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Why did Arya give Sansa the dagger?


ravenous reader

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Why did Arya give Sansa the dagger?  That's the key to making sense of the sisterly dynamic.  Answer that -- and we might understand where the D's are going with this.  Remember that instead of writing organically cohesive stories like GRRM, they tend to write with a particular outcome in mind, then fill in the gaps around it (Weiss even said as much in the accompanying 'Inside the Episode'), a style which leads to a certain farcical narrative disjunction.  So, for example, they needed to get a dragon into the Night's King's possession, so the whole quest north of the Wall was constructed around and leading up to that particular endpoint; likewise, they needed to get the dagger into Sansa's hands, so the whole cat-and-mouse between the sisters and Littlefinger was arranged with that endgame in mind.  The clear endpoints belong to GRRM; the bumbling patchwork constructions around them ever since season 5 to the D's.

Another way of framing my question is to ask why Arya is deliberately arming Sansa?  Cast your minds back to season one, specifically that pivotal drama at the Trident, in which Sansa was notably disarmed of both swords and words, partly as a consequence of her own choosing.  She was the only one without a weapon.  Arya and Mycah both had sticks.  Additionally, Nymeria appeared from nowhere to save the day on Arya's behalf.  Joffrey had his steel sword 'Lion's Tooth' (which Arya ended up pulling...).  However, Sansa came to the fight without a weapon, after being persuaded into leaving Lady behind, who was also then taken from her, after she failed to give faithful testimony in defense of her family, leaving a permanent wound.  In the surprising gift of the dagger, Arya is giving 'Lady' her bite back.  We're back at the Trident symbolically, with the same constellation of archetypes at play, the sisters up against a dangerous lying bully, and the outcome largely up to Sansa.  To me, it constitutes a challenge from Arya to Sansa:  'You say you're a wolf, you say you've changed, you say you're one of the pack; so here's your teeth, no more excuses  -- now, be a wolf, Lady of Winterfell !'

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1 hour ago, ravenous reader said:

Why did Arya give Sansa the dagger?  That's the key to making sense of the sisterly dynamic.  Answer that -- and we might understand where the D's are going with this.  Remember that instead of writing organically cohesive stories like GRRM, they tend to write with a particular outcome in mind, then fill in the gaps around it (Weiss even said as much in the accompanying 'Inside the Episode'), a style which leads to a certain farcical narrative disjunction.  So, for example, they needed to get a dragon into the Night's King's possession, so the whole quest north of the Wall was constructed around and leading up to that particular endpoint; likewise, they needed to get the dagger into Sansa's hands, so the whole cat-and-mouse between the sisters and Littlefinger was arranged with that endgame in mind.  The clear endpoints belong to GRRM; the bumbling patchwork constructions around them ever since season 5 to the D's.

Another way of framing my question is to ask why Arya is deliberately arming Sansa?  Cast your minds back to season one, specifically that pivotal drama at the Trident, in which Sansa was notably disarmed of both swords and words, partly as a consequence of her own choosing.  She was the only one without a weapon.  Sansa and Mycah both had sticks.  Additionally, Nymeria appeared from nowhere to save the day on Arya's behalf.  Joffrey had his steel sword 'Lion's Tooth' (which Arya ended up pulling...).  However, Sansa came to the fight without a weapon, after being persuaded into leaving Lady behind, who was also then taken from her, after she failed to give faithful testimony in defense of her family, leaving a permanent wound.  In the surprising gift of the dagger, Arya is giving 'Lady' her bite back.  We're back at the Trident symbolically, with the same constellation of archetypes at play, the sisters up against a dangerous lying bully, and the outcome largely up to Sansa.  To me, it constitutes a challenge from Arya to Sansa:  'You say you're a wolf, you say you've changed, you say you're one of the pack; so here's your teeth, no more excuses  -- now, be a wolf, Lady of Winterfell!'

Very well said.  That's the best theory I've heard, both about Viserion and Ayra/Sansa endpoints

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13 minutes ago, Apoplexy said:

My thoughts when I watched that scene was that Arya was trying to warn Sansa about the dangers around her, saying you may need to fight, figuratively or literally.

