Matching 50 Game of Thrones characters with each of the 50 states

West Virginia: Arya Stark

Arya Stark is among the characters on Game of Thrones who have grown the most. In season 1, you could tell that she was going to grow up to be a spitfire, what with her penchant for getting into fights and bucking all things traditionally lady-like. But it would have been hard to imagine how far she would go.

After being seperated from her sister and father in King’s Landing, Arya is plunged into a whole new life. She spends time in a prison camp, with the Brotherhood Without Banners, hiking the countryside with the Hound, and eventually training to become an assassin. While she is ultimately reunited with what remains of her family at Winterfell, she is not really the same girl she was when she left. She has her own identity independent of the Stark family name.

Arya’s story makes me think of the Mountain State. Once a part of Virginia, the state broke away during the Civil War, becoming the only state in the Union to leave a Confederate State rather than fight with the South. But there will always be a part of Virginia in West Virginia, and no matter how Arya changes, she will always be a Stark at heart.

This state is a little on the rough and tumble side, with plenty of mountains and natural features perfect for any budding outdoorsman. This suits Arya’s tomboy spirit well.