"Arya's return to Winterfell was inspired by Odysseus' homecoming" - D&D

[a black swan]

Pointed out by a inkysilver at /asoiaf 

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In Inside the Episode this week, the creators say that Arya's return to Winterfell was inspired by Odysseus' homecoming. An interesting connection, considering Odysseus was a hero who once tricked, wounded, and escaped the cyclops by telling him his name was "Nobody"/"No man"/"No-one" (depending on the translation). In that incident, Odysseus tricks the cyclops in order to make his escape, and then forcefully declares his name before continuing his journey--just as Arya does when she returns to her identity as a Stark. Arya, like Odysseus, is also returning from across the ocean (in this case, the Narrow Sea) after a war (in this case, the War of the Five Kings, which she witnessed the very beginnings of when Ned was put to the chopping block), and receives a weapon/has a weapon returned to her upon her homecoming (Odysseus receives his bow, Arya receives Littlefinger's dagger).

Not sure how much more could be mined from the Odysseus/Arya connection, or whether it might point to her ultimate path over the course of the show, but it does draw out more of a classic monomythic hero's journey dimension (as developed by Joseph Campbell) in her narrative: Jaqen could be considered both a supernatural aid and a threshold guardian (guarding the threshold to her further training at the House of Black and White); and losing her sight could be read as a literalization of entering the abyss, with her rebirth as a Stark following her symbolic death (this last, of course, has already been much-considered, but placing it in a sequence with the rest of her journey does cast it in an interesting, and perhaps new, light). Moreover, the classic scenario is particularly interesting given George R.R. Martin's interest in twisting classic narratives. Not sure if that means Arya is in for a gut-wrenching Martin-esque twist...or a Greco-Roman tragedy.

 

 

I have already seen several people make the connection in the way inkysilver has pointed out and more. 

 

[Cas Stark]

Odysseus lives, though.  No tragic end for him. But, the showrunners will feel free to mix and match however they want, so that doens't mean Arya is safe.

[Gendry_Goldeneyes]

seems like a reach to me

[Punting on the Honeywine]

The parallel story of the Odyssey is of his wife stuck at home and plagued by suitors who want to marry her for her wealth and rank and absorb all of her power.  Odysseus finally returns home, out tricks them and kills them... so actually quite a neat set up for Arya / Sansa / Baelish.  

[a black swan]

30 minutes ago, Gendry_Goldeneyes said:

seems like a reach to me

Why? The parallels are plenty and the writers literally say they were inspired by Odysseus Homecoming for Arya's scenes in this episode. Looking back, you can clearly see GRRM was also inspired by his journey in Arya's story. 

Also, there is nice Dunk & Egg feel to Brienne and Arya's scenes as well. I would assume Arya will continue training with Brienne the rest of the season. 

[LokisRaider]

So Arya (which they telegraphed a few times this episode with the way she inquire about/look at Littlefinger) is going to kill the suitor of Sansa Littlefinger? That is what I would take from the producer comparing the two stories.

[Lockjaw of House Boltagon]

More like "Spider-Man: Homecoming", with these writers. 

[SerJeremiahLouistark]

Did anyone else notice she evades like the White Walkers evade? Go watch the actual white walkers (not wights) fight in other episodes.  Especially the longbearded one that's been killed a dozen times.  Their technique looks similar to Arya's.  

[Lord Godric]

I'm a bit skeptical of D&D's understanding of the Odyssey myth, so I don't know that I would buy too much into parallels between Odysseus and Arya. When Odysseus returns home, it's true that no one recognizes him, but that's because Odysseus has been disguised as an old, beggar man by Athena. It's not because his household staff has changed, like we see with Arya. Further, when he finally does reveal himself he is forced to prove his identity to his own wife, over and over again until he finally gives her an answer that she knows only Odysseus could know. The only parallel here is that Arya wasn't recognized, which could be inspired by anything. A more direct parallel would have been Arya returning to Winterfell in one of her disguises, only to reveal herself later on. 

Now as far as Odysseus killing all the suitors. Odysseus teams up with his son to slay the suitors, that is true. But it goes further than that. They also, rather unfairly, slay all of the handmaidens who waited on the suitors. They kill an entire generation of Ithaca's men and women. And the Odyssey doesn't end after Odysseus returns home and kills the suitors, he then has to face the repercussions. He has to face their families who want to know why he had to kill all their children, why he robbed Ithaca of an entire generation. Violence between the mob of parents and Odysseus is about to break out when a, quite literal, deus ex machina in the form of Athena saves the day and makes them all happy again. 

Like I said, I don't see D&D having anything other than a very, very shallow understanding of the Odyssey here. And if there's a parallel it is one that really could have been drawn from anywhere. We shouldn't look too deeply into the Odyssey. 

[Frances Bean Corbray]

The bit where Arya murders the fuck out of the suitors must've gotten edited out in post-production, then.

Maaaaaaaan, show, don't even start with me on the Odyssey tip until what's left of Littlefinger is dangling in a gibbet.