The production may be going to great lengths to keep spoilers from leaking out of Girona, but the combination of resourceful fans and outdoor settings is proving too much. Just one day after images of Maisie Williams suspended in midair surfaced, we now have images of a scene we heard about the other day: Arya Stark clashing with her House of Black and White nemesis, the woman known only as “The Waif.”
Posted on Les Rades Grises, these spoilery photos don’t show the fight itself—as blogger Raul Maigi notes, when it came time to do the fight choreography, the area went into overdrive lock down. (Much like the other areas of Spain last year, the streets here are narrow enough, and the outdoor areas small enough that, when necessary, the show can block everyone from seeing what’s happening. It’s one of the benefits of moving here from Dubrovnik, where the same level of lock down cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.) Clearly, the details of Arya’s showdown with the waif are to remain as secret as possible. Considering the Tarantino-ian level of violence Arya’s murder of Trant contained, perhaps this is for the best.
But before the production blocked everyone out, Maigi managed to get some shots, including of Arya’s new costume.
Those look to be the same pants Maisie Williams was wearing in yesterday’s photos, but now supplemented with a oversized grey shirt.
A blurrier forward shot.
And here’s Faye Marsay, aka the waif, with a bloody knife. I know she’s an assassin with years of training under her belt, far more than Arya has. But if she’d actually seen what Arya did to Trant, she’d think twice about this.
Of course, the question is, is the waif acting on her own? Is this part of Arya’s ongoing training? Or did the House of Black and White decide that Arya should be removed? (I’m thinking if it was the latter, Arya would never see it coming, instead of a hand to hand combat situation. But this is speculation on my part.)
There’s more pictures at the link, including Maigi’s observation of how it looked like the showdown ended. (Let’s just say the answer might be “not well for the waif.”)
ETA: But that’s not all. This scene and yesterday’s aerial stunt scene are linked. In the following videos from Panarmenian, we have proof that Arya’s leaps are part of a chase scene that leads to this confrontation. (Please be advised, all these videos are set to music, and it starts LOUD, so turn down your sound if you don’t want to jump five feet like I did the first time I watched them.)
Here’s Arya in full costume on the steps. I think this is post jump, since she’s got the shirt on.
Here’s Marsays rehearsing chasing Arya. (That run is kinda Terminator-esque with the arms, isn’t it?)
This farther out shot is the actual take of the chase.
Are you looking forward to this showdown as much as I am?
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