In Game of Thrones‘ final season, Arya Stark reunited with Gendry after not seeing him since Season 3. Before the battle with the White Walkers, because these two believed they would probably die by the end of the night, they had sex for the first time. While there was plenty of Game of Thrones fans who were crossing their fingers for “Gendrya” to happen, Arya’s Maisie Williams was shocked by that sex scene, and she explained the reason why.
Maisie Williams was 20 years old at the time her character had that steamy sex scene with Gendry, who was played by the then 30-year-old Joe Dempsie. As the he Emmy-nominated actress told TV Line, she was shocked at Arya’s sex scene because she honestly didn’t know that Arya was even romantically attracted to Gendry.
The first time that I was surprised by Arya, I guess, was probably in the final [season] where she whips off her clothes and sleeps with Gendry. I thought that Arya was queer, you know? So… yeah. That was a surprise.
Arya’s character arc started when Maisie Williams was 12 years old as a kickass warrior who was more concerned with slaying the family who murdered her parents than finding true love like her sister Sansa wanted for herself. We’d never seen Arya show any romantic interest towards anyone, much less picturing herself as someone’s wife in the future. But Williams has stated that what Arya’s sex scene meant to her was having the audience see a scene where Arya shows her vulnerability to Gendry. If she really believed she was going to die at the hands of the White Walkers, she wanted to have an experience she’s never had before. In this case, it was a sexual one.
Maisie Williams was not the only one confused and weirded out by Arya’s sex scene. Game of Thrones has been known for its explicit scenes both sexually and violently. However, it was surely strange for a lot of people to see someone that we’ve seen start out as a little girl suddenly take her clothes off and have a sexual experience. Many fans probably didn’t even know if Arya had an interest in sex, and weren’t ready to see the little warrior grow up to be a lady. Well, the British actress previously sympathized and made sure to mention that if we were weirded out, think of what her whole family thought watching that scene!
While Arya has no place in the HBO Max prequel series House of the Dragon that takes place 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, Maisie Williams is not going anywhere. She recently appeared in Danny Boyle’s Sex Pistols limited series Pistols as punk icon Pamela “Jordan” Rooke. Game of Thrones may have been the first time the young British star has bared all, but Pistols gave her yet another opportunity to go topless. Despite partaking in this scene, Williams has expressed the importance of her talent for the role coming first before having to do any nude scenes, a strong attribute for any actress to hold onto in the business.
You can see Maisie Williams rocking out now in the miniseries Pistols with your Hulu subscription.
