This will doubtless upset a lot of people if it's true, particularly those who favor direvolves over dragons. That's why I'm using this sentence to pad the preview, so people who don't want spoilers can't see the thesis for this article I've written in the next paragraph.
Arya Stark died in Braavos.
The real identity of the person who took her place is The Waif, her otherwise nameless rival from training with the Faceless Men.
The fight with the Waif
The Waif was clearly better than Arya - more cunning, more ruthless, better at face-changing, and with greater weapon proficiency. Evidently, she's strong as hell, too - pause the frame on Lady Crane's corpse and try to wrap your head around what the hell happened to her.
Remember, Arya had been stabbed several times by the Waif. The entire time she was running, she was losing blood. With her fight-or-flight senses activated, her body was coursing with norepinephrine and adrenaline, so her heart rate was elevated, meaning the blood that was flowing out of her was doing so twice as fast as it would have normally, especially since she was sprinting, falling and crashing through and into numerous obstacles on the busy streets of Braavos at midday. She was weakened, scared - probably panicking - that doesn't bode well when you're in a fight for your life. In fact, the loss of blood would have lowered her stamina and dexterity, making her even less effective in a fight.
And don't say, "it's a fantasy story, why get so scientific?" George R.R. Martin went out of his way to describe that Jaime Lannister is dislexic without saying the word. The showrunners David and David went out of their ways to make sure Lannister soldiers have lions inscribed on parts of their armor the audience never sees - these are not people who gloss over fine details.
The implication in the scene's ending was that Arya drew the Waif to the place she'd been keeping her sword, Needle. She had recently been trained to fight blind, so she did the smartest thing someone in her situation could do: she cut out the wick of the candle providing the room's sole source of light, and (presumably) proceeded to fight the Waif in total darkness with a weapon that had better range than the Waif's knife.
At least, that's what we're led to believe. Yet we don't know for sure what happened after that candle went out. The scene cut away as soon as the room went dark.
The next scene in which we see Arya, she has a sword drawn on Jaqen H'ghar, who has just found the Waif's bloody face hanging in the Hall of Faces.
Before I move on to that scene, let me make a few things clear: just because Arya embraced her identity and remembered her waterdancing lessons doesn't mean she had become good enough at fighting to beat someone who had already beat her numerous times - especially since that someone had recently put several large holes in Arya's abdomen.
Remember, this is Game of Thrones. With few exceptions, plot armor may as well be made of paper when it comes to this show. Especially for Starks.
Since we never see Arya and the Waif's ultimate confrontation, we don't actually know what happened. We assume Arya is better at fighting blind, but the Waif is a true Faceless Assassin - she's resourceful, and she usually doesn't let her enemies know the full extent of her abilities in case she needs to surprise someone one day.
Look at the supposed deaths of both the Hound and the Mountain; in either case, it turned out their implied deaths didn't actually happen. Earlier than that, when Benjen Stark didn't return to Castle Black, it was presumed he had died beyond the Wall - until he showed up as a half-wight to save Sam and Gilly's asses.
Now then, on to the scene that holds the most evidence to support this theory...
The confrontation in the Hall of Faces
The story continues in the Hall of Faces. Jaqen sees the disembodied face of his pupil, and Arya appears behind him. She is suddenly totally fine - no sign of distress or fatigue from her wounds. After a brief exchange, Jaqen tells her, "finally, a girl is no-one."
Stop and think about that for a second. Why would killing the Waif prove that Arya is ready to be "no-one," a true Faceless Assassin? What does killing another assassin have to do with anything? Jaqen's training was about teaching Arya to let go of her past, to leave her identity behind, as well as any desire to have "an identity," thereby shedding her ego entirely. How does killing the Waif prove that she's capable of doing that?
Consider this: that isn't Arya. Consider this as well: Jaqen knows that isn't Arya. With this in mind, doesn't it make more sense when Jaqen says, "finally, a girl is no-one?" After all, she not only killed Arya and stole her identity with flawless precision, she demonstrated her faithfulness to being no-one by cutting off her own fucking face and hanging it in the Hall of Faces. The "girl" he was referencing wasn't Arya. It was the Waif.
