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Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) underwent one of the most transformative changes on Game Of Thrones from wide-eyed youth to terrifying assassin, but could this have been planned by father Ned (Sean Bean) all along?
While Game Of Thrones came to an end back in May this year, many fans are still theorizing some of the gaps in the story – with the placement of Faceless Man Jaqen H’ghar (Tom Wlaschiha) in King’s Landing sparking some speculation over whether it wasn’t entirely a coincidence.
If you’ll recall, Jaqen was arrested and placed in the dungeons of King’s Landing in the first season, and met Arya after she was smuggled out of the city by Night’s Watch recruiter Yoren with him.
Redditor Celtic505 writes: ‘It strikes me as so odd that Jaqen H’gar would be caught and thrown in the Black Cells. Why was he in KL? Did he try to assassinate somebody but get caught? Or did he infiltrate the Cells to get to somebody?
‘Mayhaps someone hired him to kill Ned Stark? What are the thoughts and theories the fandom has about this?’
(Spoilers Main) Why was Jaqen in the Black Cells? from asoiaf
In response, NorthernDragon 5 wrote: ‘I imagine this is something we will never get an exact answer on, because that seems unusual for him to tell anyone. But it could be because that would make him cross paths with Arya.
‘Or maybe because it got him close to a target he was meant to kill, or because he initially wanted to get to the wall, and that was an easy way to do it.’
Ned was executed in the first season by Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson), before the threat of the Night King or the White Walkers was even clear to those south of The Wall.
While it’s a stretch to believe Ned could foresee what was coming from the north, he always had a clear soft spot for his daughter’s feistiness which broke from tradition.
So could he have orchestrated the capture of Jaqen and somehow knew his history as an assassin so he could meet Arya, after he was potentially ordered to kill Ned?
In response to the thread, user LChris24, threw some doubt on theory when it came to the timeline of events.
‘It’s my understanding that Jaqen was already in the black cells before Ned even decided to send his family back north,’ he wrote.
While it’s most likely a convenient plot device for George RR Martin, considering Game Of Thrones is known for planting threads way before they come into fruition – it’s certainly a point which is ripe for speculation.
Filming is currently underway on the spin-off to Game Of Thrones, which stars Naomi Watts, John Simm, Miranda Richardson and more.
The Game Of Thrones spin-off is expected to release in 2020.
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