Warning: Spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Maisie Williams' Arya Stark in Game of Thrones probably had one of the most promising futures in the series. The youngest Stark daughter is on a mission to avenge her family by becoming a highly-trained assassin. During the first five seasons, it seemed like she was quickly becoming one after she gets trained by the Faceless Men. Apparently though, it isn't as easy as it seems, and Arya has to abide by the rules of the religious order.
In the premiere of Game of Thrones season 6, we see Arya blind, begging on the streets until she is approached by a girl called the Waif (Faye Marsay), who hits her continuously until she learns to fight even while blind.
In an interview with the New York Times, the 19-year-old actress talks about her character's current predicament. She said:
If she doesn't learn to fight without her eyes, she's getting hit. The Waif, she's evil.
You can't comprehend being without your eyes, and you have to put your faith and trust in the people around you, who are also the ones who put you in that position. She has no other choice. So that's a really interesting position to see her in, because she's never had to trust someone. It's a very vulnerable place for her to be at the beginning of the series, but things will turn around.
Asked how everything she's learned fits into Arya's transformation, Williams explained:
Because she's gonna use it all again — these are all skills that she's gonna take with her.
A lot of people found Arya's Season 5 really boring. They were like, "Why is she sweeping floors? Why is she getting hit on the hands?" But this is about a process that she's going through and it's ultimately going to be the best weapon. And when that day comes, when she uses all of this, everyone's gonna be like, "Wow, that's so cool!" Which is great, but it wouldn't have been as cool if you hadn't seen her go through that process. No one becomes a [warrior] overnight, guys. Give her a break.
The actress also revealed that she had no stunt double during the quick fight scene in the season premiere:
That one was all me. There's stuff later on that we had girls help us with.
Williams also explained how Arya's perspective has evolved from season 5:
Arya was quite shallow. "I'm gonna be a sick killer and then have my list, and I'm gonna go back and avenge my family." It was such a childish way of thinking about it. Then she got there and realized this isn't a joke; this isn't like a holiday camp your parents send you off to.
In a nutshell, the actress reveals how season 6 is a "second chance" for Arya:
She's learning to fight blind, and at the beginning people are going to have that same opinion of, "God, this is so boring. Why isn't Arya the [warrior] she used to be?"
O.K., let's take away your sight and see how you do without it. There are episodes when it's going to be really difficult to watch. Arya, who we've always loved, is getting pulled apart. But she will ultimately use it to her advantage, just as she always does. She takes every negative and uses it as a positive, and that happens in a big way this year.
Just like her sister Sansa, it appears that season 6 will be another chance for Arya to rebuild her life and get what she wants, but not in the process that she imagined it to be. Williams is right. Nobody becomes a warrior overnight. It will be exciting to see how her character actually evolves from the inexperienced character that she is and into a full-fledged assassin in future episodes.
You can read the full interview with Williams here.
Game of Thrones season 6 airs Sundays on HBO.
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