HBO looks back at Arya Stark’s Game of Thrones journey

HBO is going hard on marketing for the final season of Game of Thrones, and while we’ve yet to see a proper trailer for the new season, we have a photo of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen sporting their finest winter wear

a brief clip of Jon and Sansa reuniting at Winterfell…

…and a clip show highlighting some of the most significant moments in the journeys of various characters…

…and some character posters, together with this season hashtag:

HBO is also putting up character retrospectives on its Making Game of Thrones blog, starting with Tyrion Lannister. Now its turned its eye north, towards one Arya Stark. Let HBO tell the strange tale of the tomboy who became a badass assassin.

The look back starts with Jon giving Arya her sword, Needle. If I’m being honest, I was hoping they’d use “stick him with the pointy end” as the quote. Then we hit Arya’s water dancing lessons with Syrio Forel, her father Lord Eddard’s death, and Jaqen H’ghar’s gift of the Faceless Man coin, which allows her to sail to Braavos.

When Arya returns home to Westeros, she’s a changed person, so much that her long-lost direwolf Nymeria opts to remain with her new pack rather than return to Winterfell with her old master. It’s a beautifully bittersweet moment, sad but accepting:

Finally, Arya makes it back to Winterfell, where she proves she’s no longer the scrawny girl who needs to be told how to use a sword.

The HBO retrospective is great. In addition to the images and quotes, they have clips and music from key moments in Arya’s journey. Definitely see it for yourself.

Who’s next on the retrospective train? Sansa? Bran? Cersei? Jon Snow? Maybe a left-fielder like Davos or Brienne? We have a while to go before the final season premieres in April 2019, and there are many characters to recall.

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