Arya's Latest Face

[Roose on the Loose]

Oh, one more thing about the faces...based on the fact that

1) They never seem to take faces off of Arya, just put them on, and

2) When Jaquen changed his face he didn't have to physically put a dead face on himself,

I think that once a face is applied, it becomes an option for the FM to use whenever they want. It's magic, not actual plastic surgery. So Arya could now switch between 3 possible faces at will--her own, Blind Beth's, and Mercy's. (Unless Mercy really was Arya's own face and she had to rely on her new mummer's skills to look different. Then just 2 faces.)

While I still think that the procedure might be nothing but an exercise in method acting, I like this idea. It's just that wishing doesn't make things so.

[Lady of the Lonely Light]

I'm confused how Arya got Mercy's face... From ADwD, I assumed that the faces the HoBaW had were from people who came to the temple to die. But from the Mercy chapter it seemed like Mercy had been with Izenbaro for a long time (ie. too long for Arya to be wearing Mercy's face without messing with the book's timeline), and I would think they would notice if she had gone missing for awhile to just suddenly reappear.

Could this be the HoBaW teaching her to get a face from someone, à la Jaquen and Pate?

Also, woo first post :laugh:

[Brother Seamus]

I'm confused how Arya got Mercy's face... From ADwD, I assumed that the faces the HoBaW had were from people who came to the temple to die. But from the Mercy chapter it seemed like Mercy had been with Izenbaro for a long time (ie. too long for Arya to be wearing Mercy's face without messing with the book's timeline), and I would think they would notice if she had gone missing for awhile to just suddenly reappear.

Could this be the HoBaW teaching her to get a face from someone, à la Jaquen and Pate?

Also, woo first post :laugh:

My interpretation: Arya was placed with Izembaro for further training, mostly related to the mummer's arts. She was given the Mercy face and name. Mercy wasn't with Izembaro before that. The murder of Raff was unauthorized and will be the last straw with the KM and result in her leaving/being kicked out of the FM. The problem of how her face gets changed back to her own face will be solved somehow, could be any number of ways. I doubt she'll be stuck with it for any period of time but I could be wrong. My guess is that she goes back, the KM takes the Mercy face off, and then let's her know that they're going to have to let her go b/c she's unable to lose her Arya Stark identity and become no one.

She's on a ship bound for Westeros before the WOW is 1/2 through; no more than one "Arya" chapter intervenes between the Mercy chapter and her boarding ship. I reserve some possibility that she stays in Braavos a couple of more chapters and gets tangled up with Justin Massey and maybe even Dany, but I doubt it. She's going home to mama and her wolf, to inflict a bloodbath in the Riverlands.

[Faceless Man Friday]

"See? thought Mercy. You know your line, and so do I.

“Think so?” asked Arya, sweetly.

Raff the Sweetling looked up sharply as the long thin blade came sliding from her sleeve. She slipped it through his throat beneath the chin, twisted, and ripped it back out sideways with a single smooth slash. A fine red rain followed, and in his eyes the light went out.

“Valar morghulis,” Arya whispered, but Raff was dead and did not hear."

My reading of this was that Arya, like Jaqen, changed her face between the first and second line and that Raff looked up sharply because he witnessed the face change and recognized Arya.

The FM face changing is not a mummer's trick or the glamours of a wisard but something deeper, blood magic. I would think that once applied the face can be changed and used at will, as well as reverting to your original face.

[Themongrel]

"See? thought Mercy. You know your line, and so do I.

“Think so?” asked Arya, sweetly.

Raff the Sweetling looked up sharply as the long thin blade came sliding from her sleeve. She slipped it through his throat beneath the chin, twisted, and ripped it back out sideways with a single smooth slash. A fine red rain followed, and in his eyes the light went out.

“Valar morghulis,” Arya whispered, but Raff was dead and did not hear."

My reading of this was that Arya, like Jaqen, changed her face between the first and second line and that Raff looked up sharply because he witnessed the face change and recognized Arya.

