’s hoping that her character sees better times and better writing once again before the season comes to a close.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Soumya Srivastava is Entertainment Editor at Hindustan Times. She writes about movies and TV because what else is there to life anyway.

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