Okay folks, we’re not here to debate why Daenerys Targaryen went mad and burned down half of King’s Landing, or whether we should have seen it coming. The simple fact is, it happened, and now the Mother of Dragons has to go down.
If we can all agree on that, the question becomes, who will kill Daenerys and end her reign as the Queen of the Ashes? Give her experience, Arya Stark is a likely answer, but has our plucky teenage assassin seen enough of death, or will she once more save Westeros from a terrible threat?
First and foremost, clearly Arya possess the skills to end Daenerys’ life. Even if Dany is on high alert after last week, knowing her actions will cause a backlash, Arya would likely still be able to get close enough to land a killing blow. Between her face swapping abilities and her expertise at silent takedowns, if Arya decides to kill Dany, we’re gonna go ahead and wager she could. But will Arya decide to become No One once again? Or has she decided to leave that behind to rediscover just who Arya Stark is?
During “The Bells,” we saw two prominent developments in Arya Stark’s world. The first was her abandonment of her vow to kill Cersei Lannister, a revelation she had with the help of the Hound, who warned her of the dangers of letting yourself be consumed by revenge your whole life. In his own way, the Hound has been a father figure for Arya, and no one (sorry) could have delivered that speech to Arya with the same impact. Only the Hound could have convinced Arya to move on.
And what do we see Arya doing the rest of the episode? Attempting to save lives, not take them. Arya could have started taking down the rampaging Unsullied or Dothraki, both of which we see in her immediate vicinity, but never raised a hand. While ultimately unsuccessful, Arya chose to try and protect the innocent rather than kill the guilty. That’s an important distinction.
But while it might appear that Arya has discarded her quest for revenge, would Dany’s death even qualify as revenge? One could argue that Dany’s death might be a matter of survival at this point, especially given the ease with which she just burned Westeros’ most populous city to a crisp. Arya wouldn’t be killing Daenerys out of any sort of personal connection, but rather to save potentially thousands and thousands of lives, including her sister’s; after what happened in “The Bells,” it’s not hard to imagine Daenerys wanting to go after everyone in Westeros who’s objected to her rule, which very much includes Sansa. Arya may be done with revenge, but she’ll still fight to protect her family.
Or maybe Arya really is done with violence and someone else will do the deed. Could it be Jon? Or perhaps Tyrion follows in Jaime’s footsteps and slays a monarch? We only have a few days left before we find out!
To stay up to date on everything Game of Thrones, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Watch Game of Thrones for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels
