Entertainment

Macall B. Polay/HBO

Will Arya Kill The Waif On 'Game Of Thrones'? Her Future Is Up In The Air

by Kathleen Walsh

Episode 7 of Game of Thrones left the fate of Arya, perhaps the most wayward of wayward Stark children, in serious doubt. She had found her sword, Needle, where she left it, and had booked passage back home, to Westeros, after quitting her training to become No One with the Faceless Men. We already knew that the Waif was coming to kill her, as she was sent by Jaqen, and told not to let her suffer. After the Waif stabbed her in the gut, Arya lept off the ledge and into the water, where she swam to (relative) safety, and began running desperately through the streets. We already know that Arya is big on revenge, so assuming she survives, will Arya kill the Waif on Game of Thrones? And if she does, what does that do to her status in the world's creepiest assassin academy? Will she then become a Faceless Man?

The rules regarding the Faceless Men and the House of Black and White are a little unclear, as is their ultimate objective. They claim to serve the Many-Faced God, but as they also accept payment in return for murdering folk, it seems fair to suggest that they're more than just a group of religious devotees. When Arya broke the rules for a second time, and didn't kill the actress she was supposed to, the Waif was promptly dispatched to kill her. A task she accepted with glee (not exactly indicative of being "No One" by the way).

Macall B. Polay/HBO

The previews for Episode 8, entitled "No One," show the Waif chasing Arya through the streets of Braavos, which will no doubt end in a showdown. Somehow, I don't think the Waif will finally succeed in killing Arya. It would be a pretty anti-climactic end after spending all that time with her in Braavos, and what would have been the point of all those training sequences? The internet seems to more or less agree that Arya is going to live, and there are a few different theories as to how. Some say that she set the Waif up, that she was trying to get stabbed, and had bags of pig's blood or something under her shirt. Others say that Arya and the Waif are actually the same person. (Think about it, does anyone besides Arya and Jaqen ever see the Waif?)

Should this theory be true, it would make sense that by the Waif killing Arya, Arya is in a sense killing her old self, and would become a Faceless Man. But, should Arya kill the Waif, she would be killing No One, and could become Arya again. Conversely, perhaps Arya needs to kill the Waif in order to complete her training with the House of Black and White. And if she did become a Faceless Man, what would become of her future? Would she ever get back to Westeros?

HBO

I don't know about everyone else, but I'm ready for Arya to be Arya again.