Game of Thrones has long been a series where happy endings are not guaranteed and are certainly not expected. So, it comes as no surprise that Arya seems to have her own ideas moving forward.
After the Battle of Winterfell in episode 3, we expected the fourth episode to be a mix of reflection and action, and we were not disappointed. In fact, we got to see everything from the aftermath of the battle to the preparation for the next one, and everything between. And if there was one Game of Thrones character we wanted to see more of it would have to be Arya, the savior of Winterfell.
In an episode that really did not give us a lot of Arya (she didn’t take part in the after-battle dinner), one of the biggest scenes of the night for the character actually gave us a callback to the very first season. Back in season 1 of Game of Thrones, Ned Stark has a conversation with Arya in which he discusses her future. He talks about her getting married and having children, and her answer is a very simple, “No. That’s not me.”
Flash forward to this episode, and we have Gendry being legitimized by Daenerys, and officially naming him Gendry Baratheon. And once he has this news, he immediately searches for Arya to tell her about it. But, that’s not all, as he takes this opportunity to tell her that he loves her — and then he proposes marriage.
While Gendry was very honest about his feelings for Arya, this is Game of Thrones and happy endings are basically a pipe dream, which is why we were not surprised at all when she responds to the proposal with, “you’ll be a wonderful lord. And any lady would be lucky to have you. But I’m not a lady, I never have been. That’s not me.”
Honestly, Arya has a lot more on her plate than getting married. In fact, she still has at least one name on her list of people to kill. While she may have taken out the Night King, there is still the matter of Cersei Lannister to deal with, and that is certainly someone who we can see Arya taking care of as well.
Would it be okay for Arya to give up her need for vengeance after taking out the Night King? Of course, but at this point, why would she? She has done all of this work and training for a reason. There is no reason for her to walk away from her need to take down Cersei, and honestly, she may be the only person who can at this point.
Arya has repeatedly proven that she is not the kind of woman who would marry a man for his riches, and the fact that Gendry proposed after he had a title makes it seem as if he is not really clear on who she is. But, if he could realize that she is a strong woman who can take care of business, perhaps they could have a future. However, even if these two are not meant to be in the end, that’s fine, too. Arya made it clear when she turned him down that she is “not a lady,” and she is okay with this.
From the callback to season 1 of Games of Thrones to Arya making it clear that she is so much more than a wife, we were in no way surprised by her turning Gendry down. Now, it is a matter of waiting to see what comes next for her, because there is still one name left on her list to take care of.