The FM face changing is not a mummer's trick or the glamours of a wisard but something deeper, blood magic. I would think that once applied the face can be changed and used at will, as well as reverting to your original face.

I dont know about the whole switching faces thing but the bolded text is exactly how I read this as well. First Mercy,then arya.

Could also Imply a change in mind set or character. Either way I believe Arya does not stay within the FM organization.

[bemused]

They definitely gave Arya back her face after the Ugly Girl, then gave her Mercy's face - one as pretty as her own. Blind Beth was a mummer's disguise. Her own face is known as Cat of the canals - fishmonger.

Raff recognised the situation, not the face.

The murder was sanctioned . The gods' gift was that by coincidence, her target could be Raff.. two birds with one stone... and the HoB&W wouldn't know she had a personal connection with him unless she told them.

The IB doesn't want to lend any more money to Cersei (or Tommen under a Cersei regency) and needed a scandal to excuse dragging their heels. The Sealord is dying. Political winds are shifting. The IB is currently making large loans to her enemies (Cersei sees Jon as her enemy as well as Stannis). Arya is definitely not in trouble.

ETA; I think she was sent on a regular apprecticeship , but then it was learned that Swyft would be coming as envoy,and that entertainments would naturally be a part of it. It was arranged (perhaps with co-operation of the Black Pearl?) that Swyft would be taken to the Gate (the upper classes usually favoured the Blue Lantern)..and Arya was tapped to "make trouble for the Sealord and the envoy", then fake her own death and disappear.

It probably cut her apprenticeship short, but she performed a politically valuable mission.

[Faceless Man Friday]

I dont know about the whole switching faces thing but the bolded text is exactly how I read this as well. First Mercy,then arya.

Could also Imply a change in mind set or character. Either way I believe Arya does not stay within the FM organization.

At first I thought it just might be an internal change from the character Mercy to the real Arya, but on re-read I became convinced it is an actual face change. The fact that changed my mind was Raff's reaction. Why would he look up sharply if he did not recognize Arya and the only way he could recognize her is if she changed her face. I thought maybe he looked up sharply because he saw the blade, but that doesn't work. If he saw the blade he would have not just looked up but would have taken defensive action, at the very least raise his arms which would have blocked his neck. No I think she used the face change to distract him while she slid the blade out unnoticed and had a clear shot at his neck. Also what makes the kill most satisfying to Arya is that moment of recognition on his face. She has said before that she wanted to look into a person's eyes before she kills them. Finally while the Show is not cannon, I do not think that it is coincidence that this chapter was leaked by GRRM before the first episode of Season 4 when Arya killed Polliver, the Lomley Killer in the Show. Polliver was killed in a similar way with a similar moment of recognition as to Arya's identity before she killed him. That is why I think it was an actual face change and not just an inner change of mind set.

In the final paragraphs Arya says that Mercy has some lines to read before she is done which leads me to believe she went back to being Mercy to either finish the play or ad lib her own performance of having been attacked by Raff before disappearing. If my face switching theory is correct she would then have switched her face back to Mercy.

[bemused]

There's no evidence ( to date) that she can do what Jaqen did. The way Jaquen was able to change his face is either a FM version of casting a glamour , or some other advanced technique that hasn't been explained yet. We haven't seen Arya learn either yet. She's still an apprentice. I don't think they would send her to learn the easier mummer's skills after teaching her more advanced ones.

ETA; Actually, on checking the scene...

Raff the Sweetling looked up sharply as the long thin blade came sliding from her sleeve. She slipped it through his throat beneath the chin, twisted, and ripped it back out sideways with a single smooth slash. A fine red rain followed, and in his eyes the light went out.

..there's not necessarily any recognition implied .He looks up as she slides the blade from her sleeve..he's realizing her intent.. also, the tone of her voice probably changes. She's been feigning fear and panic, but now her tone is sweet as she says "Think so?" He may recognise the situation (how many children might he have dispatched, serving with Clegane) ... but he's unlikely to recognise her.