Indeed, she advises her saying, 'I'd go with anger [instead of fear],' encouraging her sister to be brave in the face of fear instead of taking a backseat, or sitting on the fence, as in the past.  Additionally, it was a brilliant move on Arya's part, simultaneously defusing Sansa's fear of Arya, by giving up her weapon into her sister's safekeeping, implying 'I'm not the one you need to fear..,' as well as signifying an acknowledgement that Sansa, 'Lady of Winterfell,' is now the leader of the pack in Jon's absence -- and as leader of the pack Arya is expecting her to defend that pack against the one who has always been its principal nemesis, Petyr Baelish.  I think he's going to try to harm one of Sansa's siblings, just like Joffrey at the Trident.  Symbolically, if it were up to me, I'd have that be Bran -- in a reiteration of the duel which started it all, Brandon Stark vs. Petyr Baelish at the water stair, with Catelyn intervening to save Baelish; with the parallel being Sansa intervening to save Brandon in an inversion of the historical events which doomed their family.

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My take is that Arya was saying that she is no threat to Sansa.  If Arya wanted Sansa dead she could have quickly killed her.  But instead she gives Sansa the weapon and turns her back on her.  This says, "I'm not going to hurt you and I do not believe you intend to hurt me."

It reminded me of he scene in Dune where Jessica confronts Thufir.
 

Quote

 

"Then I'll pose another question for you: What does it mean to you that you stand before another human, that you are bound and helpless and the other human holds a knife at your throat—yet this other human refrains from killing you, frees you from your bonds and gives you the knife to use as you will?"

She lifted herself out of the chair, turned her back on him. "You may go now, Thufir."

 

 

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5 minutes ago, ravenous reader said:

Indeed, she advises her saying, 'I'd go with anger [instead of fear],' encouraging her sister to be brave in the face of fear instead of taking a backseat, or sitting on the fence, as in the past.  Additionally, it was a brilliant move on Arya's part, simultaneously defusing Sansa's fear of Arya, by giving up her weapon into her sister's safekeeping, implying 'I'm not the one you need to fear..,' as well as signifying an acknowledgement that Sansa, 'Lady of Winterfell,' is now the leader of the pack in Jon's absence -- and as leader of the pack Arya is expecting her to defend that pack against the one who has always been its principal nemesis, Petyr Baelish.  .

I agree, the bolded part was my takeaway too.

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1 minute ago, Col Cinders said:

My take is that Arya was saying that she is no threat to Sansa.  If Arya wanted Sansa dead she could have quickly killed her.  But instead she gives Sansa the weapon and turns her back on her.  This says, "I'm not going to hurt you and I do not believe you intend to hurt me."

 

I completely agree.

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22 minutes ago, ravenous reader said:

Indeed, she advises her saying, 'I'd go with anger [instead of fear],' encouraging her sister to be brave in the face of fear instead of taking a backseat, or sitting on the fence, as in the past.  Additionally, it was a brilliant move on Arya's part, simultaneously defusing Sansa's fear of Arya, by giving up her weapon into her sister's safekeeping, implying 'I'm not the one you need to fear..,' as well as signifying an acknowledgement that Sansa, 'Lady of Winterfell,' is now the leader of the pack in Jon's absence -- and as leader of the pack Arya is expecting her to defend that pack against the one who has always been its principal nemesis, Petyr Baelish.  I think he's going to try to harm one of Sansa's siblings, just like Joffrey at the Trident.  Symbolically, if it were up to me, I'd have that be Bran -- in a reiteration of the duel which started it all, Brandon Stark vs. Petyr Baelish at the water stair, with Catelyn intervening to save Baelish; with the parallel being Sansa intervening to save Brandon in an inversion of the historical events which doomed their family.

