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Arya Stark - Blog Posts
Although, I do not like the way they portrayed Daenerys in this episode, I could not help but notice the message portrayed during the celebratory dinner scene. Daenerys the breaker of Chains, Mother of Dragons, Khaleesi. The woman who freed countless men, gave them an option no other "leader" had, saved countless men, women, and children, helped Jon in the fight against a cold ass zombie apocalypse, the only known person who had access to not one but three dragons that would follow her anywhere. The woman who is quite the expert when it comes to riding a dragon discredited by men in front of other men, even the one she says she loves and not one man who knows what she is capable of, not even Jon stood up for her, her name or her reputation. In fact Jon only stands up for her when he argues against Sansa, which is never in public around other men, besides Bran.
I understand why Jon is the rightful heir and why they want him to take the Throne, but I also understand Daenerys' stance. Think about it. How hurtful would it be to watch someone else accept what you worked your ass off, watched your children die for, watched the only two men you were deeply close to die for, watched countless of brave men fall for? Not because the person has the same name and can fairly fight you for it but because they share the same name and have XY chromosomes, meaning they can automatically be given what you put in work for. I think that would do it for Dany, that would be the thing that made her lose her cool.
Plus, it was Daenerys who gave Arya her credit where it was due for doing what no man, not even Jon after many attempts could do, which was kill the Night King. Arya had never even seen the Night King and yet she destroyed him and his popsicle zombies.
Yet, another example of badass women having to have each other's backs, because in a world of men you save and hold doors open for while dragging their ass through it is still not likely that you'll get respect or credit where deserved.
As much fun as his character is, his ending is fan service. Good thing Bran can see the past and has maybe some inkling about the future. Maybe he can figure out how to get money in his spare time. Or he can write to Arya for help. In the books Arya is good at math and keeping figures.
Who wants to bet that within the span of one year, Bronn’s going to make Petyr Baelish look like the best master of coin in history?
Jon Snow....King Beyond the Wall.
Sansa Stark.....Queen of the North.
Bran Stark....King of Westeros (um okay)
Arya Stark....Queen of this ship.
Maybe Arya will one day be the Queen of a fantasy version of America?
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him.
Even though we didn’t get to see Sansa and Arya’s reactions to Jon’s parentage reveal, their next scenes subtly show how they process this information.
Arya, who previously worked so hard to return to her family and went out of her way to call Jon her brother (not her half-brother), now wants to go to Kings Landing to finish her hit list.
Inconsistent character development? You might say that, but I have another theory. Arya only came home because she heard Jon had helped retake Winterfell, but when she arrives home he’s not there, Sansa and Bran are two very different people, and the loving family reunion she expected from Jon is ruined by the arrival of his new girlfriend and the impending war against the Night King.
When we first see Arya this season she is standing with the commoners outside Winterfell watching Jon and Daenerys arrive. She smiles when she sees Jon, only to be disappointed when he rides right by her without recognizing her. This could be why she isn’t there when Jon walks into Winterfell--she’s sulking. Her reunion with Jon doesn’t go as planned because she has to defend Sansa and remind him that he needs to keep his family’s interests in mind.
She reawakens her humanity (and dormant sexuality) with Gendry. After sleeping with him she looks...calm, disappointed? Maybe the experience wasn’t what she expected. Maybe she expected having sex would make her feel powerful and whole, maybe she thought it’d make her feel fully connected with someone for the first time in many years. Instead she stares off into space, probably thinking of the upcoming battle.
Then in 8x03 she saves the day by killing the Night King...only to not show up at the feast a few days later, where she SHOULD be the guest of honor, but is instead only thanked by Daenerys once in a toast which she doesn’t even see. Instead of joining her family and the other survivors, she training by herself all alone in the dark until Gendry arrives.
Gendry proposes, but she declines because “that’s not me.” She doesn’t know how to do anything but fight. Revenge and hate have become a part of her, more than anyone else in her family, even Sansa. She doesn’t know the first thing about being a “lady” or a wife or anything but a nameless, faceless girl that used to be Arya Stark.
She finally learns about Jon’s true parents off screen after calling Daenerys out and reminding Jon about the importance of family and protecting his own. The next time we see her she’s on her way to King’s Landing, back on the path to revenge. Why not stay home and let the others take care of Cersei? She previously said that she doesn’t trust Daenerys and now that she knows Jon isn’t completely a Stark, maybe she feels she can’t fully trust Jon either? Sure he’s still the man she grew up with and called brother, but Jon isn’t Jon anymore in the larger scheme of things. Arya might even think Jon going south and siding with a Targaryen (and maybe one day accepting that he is one too) is a betrayal of his Stark heritage and his Stark family.
Arya doesn’t expect to come back from her final mission. She doesn’t know how to live in her old home anymore. She doesn’t know how to be the Arya Stark she used to be and the Arya Stark everyone else wants her to be. She thinks she has no place in Westeros after Cersei’s death. But I hope the next two episodes prove her wrong.
We are approaching the end of Game of Thrones, so at this point in any good story all of the major characters must feel a sense of hopelessness and darkness before the light at the end of the tunnel. Daenerys is loosing all of her allies, Jon suddenly realizes he’s not who he thought he was, and, likewise, Arya is questioning her identity and her own place in the world.
I think she’ll find it, one way or another, by the time the show ends.
My opinion exactly.
While I was cringing and unhappy about the Arya vs Sansa stuff from last season, I am rather enjoying Dany vs Sansa - because these two have reasons to clash. Both of their positions make sense for their characters and their objectives. This isn’t about pitting women against each other for once. The problem I’ve seen is within the fandom, not the writing. It’s Team Dany vs Team Sansa. It’s fandom being fandom. But really when u look at it, outside of the zombie apocalypse and the for-now-distant threat of Cersei, this internal power struggle is perhaps the most interesting development this season.
Personally I never cared much about the magic stuff in this show. Yeah dragons and direwolves and crows and resurrecting priestesses are cool. But for me the meat of the show has always been the politics.
Arya if the faceless men robes were slaying
you guys I just
the Hound rolled up Arya in a blanket burrito at night
I can’t- this book
someone help
Bienne: Arya is fucking dangerous men... like really dangerous. She would kill anyone in her way.
The hound: "proud papa"
Parallel anyone ;)
1x01 Winter is Coming • 8x01 Winterfell
Who are you?
the Stark Sisters
Arya Stark of Winterfell, as I imagined her when I first read A Song of Ice and Fire.
This painting took me about two/three hours, mainly because I was experimenting with a new technique and ( since I love to make things difficult for myself) I worked straight away with colors without sketching it out first. It is far from perfect but I kinda like how it turned out.