That's why he let her leave for Westeros. Think about it...she says, "a girl is Arya Stark of Winterfel...and I'm going home." And instead of protesting, Jaqen gives her a quizzical look, then smiles. Why would he smile? This isn't an 80's movie. He's not Iceman, reluctantly recognizing the skill of a longtime rival. He's a merciless killer, and the only thing he cares about is serving the Red God, which means killing tons of people, and training others to kill for the same cause. If Arya had rejected his training, training that includes ancient secrets held by the Faceless Assassins, why would he just let her leave? What if she shared the secrets of the Faceless Assassins with the world?
Arya might have done so. The Waif wouldn't have.
It would make far more sense if by "I'm going home," the Waif was implying she had donned the guise of Arya Stark in order to carry out a mission for which that identity would be best suited.
She left Jaqen in the Hall of Faces, no pain or weakness evident in her confident stride, despite her clothes being covered in Arya Stark's blood. Her steps mimic perfectly the mechanical, stiff, robotic stride of the Waif when she chased Arya through the streets of Braavos.
The story continues in the Hall of Faces. Jaqen sees the disembodied face of his pupil, and Arya appears behind him. She is suddenly totally fine - no sign of distress or fatigue from her wounds. After a brief exchange, Jaqen tells her, "finally, a girl is no-one."
Stop and think about that for a second. Why would killing the Waif prove that Arya is ready to be "no-one," a true Faceless Assassin? What does killing another assassin have to do with anything? Jaqen's training was about teaching Arya to let go of her past, to leave her identity behind, as well as any desire to have "an identity," thereby shedding her ego entirely. How does killing the Waif prove that she's capable of doing that?
Consider this: that isn't Arya. Consider this as well: Jaqen knows that isn't Arya. With this in mind, doesn't it make more sense when Jaqen says, "finally, a girl is no-one?" After all, she not only killed Arya and stole her identity with flawless precision, she demonstrated her faithfulness to being no-one by cutting off her own fucking face and hanging it in the Hall of Faces. The "girl" he was referencing wasn't Arya. It was the Waif.
That's why he let her leave for Westeros. Think about it...she says, "a girl is Arya Stark of Winterfel...and I'm going home." And instead of protesting, Jaqen gives her a quizzical look, then smiles. Why would he smile? This isn't an 80's movie. He's not Iceman, reluctantly recognizing the skill of a longtime rival. He's a merciless killer, and the only thing he cares about is serving the Red God, which means killing tons of people, and training others to kill for the same cause. If Arya had rejected his training, training that includes ancient secrets held by the Faceless Assassins, why would he just let her leave? What if she shared the secrets of the Faceless Assassins with the world?
Arya might have done so. The Waif wouldn't have.
It would make far more sense if by "I'm going home," the Waif was implying she had donned the guise of Arya Stark in order to carry out a mission for which that identity would be best suited.
She left Jaqen in the Hall of Faces, no pain or weakness evident in her confident stride, despite her clothes being covered in Arya Stark's blood. Her steps mimic perfectly the mechanical, stiff, robotic stride of the Waif when she chased Arya through the streets of Braavos.
The Return
What could this secret mission have been?
Well, what does "Arya" do immediately after returning to Westeros?
"Cirsei Lannister...Illyn Payne...The Hound...The Mountain..."
Arya's list wasn't just meant to keep her memory sharp regarding people she wanted dead. It was a prayer to the Red God, as Jaqen told her in season 2.
Arya had been repeating that list for years, but rarely succeeded in actually taking any names off her list herself. Meryn Trant was one, but she did so by violating the rules of the Faceless Men - she stole a mask and killed someone she hadn't been told to kill. It didn't matter that he was on the list - at that point, she was on Faceless Men payroll, and she wasn't supposed to kill anyone she hadn't been instructed to kill. More importantly, even after making up for this by earning her sight back, she fucked up again - she failed to kill Lady Crane. The Waif and Jaqen knew she would never be able to truly serve the Red God.
