Game of Thrones: Arya Stark’s power justified?
Arya Stark is everyone’s favorite psychotic assassin-turned savior, but does she deserve that honor? Game of Thrones took a little girl turned her into a killer, and now her plot armor’s so thick Drogon’s fire can’t touch her.
Spoiler Alert: For those not caught up on Game of Thrones, spoilers are ahead.
Now, Arya’s a great character, don’t get me wrong. She’s been through hell to find her way back to her family and remember her heritage. Everyone wishes they could slice and dice like her, but recently, she’s taken all the Game of Thrones plot points.
Savior of Winterfell
The Night King, arguably Jon Snow’s defining character arc, is given to her so she can be the savior of Winterfell. With simple sleight of hand, she takes down the biggest threat to everyone in the Seven Kingdoms. A little anti-climactic, but it works because Arya’s a faceless ninja – at times at least.
She saves everyone and gets the glory. The Night King is her big kill, not Cersei or the Mountain. Arya proves her strength, and it can’t be taken from her.
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Why then is she being set up as the Savior of Westeros?
David Benioff and Dave Weiss admit that they wanted Arya to be the face in the chaos of King’s Landing, and they blatantly place her on a pale horse that she rides out of the city. Many connotations come to mind here. Is she death riding a pale horse and destruction follows with her, or is she the true savior on a white horse?
Either way, it’s heavily implied that Arya will get another big kill during the series finale. Otherwise, she has no business being in King’s Landing. Who will it be, Daenerys, Drogon, or Jon?
But Arya doesn’t need it, nor should the responsibility of series resolutions fall on one character. What justifications are given for Arya becoming the Season 8 savior?
She and Daenerys are the two characters who seem to move the plot forward. Cersei, the most nuanced villain maybe ever, stares out a window for most of the season. Sansa plays the game, but Arya’s got all the action.
Arya’s the best, but we already knew that. In a show that “subverts expectations,” why make it so obvious the assassin becomes the savior? It’s not realistic for her to make all the big kills and once you remove the fantasy, this show’s always had a sense of realism. It’s a modern day power play with dragons.
Next. Tyrion deceiving everyone to claim the throne. dark
In reality, one person doesn’t save the world, or they don’t save the world multiple times. Arya’s a great character, but let someone else stand in the limelight in the final episode. Game of Thrones is an ensemble-driven fantasy series. Let’s end it that way.
Game of Thrones finale airs Sunday at 9 p.m. EST. Find out how it ends!