[Jazzman]

Nah, they just need a guitar god to go with the other gods in the House of Black and White and they don't want the Dothraki to steal him and cart him off to Vaes Dorthrak.

Haaaahhhh LOL

[~No One~]

I dont know about the whole switching faces thing but the bolded text is exactly how I read this as well. First Mercy,then arya.

Could also Imply a change in mind set or character. Either way I believe Arya does not stay within the FM organization.

My reading was the same; I thought it was psychological instead of physical. I think Raff looks up swiftly because Arya is whipping out a blade, which - to say the least - is not what he was expecting.

[Watermelon Knight]

They definitely gave Arya back her face after the Ugly Girl, then gave her Mercy's face - one as pretty as her own. Blind Beth was a mummer's disguise. Her own face is known as Cat of the canals - fishmonger.

Raff recognised the situation, not the face.

The murder was sanctioned . The gods' gift was that by coincidence, her target could be Raff.. two birds with one stone... and the HoB&W wouldn't know she had a personal connection with him unless she told them.

The IB doesn't want to lend any more money to Cersei (or Tommen under a Cersei regency) and needed a scandal to excuse dragging their heels. The Sealord is dying. Political winds are shifting. The IB is currently making large loans to her enemies (Cersei sees Jon as her enemy as well as Stannis). Arya is definitely not in trouble.

ETA; I think she was sent on a regular apprecticeship , but then it was learned that Swyft would be coming as envoy,and that entertainments would naturally be a part of it. It was arranged (perhaps with co-operation of the Black Pearl?) that Swyft would be taken to the Gate (the upper classes usually favoured the Blue Lantern)..and Arya was tapped to "make trouble for the Sealord and the envoy", then fake her own death and disappear.

It probably cut her apprenticeship short, but she performed a politically valuable mission.

This! It is exactly what I took from the chapter.

I also suspect Arya's apprenticeship is not yet complete since she does not yet possess the ability to change her appearance at will. But then, she may leave before her training is complete - before the FM annihilate her identity for good. : ) Perhaps something she sees while warged into Nymeria will draw her back to Westeros.

[bemused]

This! It is exactly what I took from the chapter.

I also suspect Arya's apprenticeship is not yet complete since she does not yet possess the ability to change her appearance at will. But then, she may leave before her training is complete - before the FM annihilate her identity for good. : ) Perhaps something she sees while warged into Nymeria will draw her back to Westeros.

Yes, I just meant her apprenticeship with Izembaro was cut short. I think she may have one or two more before leaving.

Unless GRRM introduces a new POV (of a character we've already met ;) ) Arya's POVs are one of his main ways of revealing more about the politics and hierarchy in Braavos. This could happen in any number of ways.

One way that there might already have been a suggestion of, is as an attendant to The Black Pearl. Arya has already met her while selling her some shell fish. Now we see the Black Pearl accompanying Swyft. The BP is the most sought after of the Braavosi courtesans .. and men pay phenomenal fees for her company. Swyft is there begging for a loan from the IB. How would that kind of expenditure look to the IB (or to Cersei and KL)? Swyft isn't bright, but he's also rather timid . I somehow doubt that he would be in a position, or bold enough to be hiring her. Possibly, the Sealord would be paying, or be thought to be paying.. but regardless, the BP may well be serving another interest by accepting.

If she has ties to the IB, or especially to the HoB&W, she may even have had some inkling of who Arya was when she spoke to her previously... At any rate, that would be an apprenticeship that would school Arya in political matters and teach her how to rub shoulders with the high and mighty (and how to extract information from them).

[Watermelon Knight]

If she has ties to the IB, or especially to the HoB&W, she may even have had some inkling of who Arya was when she spoke to her previously... At any rate, that would be an apprenticeship that would school Arya in political matters and teach her how to rub shoulders with the high and mighty (and how to extract information from them).

