Arya Stark has had quite a journey. Since season 1, we’ve watched her go from reluctant lady-in-training to a merciless warrior. Along the way, she’s been imprisoned, escaped, met and parted with friends, went hungry, was struck blind, learned to fight, got stabbed, sold oysters, and more, all while remaining ready and eager to get revenge on those who’ve wronged her. (Here’s her full, impressive curriculum.) Her journey led her to a scene we’ll never forget: the opening scene of season 7, when she murdered the remaining male members of the Frey family in the most memorable genocide since the Red Westeros with the best genocide since the Red Wedding.
But ever since she came home to Winterfell and reunited with her sister Sansa, Arya’s been acting a little odd. Historically, Arya is a very good judge of character — remember how she was willing to hang out with the affable Lannister soldiers in the season premiere even though they were technically her enemies. But since she’s gotten home, she’s been less willing to accept nuance from the people in her life, particularly Sansa. It’s like her powers of perception have regressed back to where they were in season 1, only instead of being cute and funny she’s now creepy and terrifying.
We know that Sansa and Arya are very different people — we saw that in season 1, when Sansa refused to tell the truth about what happened between Joffrey and Mycah the Butcher’s Boy on the Kingsroad, much to Arya’s rage. It seems that seeing Sansa is awakening those feelings in Arya once again, however much the girls may have changed since. Finding out that Sansa declared their father a traitor, even if she did it under duress, only reinforces what Arya thinks she already knows: that Sansa is a traitor.
Arya has always been willful and independent, qualities that were only accentuated by her journeys through the Riverlands and her time with the Faceless Men. She’s like her direwolf Nymeria that way. Remember in “Stormborn” that Nymeria opted not to join Arya on her trip north. “That’s not you,” Arya said at the time, recognizing that her wolf was a loner at heart, and respecting it. Arya, too, refuses to be tied down, as when she declared her independence from the Faceless Men in season 6’s “No One.” Her experiences have turned her into a self-reliant warrior, one who relies on her own instincts rather than getting input from others.
Sansa, on the other hand, tries to be straightforward with her little sister about why she did what she did…or at least she was being straightforward until that frightening encounter when Arya advances on her with a Valyrian steel dagger. Arya is scaring Sansa, and that drives her back to Littlefinger, which was his plan all along.
Arya still thinks of Sansa as a naive girl with beautiful handwriting who wants to marry a handsome king. As far as she’s concerned, that’s all she needs to know. As for Sansa, she has to stumble on a bag full of human faces (!) in Arya’s room before she thinks to ask for details about what her sister has been doing for the past several seasons. (And where is Bran, by the way?) With their preconceived notions in place, these two haven’t been willing to sit down and talk like grown-ups about what they’ve been up to during their years apart. Northern people are known for none-too-forthcoming with their feelings, and in this case, it’s hurting the sisters’ chances of understanding one another and coming together.
Of course, there’s also the possibility that Arya is testing Sansa. She may have advanced on her sister with that dagger, but then she handed it over peaceably. Arya may have problems with Sansa, but there’s still hope for them to come to terms.
What do you think is happening to Arya Stark? Is she just being childish around Sansa or do you think there’s a point to her mind games? If so, what is it?
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