On Game Of Thrones, Arya compiled a list of people who she must kill for hurting her loved ones. But did Arya finally kill everyone on her list?
When Arya Stark first started making a mental list of people to kill, it was an act of revenge on everyone who was involved in the execution of her father and those that had murdered close friends. It became a nighttime prayer on Game of Thrones, and she would recite the names out loud every night before bed. Arya’s prayer, though gruesome, became quite relatable to forgetful folks since it became a daily reminder of “people to kill today” and a way for Arya to never forget what her ultimate goal was.
Unfortunately, Arya’s travels took her far and away to Braavos for training, and she missed out in killing Joffrey. Forget a list, Arya could have written a novel on the many ways that Joffrey had hurt her family and friends. I’m sure she was delighted to hear that his final moments were excruciating as the poison destroyed him from within at his own wedding. The only thing that Arya might regret is not getting to feel the fulfillment of being the one to kill Joffrey.
For what it’s worth, whatever void inside Arya existed for not being able to rain vengeance on Joffrey had to be filled when she was able to deliver retribution on the Freys.
Walder Frey earned his spot in Arya’s daily prayer when he tricked her brother and mother and killed them and all of their soldiers at the Red Wedding. Walder Frey died a fitting death by Arya’s hand. After eating a pie Arya baked made out of two of his sons, she slit his throat. Arya took care of the rest of the male Freys by posing as Walder and holding a feast where they were all served poisoned wine.
And still, I can’t imagine how that level of revenge compares to the very first time Arya realized that she had the advantage of killing someone when she was in Braavos. Jaqen H’ghar’s Many-Faced god training forced Arya to forget who she was to become no one. And in becoming no one, she had to abandon her list. However, the real obstacle was the fact that everyone on the list was in Westeros. But the glee that Arya must have felt in seeing Meryn Trant and realizing she could pull off that execution with her new face-changing skills must have been overwhelming.
And as the show has been coming to a close with its final season, there were two remaining names: Cersei Lannister and The Mountain.
If you watched the episode “The Last of the Starks” and saw Arya follow Sandor “The Hound” Clegane on horse and didn’t somehow make the connection that Arya was still looking to cross off names, then you don’t know Arya.
The episode “The Bells” follows Arya and The Hound headed to the Red Keep during the battle of Kings Landing. Arya is set on killing Cersei, and The Hound is gunning to put an end to his brother The Mountain. But right when the crumbling Red Keep is under attack by Drogon, The Hound decides to save Arya from dying in the castle that is ready to collapse. The Hound tells Arya that he is the embodiment of someone living for revenge and then asked if she wants to be like him.
Arya takes one look at the Hound, who looks like a broken man with nothing to live for, and heads out without killing Cersei. As The Hound says (and kinda, sorta how Maggy the Frog predicted), Cersei dies along with her brother Jaime by way of Daenerys’ dragon torching the building, causing it to collapse.
However, The Hound heads for his brother for the long awaited Cleganebowl. The Hound fights his zombified brother, but finds that he is nearly invincible, surviving multiple stab wounds including a whole sword to the stomach. The Hound has no choice but to take the Mountain with him as he jumps off the crumbling edge of the Red Keep, killing them both.
Arya didn’t get to kill the last two names on her list, but it is probably for the best. Having killed most of the people that had betrayed her father, mother, and her friends, she’s racked up a lot of bodies.
She may be a trained assassin, but living for the sake of killing people who have betrayed you is no way of living. And as The Hound may have already predicted, adding on Cersei would have just added another ghost to haunt Arya.
The Hound saved Arya from turning into something that she is not, and Arya will surely be thankful for all the ways that he has helped her.
Don’t forget to watch the last episode of Game of Thrones on Sunday at 9 P.M. ET on HBO.