I don't think Baelish is going anywhere near Bran.  If we've learned one absolute thing is that Baelish goes for the weakest (not physically, mentally) and he is always watching his back.  I know he takes risks but that's only after he has confirmed his own safety even if it goes south.  The risks he talks about are ones where he doesn't get the expected outcome, but he is still safe at the end of it. He plays a 100% mental game, and Bran's repeat of his own quote I'm sure gave him enough pause to not think of going down that route.  if he gets one sniff of not having the psychological upper hand he goes to option 2.  I can't see him doing something as obvious as physically threatening Bran, he doesn't operate that way.  He did that with Ned in season 1 but that was only because Ned was his only opposition, with the city watch removing the rest simultaneously.  The only threat he will make is if Ayra, Bran, and any Northern allies can be eliminated at once.  I suppose his "risk" here is Sansa, as he still believes they will rule together.  The only way he will be caught by surprise is if he is too confident in her allegiance to him and she is convincing enough to pull the rug out from underneath him at the right moment.

He's the prototypical coward, and they all operate the same way.  Self preservation is all they think about 24/7 and if that is in jeopardy they will cut bait immediately.

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2 hours ago, ravenous reader said:

Another way of framing my question is to ask why Arya is deliberately arming Sansa?  Cast your minds back to season one, specifically that pivotal drama at the Trident, in which Sansa was notably disarmed of both swords and words, partly as a consequence of her own choosing.  She was the only one without a weapon.  Arya and Mycah both had sticks.  Additionally, Nymeria appeared from nowhere to save the day on Arya's behalf.  Joffrey had his steel sword 'Lion's Tooth' (which Arya ended up pulling...).  However, Sansa came to the fight without a weapon, after being persuaded into leaving Lady behind, who was also then taken from her, after she failed to give faithful testimony in defense of her family, leaving a permanent wound.  In the surprising gift of the dagger, Arya is giving 'Lady' her bite back.  We're back at the Trident symbolically, with the same constellation of archetypes at play, the sisters up against a dangerous lying bully, and the outcome largely up to Sansa.  To me, it constitutes a challenge from Arya to Sansa:  'You say you're a wolf, you say you've changed, you say you're one of the pack; so here's your teeth, no more excuses  -- now, be a wolf, Lady of Winterfell !'

I agree. A dagger is no sword, it is meant to be hidden and pulled out unexpectedly.
And using a dagger doesn't require much practice unlike wielding a sword or shooting a bow or a crossbow. 

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44 minutes ago, Col Cinders said:

My take is that Arya was saying that she is no threat to Sansa.  If Arya wanted Sansa dead she could have quickly killed her.  But instead she gives Sansa the weapon and turns her back on her.  This says, "I'm not going to hurt you and I do not believe you intend to hurt me."

It reminded me of he scene in Dune where Jessica confronts Thufir.
 

 

This was mine too.  But I can go with the OP's theory as well. 

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In my opinion this is all part of Arya's plan to make Littlefinger feel comfortable with his own plan and that it's working.  She knows he is a piece of shit, Sansa knows as well but Sansa doesn't know LF is deliberately trying to drive a wedge between the sisters.  So Arya has to make Sansa afraid and run to him.  She is basically using Sansa for her own plan to kill Littlefinger, remember Littlefinger was at Harrenhall with Tywin.  Arya could have killed Tywin and prevented the Red Wedding and she didn't so she has no cause to blame Sansa for being forced to serve under duress.  And Arya knowing LF was at Harrenhall and what he was discussing is enough for Arya to want to kill LF.  

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36 minutes ago, Col Cinders said:

My take is that Arya was saying that she is no threat to Sansa.  If Arya wanted Sansa dead she could have quickly killed her.  But instead she gives Sansa the weapon and turns her back on her.  This says, "I'm not going to hurt you and I do not believe you intend to hurt me."

It reminded me of he scene in Dune where Jessica confronts Thufir.
 

Quote

 

"Then I'll pose another question for you: What does it mean to you that you stand before another human, that you are bound and helpless and the other human holds a knife at your throat—yet this other human refrains from killing you, frees you from your bonds and gives you the knife to use as you will?"

She lifted herself out of the chair, turned her back on him. "You may go now, Thufir."

Nice 'Dune' analogy!

