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Arya vs. the Waif


WolfQueenArya

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It seemed that was Jaqen's plan all along.  To get her to realize who she was and to train her in the fight that's coming.  I also loved how he stepped into Needle as is to say.  "Don't get to big for your britches, young lady."  While the chase seen was a little meh, the ending scene down in the bowels of the temple couldn't have pleased me anymore.

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I mentioned this weeks ago, and didn't really get much of a response in the thread I created - there was just no way that Arya's story arc was ever going to get the type of pay-off that fans would be satisfied with, because her arc has been so poorly written. 

For anyone who is actually paying attention, the only thing Arya has managed to accomplish in her 2 seasons in Braavos, was learn how to fight in the dark. That's a pathetic payoff for the amount of time she's been there. 

Additionally - it also makes Arya look shockingly bad for the way she behaved at the end of last episode, inviting the Waif's attack. 

Arya's arc has been a disaster. There's no other way to put it. 

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I think the Arya arc was excellent. Flashing the money around when she booked passage, strolling around without her sword with a happy-go-lucky look on her face, leaving a nice blood trail everywhere she went during the "chase," ending up on the floor of a dark room with a single candle where she'd hidden Needle. It seems like people arguing Arya didn't learn any assassin skills don't consider "deadly cunning" an assassin skill.

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2 minutes ago, Greg B said:

I think the Arya arc was excellent. Flashing the money around when she booked passage, strolling around without her sword with a happy-go-lucky look on her face, leaving a nice blood trail everywhere she went during the "chase," ending up on the floor of a dark room with a single candle where she'd hidden Needle. It seems like people arguing Arya didn't learn any assassin skills don't consider "deadly cunning" an assassin skill.

Not sure if serious...

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3 minutes ago, Greg B said:

I think the Arya arc was excellent. Flashing the money around when she booked passage, strolling around without her sword with a happy-go-lucky look on her face, leaving a nice blood trail everywhere she went during the "chase," ending up on the floor of a dark room with a single candle where she'd hidden Needle. It seems like people arguing Arya didn't learn any assassin skills don't consider "deadly cunning" an assassin skill.

Thing is she didn't plan all that.  It would have been reasonable if she had.  Instead she nearly (and should've based on the injuries shown) died from her wounds to her gut.  That blade was long enough to go to her spine and the Waif twisted it on one jab.  That's what people are annoyed with.  She came across as an idiot out of no where.  Not to mention she got Lady Crane killed in the process.

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Just now, Greg B said:

Totally serious. I really don't get the disappointment. Shrug.

Ok, lets break it down. I get that you believe it's 'cunning' for her to lull the Waif into a false sense of security, and I admit that using the dark at the end to gain an advantage was a very clever trick. The massive problem with that however is that she WAS stabbed three times in the belly by the Waif, and that was clearly something she didn't anticipate and/or plan for. It's no exaggeration to say she could (and should) have died from it, not least because she would have fainted from blood loss before she ever got to Lady Crane. Then there's the fact that she could all of a sudden run full pelt as though she'd been completely healed...

No, it was just bad writing. The sooner you accept that, the better things will be.

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9 minutes ago, Greg B said:

I think the Arya arc was excellent. Flashing the money around when she booked passage, strolling around without her sword with a happy-go-lucky look on her face, leaving a nice blood trail everywhere she went during the "chase," ending up on the floor of a dark room with a single candle where she'd hidden Needle. It seems like people arguing Arya didn't learn any assassin skills don't consider "deadly cunning" an assassin skill.

I defend the show a lot, but not to this extent. 

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Just now, no_one_... said:

Thing is she didn't plan all that.  It would have been reasonable if she had.  Instead she nearly (and should've based on the injuries shown) died from her wounds to her gut.  That blade was long enough to go to her spine and the Waif twisted it on one jab.  That's what people are annoyed with.  She came across as an idiot out of no where.  Not to mention she got Lady Crane killed in the process.

I'm entirely convinced she did plan it. In fact, I think it's really weird that, first, people were complaining about how Arya is just walking around nonchalantly, throwing money around at the docks, "where the hell is Needle," etc., and now that it's been explained, apparently too subtly for some, it's "no way she planned all that." She obviously wasn't as damaged as she let on -- the way Lady Crane tended to her showed that. And the Waif was never a Faceless Man -- she was a failed trainee, for reasons that are now abundantly clear.