Interesting idea, and politics would serve Arya's assassination methods well. I like it.

She'd better hurry, because with Bran learning to communicate via Weirnet, Arya will (should) soon learn her dreams are not entirely dreams. Assuming Martin doesn't experience a Braavosi knot...

[~No One~]

Interesting idea, and politics would serve Arya's assassination methods well. I like it.

She'd better hurry, because with Bran learning to communicate via Weirnet, Arya will (should) soon learn her dreams are not entirely dreams. Assuming Martin doesn't experience a Braavosi knot...

This. ^ There are so many things GRRM could do in Braavos, but eventually, Arya just needs to GTFO. Hopefully with Massey. To the Wall. Or the Riverlands.

[John Suburbs]

If Arya does go rogue and starts killing various highs and mighties in Westeros, the FM might have to kill her. And who would be the FM to get that assignment I wonder?

[Giorgio Corrado]

I think most likely will leave the FM but not rogue more like she will be assigned to Dany when Dany and arrives in Bravoos and meet with the IB. The IB will realize that the best way for Dany have a better claim to the Iron Thones is to have one of the major houses like the Starks throw their support behind her. I think that the IB via HoBW will arrange the meeting between Arya and Dany intorduction that will lead to an alliance that will see the beginning of the end to the civil war in Westeros.

[Ser Archibald Haddock]

I don't think Arya possesses the ability to switch her face instantaneously although maybe that would be possible with further training. The point of this chapter is that it's a 'play within a play' - Mercy the mummer is recreating her own revenge play featuring Arya Stark. The recognition for Raff, if it comes, is in the specific memory of Lommy asking Raff to carry him because of his leg injury. Now it's Raff in the Lommy role with Arya Stark briefly emerging in the climax of the 'play' for her two lines.

It's doubtful that Raff would even remember Arya's face if he saw her again - who was she to him? Just another piece of human flotsam that he once came across, she was certainly nothing special. Raff had a lot of pillaging and murdering under his belt and I'm sure the faces blur after a period - his own faceless men, women and children, if you will. Even Arya struggled to recall the actual faces to the names on her hit list and that was quite some time ago in ASOS.

As for the FM, they've always struck me as being ahead of the curve and it wouldn't surprise me if Arya was someone they picked as useful right from the Jaqen days. They may well be thinking that Arya's enmity towards those in power in Westeros is a nice match for their own targets around the Iron Throne, if that's what they are indeed aiming at. On the surface they might appear to be disapproving of Arya's personal vendettas emerging at inopportune times, but it may be that this is exactly what they are hoping for and that Arya is actually right on schedule in terms of being loosed on Westeros.

[Tannim]

Face changing and glamor are possible the last skill Arya would learn at the HoBaW, and likely only after she has fully committed to the Faceless Men, drank from the cold cup. Doubt the FM would teach their most closely held secrets to anyone not initiated as a full member of the faith.

From a narrative standpoint, Arya doesn't need face-changing, nor really desirable to allow that power to her. Too strong, and makes life too difficult on the writer to make difficulties for the character. Her current skills set places her above the reasonable expectations of anyone in Westeros, thus fatal underestimations of her, more interesting to write about, and to read by us. Plus, Arya as a Faceless Woman would waste her story arc up to this point, as she wouldn't be Arya Stark anymore.

That said, she'll have more chapters in Bravos, only POV there, our view of events in the region not otherwise possible, chapter as servant to a courtesan, chapter for her break/release from the HoBaW, then return to Westeros, and the road north.

[Watermelon Knight]

The point of this chapter is that it's a 'play within a play' - Mercy the mummer is recreating her own revenge play featuring Arya Stark.

Brilliant synopsis.

[Le Cygne]

I think she'll have Arya's face when she returns. She was Arya in Mercy at the end.

Still thinking about this spoiler, what it could mean, Nymeria's big role:

http://mashable.com/2014/11/16/george-rr-martin-charity-event/