Arya's endgame

[olenna123]

But that is so disconected with her story. If Arya's fate is to be married and have a normal life why are we still seeing her training in braavos. I think it's obvious she's gonna put those abilities to use or at least try. Otherwise I don't see the point of her arc.

[Tana]

FM- Hello, arya, how have you been?

Arya- Fine, thank you! I am back with my family. The tricks i learned from you came in handy- i am close to becoming queen! And I am getting married too!

FM - So sweet! We have to send you a wedding gift!

[SacredOrderOfGreenMen]

But that is so disconected with her story. If Arya's fate is to be married and have a normal life why are we still seeing her training in braavos. I think it's obvious she's gonna put those abilities to use or at least try. Otherwise I don't see the point of her arc.

I think we spent so much time with Gendry for some reason, and if some future romance from them isn't implied in the text toward the end, it would mean she would be the only female character to have no marriage or romance in her story. That would be rather strange, give the fairly obvious romantic tension between the two, and the "I have a son, you have a daughter" bit.

Since all routes point to Nymeria in the Riverlands, Arya would very likely meet Gendry there and given that Dany was literally having (pedophilic) sex with Drogo at age 13 (?) I think its very likely that GRRM will strongly imply a future romance, or even have it begin.

[Hrulj]

Given that she is joining FM, I predict with 98% certainty that in the end she will come back, and as an ultimate test she will be sent to kill Jon

[SacredOrderOfGreenMen]

Given that she is joining FM, I predict with 98% certainty that in the end she will come back, and as an ultimate test she will be sent to kill Jon

You can't be sent to kill someone whose name you know.

She observes the FM parce out a task and the one who task and the one who accepts remarks, "I do not know this man. I will give him the gift."

That's why all the sailors aboard the Titan's Daughter told her their names but never asked hers.

[Hrulj]

You can't be sent to kill someone whose name you know.

She observes the FM parce out a task and the one who task and the one who accepts remarks, "I do not know this man. I will give him the gift."

That's why all the sailors aboard the Titan's Daughter told her their names but never asked hers.

And arent they suposed to leave and forget the person they were? Leave the face and the past behind. Wasnt she punished when she kept her blade from Jon? Faceless men are supposed to be men without history of their own, asuming new identities etc..

After indoctrination and becoming a full FM, why wouldnt she be sent to kill Jon? Or somehow get in a situation that she has to do it.

[SacredOrderOfGreenMen]

And arent they suposed to leave and forget the person they were? Leave the face and the past behind. Wasnt she punished when she kept her blade from Jon? Faceless men are supposed to be men without history of their own, asuming new identities etc..

After indoctrination and becoming a full FM, why wouldnt she be sent to kill Jon? Or somehow get in a situation that she has to do it.

But it seems rather pointless to introduce a rule like that, which has serious plot implications, only to make a loophole that renders it void. The FM change identities all the time. If this were an acceptable loophole, any of those men could have plausibly claimed to not know who the target was, and Jaqen could be sent to kill Arya even though he knows who she is.

[Hrulj]

But it seems rather pointless to introduce a rule like that, which has serious plot implications, only to make a loophole that renders it void. The FM change identities all the time. If this were an acceptable loophole, any of those men could have plausibly claimed to not know who the target was, and Jaqen could be sent to kill Arya even though he knows who she is.

And its silly to think that a guild of brainwashed assasins/religious zealots who believe death is gift, would be stopped by the name.

So if FM comes upon you, you just need to yell "I am Hrulj X, father of 2 and 32 years old"

And Tada, you are saved :D

[Tana]

And with this rule, Arya can not kill anybody on her list, because she knows them....

[SacredOrderOfGreenMen]

And its silly to think that a guild of brainwashed assasins/religious zealots who believe death is gift, would be stopped by the name.

So if FM comes upon you, you just need to yell "I am Hrulj X, father of 2 and 32 years old"

And Tada, you are saved :D

Wait, you mean in a series full of psychic children, psychic apex predators, shadow assassin babies, creepy tree conspiracies, and fire-blood swords you're starting ask questions about "silly"?

[Lady Blizzardborn]

And with this rule, Arya can not kill anybody on her list, because she knows them....

Arya cannot kill anybody on her list, because it's against the rules. She got blinded for longer than usual because she took out Dareon. If she keeps hitting people from her list she's going to get in trouble because it really makes it look like she's only using the FM to help her reach her personal goals--goals she's not supposed to have if she wants to be one of them. As long as she's still working on the list (and not charging! they don't kill for free) she can't be the "no one" that they require.

ETA: the rule is not that you can't kill anyone you know, but that you're not required to. That's why everyone on the boat Arya took to Braavos made sure to stay on her good side and make certain she knew their names.

Knowing the person you're supposed to kill is a drawback. If you like them you might not follow through. If you hate them, you might be too eager and mess up the assignment, potentially putting the entire network in danger.

[Liz Stark-Targaryen]

But that is so disconected with her story. If Arya's fate is to be married and have a normal life why are we still seeing her training in braavos. I think it's obvious she's gonna put those abilities to use or at least try. Otherwise I don't see the point of her arc.

In neither Westeros nor our world does "marriage" equal "having a normal life." There's so many different kinds of marriages, and we've seen all kinds of it in the series.

I didn't say it would be a Disney fairytale marriage, or even a blissful one without problems. I explained all the ways that her experiences would actually benefit a lord or a king.

I think it's actually a limitation on the part of readers that they can't see Arya in a romantic storyline, even a deconstructed one. Is it because she's a tomboy or not traditionally pretty? Neither was Lyanna, and hers was at the center of the pre-series. And even though GRRM jettisoned his original plans, Arya was at the center of his original idea, perhaps before Lyanna was created.