Maybe the Waif was taking over for her because she didn't believe Arya would be capable of carrying out the Red God's bidding?
Let's be honest: Arya's great, but historically she hasn't accomplished much more than barely survive one lethal encounter after another. She's bungled assassinations because her ego or morals compelled her to. She escaped Harrenhal only with Jaqen's help.
If it really was her, the Frey assassinations were way more competent than anything Arya has ever done. If it really was her, "Arya's" fight with Brienne of Tarth represents a startling jump in her combat mastery.
It's just as possible she seems that good because the Waif, who has already demonstrated her superior skills in all of these areas, is posing as Arya.
What could this secret mission have been?
Well, what does "Arya" do immediately after returning to Westeros?
"Cirsei Lannister...Illyn Payne...The Hound...The Mountain..."
Arya's list wasn't just meant to keep her memory sharp regarding people she wanted dead. It was a prayer to the Red God, as Jaqen told her in season 2.
Arya had been repeating that list for years, but rarely succeeded in actually taking any names off her list herself. Meryn Trant was one, but she did so by violating the rules of the Faceless Men - she stole a mask and killed someone she hadn't been told to kill. It didn't matter that he was on the list - at that point, she was on Faceless Men payroll, and she wasn't supposed to kill anyone she hadn't been instructed to kill. More importantly, even after making up for this by earning her sight back, she fucked up again - she failed to kill Lady Crane. The Waif and Jaqen knew she would never be able to truly serve the Red God.
Maybe the Waif was taking over for her because she didn't believe Arya would be capable of carrying out the Red God's bidding?
Let's be honest: Arya's great, but historically she hasn't accomplished much more than barely survive one lethal encounter after another. She's bungled assassinations because her ego or morals compelled her to. She escaped Harrenhal only with Jaqen's help.
If it really was her, the Frey assassinations were way more competent than anything Arya has ever done. If it really was her, "Arya's" fight with Brienne of Tarth represents a startling jump in her combat mastery.
It's just as possible she seems that good because the Waif, who has already demonstrated her superior skills in all of these areas, is posing as Arya.
"Stark Theory"
The Starks are classically predictable characters. They tend to be rigid, motivated by family, duty, and honor - much like the Tully's.
It's been a consistent trend that the Starks who remain rigid in the face of adversity (Ned, Robb, Cat) do not tend to survive, while those who adapt and change (Bran, Sansa) survive.
Jon is the exception. He died, but was brought back by divine intervention.
Arya did well for awhile, but when she stopped changing and decided to hold on to her old values and way of life, she did so at her own expense.
And then there's Rickon, who doesn't count because, as evidenced by GRRM's darkly ironic literary style, Rickon's entire life is an inconsequential "Shaggy Dog Story."
Like Starks tend to do, Arya broke a lot of rules and refused to adapt to the world she was in. It's highly possible she met the fate of most Starks, for the same reason most Stark's lives end that way: pride.
Conclusion
This is a dark fucking show.
Starks die a lot, because they are too stubborn to adapt. Arya is no exception.
I could be wrong, but in order to disprove this theory, we'd have to assume a TON of lazy writing from David and David in an otherwise phenomenal season. Plus, someone at Wired has already written a similar article to mine.
Nobody wants to see Arya die...but in terms of how this affects the rest of the plot, it could be worse.
If this theory is correct, it has certain implications. Either Arya is somehow basically super-powered now, or a way more competent assassin has taken over for her.
Either way, the enemies of the Starks are fucked.
This is a dark fucking show.
Starks die a lot, because they are too stubborn to adapt. Arya is no exception.
I could be wrong, but in order to disprove this theory, we'd have to assume a TON of lazy writing from David and David in an otherwise phenomenal season. Plus, someone at Wired has already written a similar article to mine.
Nobody wants to see Arya die...but in terms of how this affects the rest of the plot, it could be worse.
If this theory is correct, it has certain implications. Either Arya is somehow basically super-powered now, or a way more competent assassin has taken over for her.
Either way, the enemies of the Starks are fucked.
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