If you still have’t recovered from episode three of the new season of Game of Thrones, we certainly don’t blame you.
The Battle of Winterfell was an emotional roller-coaster to say the least, with more than one of the characters that we’ve come to know and love dying in the fray.
However, while the battle itself ended within an hour and a half during the course of the episode, the Internet got started on a fight all of its own…
Warning: There are major spoilers ahead.
What is a Mary Sue?
A Mary Sue is a fictional character, typically female, which is depicted as unrealistically flawless and without weaknesses.
As a seemingly perfect character, they often serve as either wish-fulfillment or as a representation of the author themselves, and therefore, as characters without any meaningful imperfections, are seen as shallow and rarely compelling.
Why are people saying that Arya Stark is a Mary Sue?
The Battle of Winterfell came to a very sudden and welcome end when Arya Stark (played by Maisie Williams), aka The Baddest B*itch in Westeros, sneak-attacked the Night King and, even though he caught her by the throat, killed him with her Valyrian steel knife.
The Night King shattered like so much glass, and with him went all of his icy dead minions.
Thus, the Battle of Winterfell was won, and not a moment too soon, as we’d already seen the last members of House Mormont, Jorah and the forever-scene-stealing Lyanna, meet heroic deaths at the hands of the dead.
However, for some viewers, watching Arya train hard, scheme hard, and fight even harder for the last eight years wasn’t enough to make it believable that she would be the one to dispatch the Night King, and a few took to Twitter to label the character a Mary Sue.
I love Arya, but cmon, this a myth. She trained to be assassin for like 2 seasons at most. Season 2 she was a prisoner in Harenhahl. Seasons 3 and 4 she was captive of the Brotherhood/Hound. #MarySue
— Smoky (@Smokyy34) April 29, 2019
I’m so fucking sick of Arya it’s beyond words… #BattleOfWinterfell #marysue
— Emperor Mold (@EmperorMold) April 29, 2019
Other fans were quick to counter, pointing out that, among other things, yes, Arya did actually train as a fighter from childhood – starting from season one when she studied under Syrio Forel in King’s Landing and effectively graduating with a First in Being Deadly when she was taught by The Faceless Men and defeated The Waif in season six.
As far as they were concerned, disregarding that is problematic.
arya trained for years and rey’s abilities are a manifestation of the living force. so go fuck yaself #marysue
— mc chris (@_mcchris) April 29, 2019
When did the term #MarySue stop meaning “obvious author self-insert” and start meaning “I don’t like this female character because she is in some way outshining the male characters”?
— HaveAHiddles (@red_velvet_rose) April 29, 2019
I don’t know who Mary Sue is but I bet Arya killed that bitch pic.twitter.com/P2bdz9FKWK
— Thinkbeforeyouspeak (@cagygibbon27) April 29, 2019
Hey, I just figured out the “modern definition” of #MarySue…
“Heroic role once exclusively given to male characters but now given to a woman/girl, and I’m mad because it’s threatening to me.”
— Lori Hyrup ︽✵︽ (@LoriHyrup) April 30, 2019
Don’t confuse ‘I don’t believe a character could do that’ with ‘I haven’t seen a woman do that before b/c our hero literature is overwhelmingly male-focused and we’re conditioned to believe men can be heroes quicker.’ #MarySue
— Dave Rudden (@d_ruddenwrites) April 30, 2019
Game Of Thrones continues with episode four of season eight on Monday 5 May on Sky Atlantic at 2am.
The episode is repeated at 9pm, and will also be available on Sky Go’s streaming service and NOW TV.
MORE: Police ask Australian Game Of Thrones fans to not report Battle Of Winterfell deaths