The second part of your explanation, 'I do not believe you intend to hurt me,' is just as important as the first, 'I'm not going to hurt you.'  Arya is putting her trust in Sansa to rise to the occasion, and moreover communicating that trust to Sansa, giving her the benefit of the doubt.  It's Sansa's chance for redemption, after all the betrayals of family of which she stands accused, and for which she's already paid dearly.  In the books, there's a line in which Sansa, after building the snow castle representing Winterfell in the Eyrie, thinks to herself 'I am stronger within the walls of Winterfell'.  Baelish's main disadvantage is expecting to win a war against the wolves on their own turf.  Just as Ned shouldn't have ventured south, Baelish shouldn't have ventured north into the wolves' den.

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5 hours ago, House Rootbreaker said:

 

He's the prototypical coward, and they all operate the same way.  Self preservation is all they think about 24/7 and if that is in jeopardy they will cut bait immediately.

I have been thinking along these lines too. I think once the girls figure out LF is playing them, and He knows that They know (Pehaps by Sansa threatening to expose him to the Lords of the Vale as a murderer) he will high tail it back to Kings Landing, to curry Cersei's good graces, with "Winterfell Reconnaissance". Cersei will use him briefly then he will meet his end. 

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10 hours ago, ravenous reader said:

Why did Arya give Sansa the dagger?  That's the key to making sense of the sisterly dynamic.  Answer that -- and we might understand where the D's are going with this.  Remember that instead of writing organically cohesive stories like GRRM, they tend to write with a particular outcome in mind, then fill in the gaps around it (Weiss even said as much in the accompanying 'Inside the Episode'), a style which leads to a certain farcical narrative disjunction.  So, for example, they needed to get a dragon into the Night's King's possession, so the whole quest north of the Wall was constructed around and leading up to that particular endpoint; likewise, they needed to get the dagger into Sansa's hands, so the whole cat-and-mouse between the sisters and Littlefinger was arranged with that endgame in mind.  The clear endpoints belong to GRRM; the bumbling patchwork constructions around them ever since season 5 to the D's.

I'd forgotten about that - it explains why sometimes the plot developments seem clumsy (besides the fact they don't have enough time to develop it better).  thanks for reminding us - or me at least!

Quote

Another way of framing my question is to ask why Arya is deliberately arming Sansa?  Cast your minds back to season one, specifically that pivotal drama at the Trident, in which Sansa was notably disarmed of both swords and words, partly as a consequence of her own choosing.  She was the only one without a weapon.  Arya and Mycah both had sticks.  Additionally, Nymeria appeared from nowhere to save the day on Arya's behalf.  Joffrey had his steel sword 'Lion's Tooth' (which Arya ended up pulling...).  However, Sansa came to the fight without a weapon, after being persuaded into leaving Lady behind, who was also then taken from her, after she failed to give faithful testimony in defense of her family, leaving a permanent wound.  In the surprising gift of the dagger, Arya is giving 'Lady' her bite back.  We're back at the Trident symbolically, with the same constellation of archetypes at play, the sisters up against a dangerous lying bully, and the outcome largely up to Sansa.  To me, it constitutes a challenge from Arya to Sansa:  'You say you're a wolf, you say you've changed, you say you're one of the pack; so here's your teeth, no more excuses  -- now, be a wolf, Lady of Winterfell !'

Wow, this is great.  Even though I have watched every episode 4-5 times, and I know that with Martin nothing happens by accident, my memory just isn't that good.  Then again, Martin isn't writing the show.

@Illiterati has a very good theory about how Sansa and Arya could be working together to trap LF (Sansa VIII - Game of Faces) but this theory fits where my mind was going with their story.  I interpreted it as, after Arya finally believed Sansa about why she wrote that letter, she scared Sansa to her core showing her how dangerous she was, and then seeing that although scared Sansa was not cowed, she handed her the dagger to show her she trusted her.

