This is gonna be long. lol
Rewatching the BTS video where Maisie talks about Arya receiving a gift from Sandor in that scene, she says:
“ This is a really important moment, The Hound realizing, ‘i don’t think this kid knows what she’s gonna get into.’ and turning around and giving her this incredible gift, which is the second ticket to a new life. He’s wanted revenge his entire life, and do you wanna be like him? ‘Is that what you want?’.”
“Just a moment in Arya where all those emotions she’s been trying to suppress and trying to ignore, and trying to focus on the task at hand all bubble up again, and this man who she cares so much about it and has learned so much from, and admires so much, turned around and says ‘You don’t want this. You – go.’.”
“She realizes there is another way. There is another life that she could have. We tell real stories about real people and in this season, Arya decides against being that character that people love, and she decides to take her life into her own hands and take control of what she wants.”
So, i want to comment on that, even though i said i would wait, i always end up checking stuff again and wanting to talk about it, even the negativity, because it truly makes me feel better, less anxious and prepared if shit happens. lol If you dislike negativity, read only my Pollyana POV, ‘cause it’s my positive take or just read nothing at all, there is always that option.
But i actually have a fair amount of positivity for that interview, with, of course, some concerns.
Let’s break it down.
“ This is a really important moment, The Hound realizing, ‘i don’t think this kid knows what she’s gonna get into.’ and turning around and giving her this incredible gift, which is the second ticket to a new life. He’s wanted revenge his entire life, and do you wanna be like him? ‘Is that what you want?’.”
The Pollyana in me sees that this means Arya leaving her obsession behind, choosing life, seeing what revenge, death does to someone’s life, seeing that it’s not what she wants and he is gave her a wake up call to realize life should mean more than that, a second chance at life, she can have a new life without that path of darkness that didnt truly gave her any peace to her hurt heart.
The Debbie Downer in me whispers in my ear…why did she say “second ticket to a new life”, is this a hint for her leaving Westeros? Maybe even alone? Because the Hounds first ‘’death’’ was the first time she got a ticket to a new life ( even if running away) going to Braavos, so now the second ticket, after all, D&D doesn’t understand Arya and what family means to her………
“Just a moment in Arya where all those emotions she’s been trying to suppress and trying to ignore, and trying to focus on the task at hand all bubble up again, and this man who she cares so much about it and has learned so much from, and admires so much, turned around and says ‘You don’t want this. You – go.’.”
The Pollyana in me rejoices. Wow, see? The emotions she’s trying to suppress is about how having the people she loves and/or cares about back ( family, Gendry, Hound, Beric) has truly affected, softened her heart, it’s healing her pain and making her happy, making her feel that this is what she actually wants, to love and be loved, making her remember Arya Stark, to value kindness not hate and death, and she tried to supress it.
Specially Gendry, no matter how hard she tried to see things with cold lenses and racionalize, he always made her feel something more, she wants to be around him, to be with him, she loves how he makes her feel emotionally and physically, and that’s why she somehow put a cold front to him, the arm distance…fear of losing yet again people she loves, fear that she would die and make them suffer…afraid that by giving in to those good feelings, to the happiness she knows he could give her ( they could give each other), somehow she would be failing her beloved ones if she didnt get her revange. But the Hound made her see that she would only fail, only ruin her life if she didn’t live.
The Debbie Downer in me thinks that i’m giving too much credit to D&D, it’s just about her deciding to live again, yes, to love again and be able to show her kindness and her feelings openly, but that doesn’t mean it will result in Gendrya, can be specially about how cold she was and she might show a softer side to everyone, but not a romantic side, after all they built Brienne and Jaime’s arc, had him leaving Cersei, make love to Brienne and he still left and only loved Cersei in the end, so they don’t care about symbolism or romantic love.
She loves him but D&D will make it seems for her to live her life she needs to just give up her revenge, accept the love she has for the people she cares, return to her kind, empathic ways but she wont stay; she shows gratitude, but they think she needs to travels the world, because she doesn’t fit at Winterfell anymore and she’s not a lady to them.
The ‘go home’ was just a way to say, leave this place and don’t die here, because - again - symbolism means shit to D&D…but maybe not, maybe she’ll stay in Winterfell but that still doesnt mean Gendrya if Gendry truly becomes Lord Baratheon and if they dont make her reconsider or him giving up the title, they might have a scene where Gendry says he knows he shouldn’t have asked to marry him and be Lady Baratheon ( Joe kinda hinted Gendry realised that asking her was a mistake), they have a sweet short scene showing they care but thats about it, not even an possibility of ‘one day’.
“She realizes there is another way. There is another life that she could have. We tell real stories about real people and in this season, Arya decides against being that character that people love, and she decides to take her life into her own hands and take control of what she wants.
The Pollyana in me smiles…of course she’s talking about having a life of love, of family, and that clearly directs to Gendry, somehow they will figure it out a way to be together, like i said before, the cold assassin becomes a human, a woman who loves and feels, a woman who wants to be with a her man, a man she loves, respects and admires and that feels all that for her as well. Maybe even reconsidering and becoming a lady, going against what some fans want, because they are still stuck on something a kid said, without even checking the context, she’ll redefine what means to be a lady. Maybe the ‘hello’ joe mentioned will be them meeting again and will be full of meaning.
If not that, they will be together at Winterfell or she’ll travel the world with him, i dont know how exactly, but they will end up together, make work.
Come on, why build their relationship, have most of her scenes with him for nothing? Him that actually had Arya expressing feelings, even more than towards Jon.
The Debbie Downer in me tells me to wake the fuck up. D&D doesn’t care that they built romance, doesn’t care if they share meaningful scenes and if he is the one who could see beyond her cold exterior and he is the one who loves her, has a history with her, look at Briene and Jaime, dumbass.
The other life she could have is exactly her going around the world, discovering new exciting places and people, but now without her heart full of hate and revenge she can be an exploring warrior, perhaps help people.
By not doing what people want her to, she just means she wont be killing any more character, she gave up on her revenge and isn’t a killer anymore.
——
Ok, got all that out of my chest. lol I feel a lot better…wrote fast without even checking again for mistakes, just needed to express that.
Now i can wait for some legit leak or sunday.
Just 5 more days…
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