You heard it from me first!

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No, literally, I seem to be the only person in my GoT fans circle who’s responding to this article in TV Guide Magazine. I wrote up edited highlights for Fansided today, and so far I haven’t seen anyone else acknowledge that this coverage is out there. I guess TV Guide has become that irrelevant? Maybe? But this here, folks? This is worth our attention. Here’s a taste:

Arya Stark: It seems the little assassin’s arc won’t be all blind begging and stick-fighting; we’ll see Arya smile again, though not in the House of Black and White. “Cast out to the streets, she befriends a traveling theater troupe, and the experience makes her question becoming an assassin.” Arya may not be able to commit to becoming No One, says actress Maisie Williams. “She’s too curious about the world.” It’s the traveling theater troupe that brings out her smile. Williams promises: “You will see the Arya everyone fell in love with in Season 1.”

Zoom into this screencap to get the Arya bit in context:

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ARYA MAKES A CHOICE: Bran’s older sister Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), now blind, is upping her game too. In a nearby soundstage, Williams is shooting a fight sequence. She hits the ground with a thud. Then she gets up and does it again. And again—all while wearing painful cloudy-white contact lenses to make her appear blind. Her character is just as resilient. “Arya is on a deciding mission,” Williams says. “It’s her final straw.” Cast out to the streets, she befriends a traveling theater troupe, and the experience makes her question becoming an assassin. “She hasn’t hung out with people in so long,” Williams says. “She’s been caught up on becoming [anonymous], but I don’t think she can ever fully commit to it. She’s too curious about the world.” Arya’s new companions bring out her joyful side, at least temporarily. “So many episodes went by when we didn’t see her smile,” Williams says. “But you’ll see the Arya everyone fell in love with in Season 1.”

The part about Sansa makes me scratch my head a little bit? Not that I’m accusing Sophie Turner of lying, just that I’m not convinced “revenge” tracks with everything else she’s told us about her character’s arc in Season 6. It’s a “choice of words” issue rather than a “what’s happening” issue. Eliminating the enemy is a separate issue from revenge. Getting her family back to power is a separate issue from revenge. The show tends not to reward characters for seeking revenge. I suspect Sophie may be telling us what sounds the most exciting at the moment, rather than what best describes what her character is up to. As I remarked at Fansided, if she focuses on leadership first, and revenge later, she may be okay. It’s one thing to say “kill them all” because they do horrible things and the realm is better off with them dead. It’s another thing to say “make them suffer for what they did to us.” The latter is what got Oberyn Martell killed.

Seriously, though, FOLLOW THE LINK and read the edited highlights. I really don’t understand why this isn’t getting more attention. I heard about the issue because Nikolaj Tweeted the cover earlier this week. It’s not insider knowledge.

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