Entertainment

Coward Men Can't Stand That Arya Stark Got To Be The Hero Of The Battle Of Winterfell

EntertainmentPublished May 1, 2019
By Chloe Wilt
Maisie Williams Arya Stark Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3HBO

Game of Thrones fans around the world cheered Arya Stark's name after the end of "The Long Night" because she completed her character's mission — to kill the Night King. 

But, of course, some naysayers took to Twitter to discuss whether or not her character "deserved" to be the hero of the Battle of Winterfell. Even Jon Snow himself, Kit Harrington, thought John would have delivered the final blow. And Maisie Williams' boyfriend made the mistake of suggesting it should be Jon, too.

Williams has grown up on the show, and her character has had one of the most clear narrative arcs of the show: train to kill. Most everyone who has seen the show would tell you that her final act in episode three was a well-deserved surprise, and now Arya stans are clapping back at haters who say otherwise.

Let's get one thing straight: There was nothing more satisfying than watching Arya Stark take the final blow.

Hordes of people gathered to watch the epic Game of Thrones battle. Considering their ear-splitting, thunderous applause when Arya struck down the Night King, I'd say they were more than pleased that Arya was the one to take down the series' most fearsome villain.

However, some tweets show that not everyone thought the valiant move was deserved.

Ezra Klein, Vox founder and editor, felt her swift justice was "unearned." Arya fans and, well, pretty much anyone who has seen the show quickly fired back facts from the show proving just how earned this kill was.

One fan argued that Arya was always meant to kill the Night King.

One fan on Twitter pointed out that Jon Snow had high hopes for going into a one-on-one fight with the Night King, when in reality there was a massive army and an undead dragon standing in his way. Arya's stealth and assassin-like skills are what made her deserving and completely capable to end the battle.

Arya Stark season 1 gif-placeholder
Arya Stark season 1 gif
HBO

Even Maisie Williams' IRL boyfriend thought Jon should have been the one to do it.

Williams told Entertainment Weekly that she worried this whole debacle might happen and that fans wouldn't think her character deserved the win. 

“It was so unbelievably exciting,” she told the magazine. “But I immediately thought that everybody would hate it; that Arya doesn’t deserve it. The hardest thing in any series is when you build up a villain that’s so impossible to defeat and then you defeat them. It has to be intelligently done because otherwise people are like, ‘Well, [the villain] couldn’t have been that bad when some 100-pound girl comes in and stabs him.’ You gotta make it cool. And then I told my boyfriend, and he was like, ‘Mmm, should be Jon though really, shouldn’t it?’”

So even her boyfriend thought the male hero of the show was more deserving than Arya — typical.

This video of Williams and co-star Gwendoline Christie training for their "fight" is just beautiful.

Look at Williams' impeccable knife spin. How long must that have taken to perfect? Not only is Arya Stark deserving of the honor of killing the Night King, but Williams has worked hard for 10 years to portray the kinds of skills required of Arya.

Kit Harrington joked that he was "pissed" that Arya stole the kill from Jon.

In this 40-minute episode recap and reveal, the Game of Thrones cast and crew discuss the creation of the intense and record-breaking episode. At the 32:13 mark, Harrington says, "I would have bet you thousands before we read the finals that it's definitely me." Not today, Jon. 

The directors and creators of the show also reveal that they've known Arya would be the one to kill the Night King for three years, and Williams discovered her character's iconic act at the table reading of the script.

Some fans suggest that Jon was actually helping Arya in her assassination attempt.

Speculations have risen that Jon Snow wasn't shouting meaninglessly at the dragon about to kill him, but actually distracting the dragon from the real killer — Arya. In the beginning of this clip, it sounds as if he's yelling "Go!" to someone.

Some critics have questioned Arya's ability to sneak up on the Night King, given that he was surrounded by the White Walkers.

Of course, GOT creators think of everything, and not one plot hole goes uncovered. The scene in the first episode of the season, when she sneaks up behind Jon in the exact same spot as where she strikes down the Night King, perfectly sets up her ability to appear as if from out of nowhere.

One fan is frustrated by the unequal praise of Jon Snow versus Arya Stark.

Critics were quick to speculate on Arya's capability to kill the Night King, but when Jon rode a dragon for the first time there was no question. Both of these acts performed by the two characters is entirely plausible for their narrative arc, but it's frustrating to Arya fans who see her character being torn down seemingly just because she's a girl.

And, of course, there's the whole prophecy that Arya has been fulfilling since season three.

After Melissandre's prophecy resurfaced, fans all over Twitter are now waiting for the third set of eyes to be killed by Arya. "Walder Frey had brown eyes, the Night King had blue eyes... and Cersei has green eyes," one fan predicts. 

If Arya does end up putting a knife to Cersei's throat, too, let's hope the critics keep their judgment to a minimum. Clearly, she is completely qualified and deserves to win the climatic battle that was anticipated from the very beginning of the series. And maybe to take the Iron Throne, too?

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