9 hours ago, ravenous reader said:

Indeed, she advises her saying, 'I'd go with anger [instead of fear],' encouraging her sister to be brave in the face of fear instead of taking a backseat, or sitting on the fence, as in the past.  Additionally, it was a brilliant move on Arya's part, simultaneously defusing Sansa's fear of Arya, by giving up her weapon into her sister's safekeeping, implying 'I'm not the one you need to fear..,' as well as signifying an acknowledgement that Sansa, 'Lady of Winterfell,' is now the leader of the pack in Jon's absence -- and as leader of the pack Arya is expecting her to defend that pack against the one who has always been its principal nemesis, Petyr Baelish.  I think he's going to try to harm one of Sansa's siblings, just like Joffrey at the Trident.  Symbolically, if it were up to me, I'd have that be Bran -- in a reiteration of the duel which started it all, Brandon Stark vs. Petyr Baelish at the water stair, with Catelyn intervening to save Baelish; with the parallel being Sansa intervening to save Brandon in an inversion of the historical events which doomed their family.

 

9 hours ago, Col Cinders said:

My take is that Arya was saying that she is no threat to Sansa.  If Arya wanted Sansa dead she could have quickly killed her.  But instead she gives Sansa the weapon and turns her back on her.  This says, "I'm not going to hurt you and I do not believe you intend to hurt me."
 

More great points!

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Have any of you seen the promotional photos for the finale..?

I note with interest they've put Sansa in her 'Grim Reaper' hood (the same 'Lady Stoneheart' look she used to wear when traipsing after Ramsay on the Winterfell battlements, grabbing corkscrews, foreshadowing his end at her hands) -- which bodes well for my theory... 

The surprise twist is going to be that the 'Wolf' in the titular 'The Dragon and the Wolf' refers to Sansa 'getting her bite back,' as I've expressed it, and not Jon, Arya, or Bran necessarily (although I would also like 'dragon and wolf' to refer to Bran the fated 'winged wolf' making contact via greensight with wighted Viserion).  She sent Brienne away, anticipating that she and Arya are about to wolfishly break some rules -- the law of guest right to be exact!   No one will be the wiser, because 'Littlefinger' will soon reappear in King's Landing... (I would love it if she released Ghost from his kennel to help with the 'clean-up' after Arya has completed the, ehm..., 'harvesting', but perhaps that's too much to ask for...It would be such a great visual, with Ghost stalking beside Sansa through the godswood, jointly symbolizing the liberated wolf, a bit like in my latest profile pic, as the snow gently, ominously, falls.  But, alas, I fear the D's are not as wildly imaginative as I am, and direwolf CGI is so onerous, so poor Ghost, truly a ghost of his former self, starved of screentime and morsels alike, will not even be treated to a little finger of a Littlefinger ;)).

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22 minutes ago, ravenous reader said:

Have any of you seen the promotional photos for the finale..?

I note with interest they've put Sansa in her 'Grim Reaper' hood (the same 'Lady Stoneheart' look she used to wear when traipsing after Ramsay on the Winterfell battlements, grabbing corkscrews, foreshadowing his end at her hands) -- which bodes well for my theory... 

The surprise twist is going to be that the 'Wolf' in the titular 'The Dragon and the Wolf' refers to Sansa 'getting her bite back,' as I've expressed it, and not Jon, Arya, or Bran necessarily (although I would also like 'dragon and wolf' to refer to Bran the fated 'winged wolf' making contact via greensight with wighted Viserion).  She sent Brienne away, anticipating that she and Arya are about to wolfishly break some rules -- the law of guest right to be exact!   No one will be the wiser, because 'Littlefinger' will soon reappear in King's Landing... (I would love it if she released Ghost from his kennel to help with the 'clean-up' after Arya has completed the, ehm..., 'harvesting', but perhaps that's too much to ask for...It would be such a great visual, with Ghost stalking beside Sansa through the godswood, jointly symbolizing the liberated wolf, a bit like in my latest profile pic, as the snow gently, ominously, falls.  But, alas, I fear the D's are not as wildly imaginative as I am, and direwolf CGI is so onerous, so poor Ghost, truly a ghost of his former self, starved of screentime and morsels alike, will not even be treated to a little finger of a Littlefinger ;)).

Oh you just blew my mind re Littlefinger. How did I not consider this ? :D  

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