Maisie Williams on Jon Snow’s Survival: “There’s no hope.”
By Ani Bundel
It’s become something of our Schrödinger’s Crow for the off-season. Until the first episode of next Season 6 airs and we get our answer as to the fate of Jon Snow, he is both dead and not dead, as far as the audience is concerned. Emilia Clarke is grieving and going in and out of denial as to his fate. Kit Harington claims he’s done with the show, and yet will not cut his contractually obligated hair. (It could just be needed for filming his funeral scene, people!)
But some, like Maisie Williams, are dead certain as to what we will find inside that box once we open it next April. She’s said that the rest of the cast (the ones who survived the finale, anyway) has grieved over losing Kit. But it’s time to move on.
“People are really hurt by it, but that’s what this show does. If you haven’t learned that by now, well, I can’t help you.”
“We saw him get stabbed a lot in the chest, I think that’s pretty clear…. Well if it makes you feel better… ‘Yes there’s hope!’…” (Major eyeroll.) “No, there’s no hope.”
Elsewhere, Williams discussed her hopes and dreams for the character next season, even as she insists she hasn’t seen a script yet. “I hope she’s still a total badass even though she’s blind.” I don’t think anyone would disagree with her there. Arya’s resiliency and ability to cope with everything that’s been thrown her way over the course of the show is why we love her. Why should being blind be any different?
While she waits to learn her fate, Williams has been working on her other major campaign, which is boosting self confidence for teen girls. She’s part of the movement to make the phrase “like a girl” into a positive thing. Talking to SkyNews, she pointed out that when it comes to a phrase “throw like a girl” there are plenty of female Olympic athletes who prove that phrase is a positive thing. She wants to reform the language so that the next generation of girls hear it and think “that means you’re a damn good thrower.”
She also talks about how being cast as Arya at such a young age meant that she hadn’t yet experienced the limitations that society puts on women when she first joined the Game of Thrones cast. “It wasn’t until I got older that I understood playing someone who smashes gender stereotypes like this is such a big deal.”
It’s a fair point. And let’s be honest, if Arya Stark proves anything, it’s that the phrase “Kill Like A Girl” means some of the most psychotic murder we’ve seen in five seasons on the show.