Whether it's Edric, Ned Dayne, Gendry, Aegon, Jon, or someone else, I think it'll at least be hinted at by the last book. That's not naiveté, that's what I see in the text.

(It's super weird that people think anyone who's a trained assassin or who was a child soldier can't be married or have children. I'm no culture warrior, but really? Please.)

[olenna123]

In neither Westeros nor our world does "marriage" equal "having a normal life." There's so many different kinds of marriages, and we've seen all kinds of it in the series.

I didn't say it would be a Disney fairytale marriage, or even a blissful one without problems. I explained all the ways that her experiences would actually benefit a lord or a king.

I think it's actually a limitation on the part of readers that they can't see Arya in a romantic storyline, even a deconstructed one. Is it because she's a tomboy or not traditionally pretty? Neither was Lyanna, and hers was at the center of the pre-series. And even though GRRM jettisoned his original plans, Arya was at the center of his original idea, perhaps before Lyanna was created.

Whether it's Edric, Ned Dayne, Gendry, Aegon, Jon, or someone else, I think it'll at least be hinted at by the last book. That's not naiveté, that's what I see in the text.

(It's super weird that people think anyone who's a trained assassin or who was a child soldier can't be married or have children. I'm no culture warrior, but really? Please.)

Im not saying they are incompatible. I just have no idea where all this theories are coming from. People saying Arya and Gendry have a lot of foreshadowing and they are sure that Arya is gonna marry him when that's not what her arc is about. I just feel like it's some wishfull thinking instead of actual evidence. In my opinion, of course.

[Liz Stark-Targaryen]

Im not saying they are incompatible. I just have no idea where all this theories are coming from. People saying Arya and Gendry have a lot of foreshadowing and they are sure that Arya is gonna marry him when that's not what her arc is about. I just feel like it's some wishfull thinking instead of actual evidence. In my opinion, of course.

I never said that she would marry Gendry.

[olenna123]

I never said that she would marry Gendry.

I was speaking generally. You've never seen that theory around here? I see it all the time.

[ShadowCat Rivers]

Yea, I never undrestood why trauma equates the choice of a marginal lifestyle.

In real world, people in the Gaza strip marry and have children; life did not end for people in Sarajevo either, after the war, even though a very large percentage of the city population suffered from PTSD...

If we try to imagine what the population in the Riverlands have been going through and even worse what they'll have to do to survive the impending winter, should we suppose that life in Westeros will just stop going on?

Granted, what is considered 'normalcy' will have to change - but for everyone, not just Arya.

On Arya and Gendry, there has been some romantic undertones during their shared part of the story but I've never thought there ever was an "endgame romance" planned for them. On the contrary, I've seen clues for a possible Jon-Arya relationship since the first read, irrespectively of my feelings about the pairing (not really looking forward... but it depends on how the author gets to write it, if he ever does that is...).

I also believe that trauma will not be irrelevent in such a relationship - people emphasize in their family ties to rule out such a relationship, but these two characters, both have a lot of problems and they are not getting therapy anytime soon: mother issues, father issues, abandonment issues, rejection issues, trust issues, loss... a relationship between them might be in the bittersweet mold, having a 'return to the womb' feeling (like the twins in Arundhati Roy's "The God of Small Things").

Anyway, here's my take on the overall Arya's arc.

(shameless self-promotion and all that jazz :) )

[AryaNymeriaVisenya]

But that is so disconected with her story. If Arya's fate is to be married and have a normal life why are we still seeing her training in braavos. I think it's obvious she's gonna put those abilities to use or at least try. Otherwise I don't see the point of her arc.

I dont think GRRM puts as much investment in her Braavos adventures as fans do. I think they are meant to be some adventures while she sits out the story and waits for all the other plot threads to catch up. If it was such a huge part of her journey and the story, why did she have half the page time in AFFC/ADWD than she did in A Storm of Swords alone? If you look at her 5 Braavos chapters there is more about her warging and her Starkness than anything else. GRRM said he could write a whole book about Arya in Braavos but he's not putting it in the main series for some reason when he could have easily added 5 more chapters. He keeps stressing that she's an apprentice, this isn't her end goal but she's picking useful things up. Weapons training and mummery seem to be the big ones.

[Sword of the Morgan]

She killed Daeron the singer, then she killed the Tickler. She also buried needle, and wargs Nymeria at night. Whether she finishes her training or not, she is clearly going back to westeros and will have at least 1 major kill.

Edited for grammar.

Yes

[Lost Melnibonean]

I don't know if it's been brought up before, but with Arya joining the Faceless Men, isn't she sealing her fate that she will not be able to avenge all those on her list, as I remember them telling her to shed her identity, wouldn't that mean she has to let go of all grudges to become a Faceless Men? I am just dying for some actual vengeance in the books, and don't think I will get it because of this, also, what are the chances Arya is hired to kill her own kin?

Read

Mercy

[The Undead Martyr]

I think she's going to be a handmaiden to a courtesan (learning politics and "girly stuff" poetry, song and dance, maybe glamors as well) then be with the Iron Bank for a third apprenticeship when Dany shows up to negotiate late TWOW.

Then she defects to the Dragon Queen and returns home with fire and blood, burning the Twins and meeting up with Stoneheart, Nymeria et al on her way north. After that, with the Others gone, the Wall and Kings Landing destroyed (I feel both will fall around the same time in TWOW or the next book) and the Seven Kingdoms splinter again? I could actually see her as a queen of the North, she's a born leader and all wildling by temperament, but I think, like the Stranger, she will be a wanderer, never really settling in any one place. Some sort of a Marco Polo Batman hybrid.