Illyrio Mo'Parties Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 First, I don't know what the spoiler etiquette is here, so I'm playing it safe and putting my question in spoiler tags in case you haven't seen the episode yet, or read the books. Spoiler Alright: I just wanted to raise the possibility that the show's doing a fake-out with regard to Arya and the Waif. Here's the relevant scene, faithfully transcribed: Quote INT. HOUSE OF BLACK & WHITE - DAY JAQEN is busy cutting off a dead man's face. Enter THE WAIF. JAQEN ...and? THE WAIF As I expected. JAQEN Shame. A girl had many gifts. (pause) THE WAIF You promised me. JAQEN Don't let her suffer. THE WAIF leaves, smirking. It looks like Arya's in a lot of trouble: the penalty for failure seems to be death, and Jaqen has promised the Waif she can carry out the sentence, something the Waif seems quite happy about. But the vague dialogue admits another possibility. I've reimagined the scene with this possibility in mind: Quote INT. HOUSE OF BLACK & WHITE - DAY JAQEN is busy cutting off a dead man's face. Enter THE WAIF. JAQEN Did Arya go through with it? THE WAIF No. I told you so. JAQEN Shame. A girl had many gifts. She would have made an excellent Faceless Man. I wish her all the best in her future endeavours. THE WAIF What about the actress? You promised me I could kill her if Arya bailed. JAQEN Oh, alright. Remember, don't let her suffer: you're there to kill her, not hurt her. THE WAIF leaves, smirking the smirk of one who told one so. See, in the books, the Kindly Man tells Arya she's free to leave at any time. Indeed, he encourages her to do so. It doesn't seem like Arya ever goes past some point of no return, and her knowledge of the Faceless Men is the same in book and show. We also learn that a Faceless Man isn't supposed to kill anybody he knows personally. In fact, given everything we know about the organisation, it seems that the very idea of enjoying the act of killing would be frowned upon. It's a religious duty, meant to be performed dispassionately and anonymously. If these things are true in the show too, then Arya isn't in any danger at all. She's out of the Faceless Men, which saddens Jaqen, and the waif will have to fill in for her with regard to the actress. (The waif seems a little too eager to do it, but I get the impression she's lower on the totem pole than Jaqen, so he may occasionally have to rein her in. Nobody's perfect.) But nobody's going to come and kill her. Psych! They made us think she was in danger, but really she's fine. Now, I must say, I think that's unlikely. The show's different from the books in many ways. Why not here, too? The Faceless Men in the show are probably more blasé about the religious formalities, and Jaqen's worried that Arya knows too much about their secretive ways. It's a shame, but Arya's got to die. I think she'll be fighting the waif soon - but I just wanted to put this other possibility on the record, so that I can brag if it does come true. Oh - and I only mention this for the sake of completeness - but I suppose it's also possible that the show version of the Faceless Men aren't less religious than the book version, or that they don't consider the information Arya's learned about them to be too sensitive, but merely that they're inconsistently presented, and the writers have lost their firm grasp of the details as they rush towards the finish line. But that's a possibility that's so outlandish that it should be dismissed immediately and never raised again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalle Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 yeah, i guess that woud be an ok twist but likely Arya will step between them or revenge the actress after the deed, either way the Waif is dead and Arya is in peril. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jasemina Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 it could have been like in the books too, that she could have been in no danger if she failed, especially considering in previous episodes jaqen kept challenging her about not being ready and that if she doesnt wanna do it it would be perfectly fine...i do think though what put her in danger is that she bonded with the actress and as a result she failed her task of killing her but crossed the line when she stated the person who wanted her dead...from what i understood in the scene that lady had made a deal with faceless men, its a known fact faceless men are loyal to their deals and there is a secrecy going on regarding the dealers and she pointed out the dealer herself to the victim and broke an important rule for faceless men..therefore i do believe she is danger though she probably will beat up waif.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Onion Knight Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 She learned how to fight by being blind, by being i nthe dark and not able to see. It is fitting for her to fight the Waif in the dark and kill her. I think it is ultimately a test for both girls for Jaqen or w.e Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Facebookless Man Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 If these things are true in the show too Maybe they were true yesterday, doesn't mean they'll be true tomorrow. Things have to make some kind of sense to be predictable, so who the hell knows. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoke317 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 The Waif is clearly not showing a true "faceless man" spirit. Very spiteful and holds a personal grudge against Arya. Arya's gonna kill her and bring Jaq'en her head or face or maybe even the face of the young actress and say you said "a face would be added to the wall one way or another". Here it is. I'm out. Jaq'en will smile and let her leave or he may even teach her how to change faces and let her leave. That's my dream scenario. Probably too happy ending to happen. Lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baelor_the_Blessed Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Unless I'm mistaken, Ayra already knows how to change faces. Didn't she use a face to kill Ser Meryn Trant? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlie Of House Bucket Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 It seems to me this interpretation is likely a bit too nuanced for television dialog, but we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoke317 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 11 minutes ago, Darren Allen said: Unless I'm mistaken, Ayra already knows how to change faces. Didn't she use a face to kill Ser Meryn Trant? You're right. So she can just kill the waif or the younger actress and take their face. But didn't it make her go blind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrion's Third Wife Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 1 hour ago, Smoke317 said: You're right. So she can just kill the waif or the younger actress and take their face. But didn't it make her go blind? Stealing the face didn't make her go blind. That was a specific punishment by the FM. I think the waif is also being tested here, and Arya was never told the FM would kill her if she decided to leave. They told her she could leave many times... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoke317 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 1 hour ago, Tyrion's Third Wife said: Stealing the face didn't make her go blind. That was a specific punishment by the FM. I think the waif is also being tested here, and Arya was never told the FM would kill her if she decided to leave. They told her she could leave many times... So how did they make her go blind in the show? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeorgeIAF Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 2 hours ago, Smoke317 said: So how did they make her go blind in the show? Drinking that potion ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Future Null Infinity Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 16 hours ago, Illyrio Mo'Parties said: Now, I must say, I think that's unlikely. The show's different from the books in many ways. Why not here, too? The Faceless Men in the show are probably more blasé about the religious formalities, and Jaqen's worried that Arya knows too much about their secretive ways. It's a shame, but Arya's got to die. I think she'll be fighting the waif soon - but I just wanted to put this other possibility on the record, so that I can brag if it does come true. for the action, they changed the story to put some action sequences in it, Arya simply leaving the FM is not interesting, so they must put some fightings and killings with the Waif to make the fans enjoy the experience and cheer for the starks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leto Atreides Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I wish Arya would just leave this disappointing plotline and return to Westeros ASAP, but I'm sure the Waif is actually the one failing tests and not Arya. Anyway, I hope Arya's fate includes a costume change. The one she has been wearing during the last episodes is awfully unflattering, especially with her hair tied up on the sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbunting Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I have to wonder if she meets up with Brienne soon. Brienne heading to the RL and Arya heading out of Braavos ( I assume ). Maybe she heads to the the area and hears about people rallying to Sansa's aid? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No One of Importance Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 What if "a girl" in Jaquen's dialog here refers to the waif rather than Arya? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo Kressh Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I have a real tinfoil-y thought here. What if the Waif kills Arya, but Arya somehow wargs into Nymeria and as Nymeria lead her superpack in the Riverlands and obliquely gets her revenge against the Freys? Now I know they haven't established that Arya can warg, but some rumors say that we'll see Nymeria and her pack sometime this season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illyrio Mo'Parties Posted May 31, 2016 Author Share Posted May 31, 2016 Yeah, but then they'd have to resurrect Arya. The show ain't gonna kill off Maisie Williams just to put her in a wolf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smoke317 Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 7 hours ago, GeorgeIAF said: Drinking that potion ... that was the books. She never drank the potion in the show. The kindly man drank the potion to pay for the life that was not taken. Arya began to pull the faces off until she reached her own and then just went blind. The waif who turned into Jaq'en said the faces are poison to her because she was not no one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodmane Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 At this point only a plot-armour stands between Arya and certain death. Unfortunately GRRM's pen slashes easily through plot-armour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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