As with every Game of Thrones fan site and every fan writer, we all have our favourite characters. Whilst Ser Davos will always be my number 1, the Geordie accent is just so wonderfully at odds with Westeros (see the MTV show Geordie Shore for more examples of Davos’s accent), Arya Stark is not far behind the multi-layered Onion Knight. Did you spot the Shrek joke? Arya has developed from a young girl with the wooden sword, to a deadly killer. She has claimed the lives of men and women. This looks set to continue in Season 7. However, as we all know, Season 7 is still a long way off. So, in the meantime, let us go through Arya Stark’s TOP Five kills. Let us indulge in the bloodshed. Finally, let us get excited for the kills to come!
NUMBER ONE: STABLE BOY – SEASON 1
Ahhhh, where it all began. Season 1 feels like such a long time ago. They were better days: when Ned Stark still had a head and the North was not beset by storms, Boltons, and White Walkers. At the end of Season 1, Ned is imprisoned for treason after he discovers the truth about Cersei’s children. Following Ned’s imprisonment, the Lannisters send men to capture Arya and Sansa. They take Sansa. However, Arya, with the help of Syrio Forel, manages to escape. In the process, she takes her first life; that of the stable boy. As Arya escapes, the stable boy comes upon her. He seizes her, intent on her capture, but Arya twists round and pushes Needle through his stomach. Though the death might seem insignificant compared to those that have followed, Arya’s first kill set her on the path to becoming the killer she is now.
NUMBER TWO: POLLIVER – SEASON 4
Polliver’s death was a moment of personal revenge for Arya. It also signaled her coming of age, as a killer. After spending much of Season 2 on the run, Arya and her company are captured by Ser Amory Lorch’s men. Among them is Polliver. Following a short battle, a wounded Lommy Greenhands appeals to Polliver for help. Polliver offers Lommy a hand, then slides Needle, the sword Arya has lost, into his throat. Two season’s later and Arya once again comes upon Polliver. He still has Needle. However, she has The Hound. The Hound wounds Polliver and kills three of his companions, Arya does the fourth. As Polliver rises, Arya cuts his hamstring and stands over him. She then recreates Polliver’s murder of Lommy, asking Polliver if he can walk, before sliding Needle into his throat. What a kill!
NUMBER THREE: THE WAIF – SEASON 6
In terms of pure satisfaction, Arya’s killing of the Waif is up there with some of the best in Game of Thrones. There was something about the terminator-esque vibe of the Waif that made her such a compelling and also irritating character. She never let up, and whilst I’m sure that was helpful to Arya’s training, it was sometimes infuriating to watch. We get it, you’re ‘no one’! Following Arya’s failure to poison Lady Crane, the Waif is given permission to kill Arya. After an Assassin’s Creed style chase across the city of Braavos, the Waif forces a wounded Arya into a corner, or rather, a trap of Arya’s own design. In the end, it was the Waif’s lessons that enabled Arya to prevail over the Faceless Female terminator. A girl is Arya Stark!
NUMBER FOUR: SER MERYN TRANT – SEASON 5
As if we didn’t hate Ser Meryn Trant enough, the final episode of Season 5 gives us another reason to despise the Syrio murdering, Sansa beating, white knight. He’s also Paedophile. Yep, he’s a keeper. They let anyone in the Kingsguard nowadays. After spotting Trant escorting Mace Tyrell in Braavos, Arya hatches a plan to kill him and tick another name off her list. Disguising herself as one of the girls from the brothel, Arya refuses to cry out when Trant hits her. This, disgustingly, seems to please Trant, who then selects Arya. However, little does he know, that the young girl before is Arya Stark, a proven killer with a desire for blood. Arya pounces on Trant, stabbing him in the chest multiple times. She then tells him her name, before slicing his throat. Syrio and Sansa are avenged!
NUMBER FIVE: WALDER FREY – SEASON 6
Probably the single most satisfying death in the entirety of Game of Thrones. Walder Frey, the evil old man who plotted the Red Wedding and slaughtered the beloved Starks, is killed by none other than the sister of the King he murdered. He is also fed his own sons before his execution, which is a direct hint to Game of Thrones mythology and the story of the Rat cook of the Night’s Watch. Walder Frey was not the only one responsible for the Red Wedding, however. With this in mind, I think its likely to assume that Arya will go after the remaining Freys in Season 7. Perhaps she will team up with Nymeria? Who knows? In either case, Arya’s murder of Walder Frey was certainly her best kill to date. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that there will be more to rival it!
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