Arya's Future?

[Ras Al Gimur]

I think she will be appointed to assassinate Dany, and will do so disguised as Missandei. No idea whether she will kill Dany or not.

[TheReal_Rebel]

She's going to die, one way or another, but probably -thankfully- AFTER je kicked some butts.

1) Hint from what Jon told her in the very beginning at Winterfell

2) She is totally damaged goods, there is no happy ending for her, even if she'd realize that moste of her siblings are still alive

3) The Faceless man will not allow her just roaming around and (mis)using her new found powers for personal revange,

I think they will hunt her down - if she doesn't die before by herself in the (hopefully successful) attempt to kill someone MAJOR

ALL the major characters are Damaged in some way. So they are all "damaged goods."

Some just pull off more destruction then others, destroying their nations, mainly to benefit themselves, i.e.Cersei, Varys, Illyrio, Baelish, etc.

Because Arya is still a child, we have yet to see, where her training will take her and what of her training she will keep or throw away.

What would make each character a happy ending is subjective. Reuniting or simply knowing several more of her family members are alive could make Arya happy. Reuniting with Nymeria certainly would and it would also make her very powerful.

If, as suggested, Arya goes down a Darth Vader like path, only to redeem herself through self sacrifice, that also would be a " happy ending." Certainly a noble one.

My take is that it's LS who revives Jon, and dies but only because Arya is determined to go to the Wall herself to help Jon and fight the Others.

[AryaNymeriaVisenya]

People who go through trauma do not just lay down and die when they get some semblance of normality back. Its not neat and tidy. They live with their past. I dont see why Arya should not be the same.

[jammf]

All i can say is the last scene in season 4 shows Arya on that ship looking FORWARD at what is to come. Not backward. It swells my heart! I think of everyone on the show she will survive. It is all she knows now

[olenna123]

ALL the major characters are Damaged in some way. So they are all "damaged goods."

Some just pull off more destruction then others, destroying their nations, mainly to benefit themselves, i.e.Cersei, Varys, Illyrio, Baelish, etc.

Because Arya is still a child, we have yet to see, where her training will take her and what of her training she will keep or throw away.

What would make each character a happy ending is subjective. Reuniting or simply knowing several more of her family members are alive could make Arya happy. Reuniting with Nymeria certainly would and it would also make her very powerful.

If, as suggested, Arya goes down a Darth Vader like path, only to redeem herself through self sacrifice, that also would be a " happy ending." Certainly a noble one.

My take is that it's LS who revives Jon, and dies but only because Arya is determined to go to the Wall herself to help Jon and fight the Others.

I don't think all the major characters are damaged in an irreparable way. Arya's seen and done too many evil things to truly come back, in my opinion. I had my doubts before but after seeing the Mercy chapter from the upcoming book, I'm completely convinced she'll never recover from the trauma and she will have a really sad ending

[Ser Pounce FTW]

My take is that it's LS who revives Jon, and dies.

I can see no reason whatsover to motivate LS to revive Jon, should he need reviving.

[Colonel Green]

I don't think all the major characters are damaged in an irreparable way. Arya's seen and done too many evil things to truly come back, in my opinion. I had my doubts before but after seeing the Mercy chapter from the upcoming book, I'm completely convinced she'll never recover from the trauma and she will have a really sad ending

Being a child soldier or a refugee in a war zone, etc., is obviously traumatic, but it's not some point of no return, as shown by the real world.

[olenna123]

I just don't think the behavior in Mercy can be atributed to the child soldier mentality anymore. That demanor is not normal or reparable in my opinion. And her sad ending would be in line with George's "revenge is bad" message.

[rayarts]

Being a child soldier or a refugee in a war zone, etc., is obviously traumatic, but it's not some point of no return, as shown by the real world.

Yeah, but we are not in the real world. We are in a world, where Arya started killing by herself and where this little wise woman/witch/childrenoftheforestwoman (forgot her name) was actually terrified because she smelled death on Arya. We are in a world where no one will come and get her to a psychologist and give her some medication and fluffy toys. Its a world where Arya is marked by the God of Death - and its very unlikely a way she can return from. Come on. You gotta see that she will never be a normal girl again, even if she survives (which I doubt).

[Clegane'sPup]

As I read the books I thought that Arya has a strong tie to WF and the Starks.

She named her direwolf for Nymeria a warrior queen and a princess of the Rhoynar according to Wiki ASOIAF. If that is true it gives me an idea of what Arya is made of.

That plus Eddard’s interactions with her throughout AGOT leads me to believe that Arya will be a major player in WOW. Eddard does hire the so called dance instructor to teach Arya how to handle a blade.

What I would like to read about in ADOS, as it relates to Arya, is that somehow Stannis has recognized or legitimized Robert’s base born oldest (?) son Gendry and that Arya and Gendry rekindle that puppy love into a powerful duo, combining his strength and her intellect, what a team that would be.

