In the promotional whirlwind for the Game of Thrones Season 5 DVD launch, Maisie Williams is once again out in the spotlight, giving interviews to the press, talking about how great last season was, and working on hyping Season 6. This morning, there were no less than three outlets with brand new interviews from her, most of which focus on her continuing work as Arya Stark, and her upcoming adventures with the Faceless Men.
In The Express, Williams discusses how she used to feel like her lack of formal training before being cast was a detriment. Williams had never acted in any professional capacity when she was cast as Arya for the pilot. “I always felt like I was missing out on something and everyone knew something that I didn’t know because I had never trained and had never sat in classes.”
I’ve slowly realised that I’ve learnt all of the same lessons but on a film set and although that’s now documented forever – I can see all of my mistakes – it is a different way of doing it and it’s a different route of getting into this industry.
It certainly has gotten her into the industry. Just last year, she joined the elite “multi-franchise” club with a recurring role in Doctor Who. Though it turns out those fans who were hoping for her return in Series 10 will be disappointed. According to Ireland’s TV3, she says she won’t be returning to the role anytime soon. ‘‘I’m not going to be working on ‘Doctor Who’ again. Everyone’s hyping about it, which is very exciting, but I guess that’s more of a publicity thing. But no, I’m not going to return, I have a lot of other really exciting projects lined up instead.”
Exciting projects like Game of Thrones. Alhough Seasons 7 and 8 are not actually confirmed, members of the production are openly talking about going back to start pre-produiction in a few week’s time. And though, as we always remind ourselves, no one is safe, most believe that Arya will survive this year of training with the Faceless Men. Her character maybe be blind, and our first images of her this season show her as a beggar on the street, but spoilers suggest that may be temporary.
According to Digital Spy, Williams’ experience with Season 6 was very different than her previous years with the show, but that’s sort of how it’s been, all along.
Every season with Arya adds a different layer, I feel. With season five and going into season six, it’s kind of like they’re stripping those away. Although she turns a lot darker, a lot of it is actually what’s underneath, and they’re stripping away the emotion now. It was so interesting reading season five and thinking ‘this is not the girl I’ve auditioned for, at all’.
So what’s in store for Arya this year, other than blindly begging in the streets? According to Williams, it’s going to be very dark.
Going into season six, she gets broken down totally. We see her at the lowest point we’ve ever seen her. This time it’s nothing to do with a family member being killed, it’s something purely about herself. I love that side of it, and I think this new series, we definitely see a new crack in her. There’s a moment where you question whether she’s going to get back up or keep fighting.
For many of the show’s characters, their lowest point came last season. Cersei, for instance, was forced to do the walk of shame. Sansa was married off to Ramsay Bolton. Margaery was arrested by the High Sparrow. And Jon Snow discovered the real enemy, but was then killed off before he could do anything about it. This season, it looks like those lowest moments are coming not just for Arya, but also for Dany, who is now captive of Dothraki. But like Cersei and Sansa (and others…), I expect to see them all rise again.
In more Maisie news, Williams revealed at a press conference that Arya may be in fewer episodes in Season 6 than in previous years, saying that many scenes were “split up” but that her story still “totally flows.” Cryptic, but there it is. She also had some very interesting things to say about the show’s structure now that the books are no longer around to guide it.
"And that’s the exciting thing about this series. Although we’re off-book, it means that they [the creators] can write the series as a well-rounded series without having to stick to certain plot points that are already laid out. So that everyone can have a nice arc and we can all have a pinnacle moment at the same sort of time, like you get one epic episode, and it works a lot more in their favor because they can shape the series as they want."
Frankly, the notion of the producers not “having to stick to certain plot points” makes me a bit nervous, since I thought that forced them to remain disciplined. We’ll see how it pays off come April 24.
h/t HNGN