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Just now, Greg B said:

I'm entirely convinced she did plan it. In fact, I think it's really weird that, first, people were complaining about how Arya is just walking around nonchalantly, throwing money around at the docks, "where the hell is Needle," etc., and now that it's been explained, apparently too subtly for some, it's "no way she planned all that." She obviously wasn't as damaged as she let on -- the way Lady Crane tended to her showed that. And the Waif was never a Faceless Man -- she was a failed trainee, for reasons that are now abundantly clear.

The blade went all the way to the hilt and was twisted.  There's no stopping the internal bleeding from something like that short of magic or modern surgery if you're lucky.  She was lucky the Waif didn't just kill her from behind by going for any number of targets Arya left unguarded as she turned her back to anyone walking by on that bridge.

She made zero attempt and stopping the initial attack or counter attacking.  If she wasn't "as damaged as she let on" why not lead the Waif to the cave directly rather than seek refuge w/the actress who happened to know how to patch her up b/c Lady Crane likes to stab her badboys.  Arya doesn't know she has that skillset.  Quite frankly it's an absurd background story to explain her skillset. 

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I thought the show was excellent. And afterwards a yummy helping of sad tears here.

2 hours ago, SerMixalot said:

why again would JH be happy?  Arya's training cost him 2 assasins

Jaq'un is happy because a part of him is still a person. He recognized what Arya was, what she could become. As a FM it was his duty to recruit and train her. But he didn't want to.

And he was happy that she came to face him as she did and show that the slate is clean, the many faced god has his due.

13 minutes ago, Greg B said:

I think the Arya arc was excellent. Flashing the money around when she booked passage, strolling around without her sword with a happy-go-lucky look on her face, leaving a nice blood trail everywhere she went during the "chase," ending up on the floor of a dark room with a single candle where she'd hidden Needle. It seems like people arguing Arya didn't learn any assassin skills don't consider "deadly cunning" an assassin skill.

I think the flashing money about was deliberate. Arya wanted the Waif to follow her. But she miscalculated and she got stabbed. Arya had a plan but it didn't go right. The second time she succeeded.

Works for me. The only thing that is a bit off is that she could run that much while at death's door. 

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7 minutes ago, Greg B said:

I'm entirely convinced she did plan it. In fact, I think it's really weird that, first, people were complaining about how Arya is just walking around nonchalantly, throwing money around at the docks, "where the hell is Needle," etc., and now that it's been explained, apparently too subtly for some, it's "no way she planned all that." She obviously wasn't as damaged as she let on -- the way Lady Crane tended to her showed that. And the Waif was never a Faceless Man -- she was a failed trainee, for reasons that are now abundantly clear.

Indeed. It wasn't as if it wasn't foreshadowed. We saw her hide Needle there in the previous episode, then she led the Waif back there. We saw Lady Crane take down a bottle from the top shelf. It's not too hard to think that this accelerates healing but is clearly only to be used as a last resort, hence the worried look between Lady Crane and the boy who saw her with the bottle. It also makes for a parallel with Sandor, who was left with fatal stomach wounds but got healed, and nobody questioned that.

And Arya didn't use any of her assassin training apart from blind fighting. She used the skills she already had before going to Bravos, which fits with the idea that she never really stopped being herself.

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really guys?

teenager 3 times stabbed in the chest, heals for maximum one day and its able to fight, to run, she even enters in a steam room (wtf?), is that okay for you?

 

and the lack of ability of the waif doesnt bother you either?

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2 minutes ago, no_one_... said:

The blade went all the way to the hilt and was twisted.  There's no stopping the internal bleeding from something like that short of magic or modern surgery if you're lucky.  She was lucky the Waif didn't just kill her from behind by going for any number of targets Arya left unguarded as she turned her back to anyone walking by on that bridge.

She made zero attempt and stopping the initial attack or counter attacking.  If she wasn't "as damaged as she let on" why not lead the Waif to the cave directly rather than seek refuge w/the actress who happened to know how to patch her up b/c Lady Crane likes to stab her badboys.  Arya doesn't know she has that skillset.  Quite frankly it's an absurd background story to explain her skillset. 

I don't know how much FM magic Arya learned over the last two years, but I can believe that she learned enough body control and knowledge of anatomy to 1) limit the damage the Waif did to her, and 2) convince the Waif that she was far more seriously injured than she actually was. I think she went back to Lady Crane because she knew the Waif would find her there. She either knowingly sacrificed Lady Crane for her trap, or at the very least knowingly put her life at extreme risk -- despite a very weak warning.

I don't think any of this is even speculative -- you just have to watch the episode and pay attention to what you're shown. But maybe I'm just seeing things. Again, not trying to win an argument.

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