As an aside, who but Gendry would be able to deal with the wild wolf Arya in a kind and loving way?

[Maid So Fair]

Yeah, but we are not in the real world. We are in a world, where Arya started killing by herself and where this little wise woman/witch/childrenoftheforestwoman (forgot her name) was actually terrified because she smelled death on Arya. We are in a world where no one will come and get her to a psychologist and give her some medication and fluffy toys. Its a world where Arya is marked by the God of Death - and its very unlikely a way she can return from. Come on. You gotta see that she will never be a normal girl again, even if she survives (which I doubt).

And what does this normal girl look and behave like? Arya is Arya. Once she reunites with her siblings she should have some stability and love and friendship to pull her through. It's not like her siblings haven't had it tough. She's a survivor.

[Alia of the knife]

Because I think the direwolves were sent from the old gods as totems or protectors to the Starks, I think their naming is significant, and so far the fate of the wolves and their charges have shared the same journey.

Arya named her wolf after a warrior queen. She creates a family or "pack" wherever she goes, collecting followers. She survives and I think most of her motivations will be evolve into justice as opposed to "revenge" because she ultimately is Neds daughter.

Her behavior as Mercy has already confirmed my suspicion that she will use seduction if she needs to get what she wants. The KM allusion to her growing beauty and offering to take her to the Black Swann to become a courtesan is not without a textual reason. She did turn down that life, but it doesn't mean she won't use all the tactics necessary to make men vulnerable even as she uses a sword.

I think the FM will send her to either Dany or Aegon, and then.......

[Colonel Green]

I just don't think the behavior in Mercy can be atributed to the child soldier mentality anymore.

Why?

[Monctonvike]

And what does this normal girl look and behave like? Arya is Arya. Once she reunites with her siblings she should have some stability and love and friendship to pull her through. It's not like her siblings haven't had it tough. She's a survivor.

:agree:

[olenna123]

Why?

Because that behavior is not normal even by a traumatized child soldier standard. It's seriously creepy and I don't know how anyone can read that chapter and not realize just how irreparably damaged poor Arya has become.

[Maid So Fair]

Because that behavior is not normal even by a traumatized child soldier standard. It's seriously creepy and I don't know how anyone can read that chapter and not realize just how irreparably damaged poor Arya has become.

Do you know many child soldiers?

[olenna123]

Do you know many child soldiers?

Her Mercy behavior is not in line with having a traumatic war experience, that's what I was trying to say. Not everyone who has had that experience behaves like that.

I'm seriously surprised at how many people think Arya is suddenly gonna stop behaving like a psycho and go find a husband or a sibling and live happily ever after. It's so delusional to think that, in my opinion.

[Colonel Green]

Her Mercy behavior is not in line with having a traumatic war experience, that's what I was trying to say. Not everyone who has had that experience behaves like that.

"Everyone" doesn't have to. And, regardless, Arya is a fictional character, and a major theme in her story is the recurrence of her Stark identity even when she's trying to be No One.

[Littlefinger's dagger]

Two things:

Arya was wearing a dead girl's face all through that chapter. She's been wearing it a while, marinading in the memories and personality of its original wearer. I think that explains a lot about her thoughts and behavior: approaching multiple personality dissocoative and with only echoes of Arya pre-Braavos. yes, she's approaching batshit crazy but she still has wolf dreams and Needle, so Arya's still in there. Let her take off the dead skin mask and give her a few months of peace with family at winterfell and she's rather likely to recover to an impressive degree. I don't consider her irreparably damaged, but she has been forged into a weapon and having her skills repurposed constructively would give her a path to re-establish a functioning place in Westeros. My favorite possibility is for her to refashion the "King's Justice" role into something approaching a medieval Judge Dredd. Wishful thinking, but not impossible IMO.

As to how or whether Arya will part ways with the FM: the Ghost of High Heart saw the influence of death heavy on her, and was very creeped out. She then became something of a prodigy within the FM, I personally believe that sooner or later the quality that creeped out the Ghost led the FM to regard Arya with a certain amount of cautious awe, and led them to look the other way with her prior personal kills. I think Mercy's killing will burn that identity and piss them off, but even if they decide to cast her out then or soon after, I think they'd just send her on their way. They revere Death, and Arya is as close to an avatar of Death as any of their senior members. They would no more kill her for breaking rules than an art historian would take a sledgehammer to a Rodin. That's my opinion, anyway

[Clegane'sPup]

Her Mercy behavior is not in line with having a traumatic war experience, that's what I was trying to say. Not everyone who has had that experience behaves like that.

I'm seriously surprised at how many people think Arya is suddenly gonna stop behaving like a psycho and go find a husband or a sibling and live happily ever after. It's so delusional to think that, in my opinion.

You are suprised at how many people think that Arya is suddenly gonna stop behaving like a psycho and go find a husband or a sibling and live happily ever after.

Describe to the best of your ability the defination of psycho.