Image credit: HBO/Helen Sloan
Lady Crane
If Arya was meant to leave Essos anytime soon, she had to sever the ties she’d made there. This included Lady Crane, the actress to whom Arya was assigned to kill but took a liking to instead. Arya was in dire need of a healthy female presence in her life. Lady Crane offered her precisely the maternal touch she needed. Even before then, Arya felt a bond with this woman who could bring such life to the stage. She exuded a warmth that Arya was naturally drawn to.
So, as it goes, Lady Crane had to die. It’s practically textbook Game of Thrones at this point. This is why we can’t have nice things.
The Waif, who had nearly killed Arya as it was, tracked her to Lady Crane’s home. And because she needs an attitude adjustment, she decided to off Lady Crane for good measure. Something about the Many-Faced god was mentioned, but religious fanaticism doesn’t really excuse all the murder.
It was a shock and a shame to find Lady Crane dead. After all Arya had done to save her, what that rescue really did was encourage Arya’s rediscovery of herself. She would no longer bend the knee to the House of Black and White. If being a Faceless Man means killing without purpose or honor, only for gold, it wasn’t the job for Arya as she once thought. She’s too honest a girl to pretend otherwise. Lady Crane, however inadvertently, helped her to see that. In doing so, she sent Arya home to Westeros where she belongs.