This ingenious Game of Thrones theory suggests Arya and the Waif could be the same person
Contains spoilers for both this week’s episode and, er, Fight Club
Game of Thrones season six episode seven ended with things looking bad for Arya (Maisie Williams), her attempt to flee Braavos and the Faceless Men foiled after being stabbed in the gut by Faye Marsay’s Waif and falling in the river.
Frankly, we’re not sure how she can get out of this mess – that wound looked pretty serious – but one Reddit fan has a theory about Arya and her attacker that could mean nothing we saw this week was exactly as it seemed.
Basically, think Fight Club – because the Waif could be Arya’s Tyler Durden.
While it is a bit crazy, the more we think about this theory the more it makes sense. Remember that scene at the end of season five when Jaqen apparently killed himself, only for his face to be removed proving he really was No One?
That certainly laid the groundwork for the idea that what we see in the House of the Undying isn’t exactly the truth, especially when it comes to the Waif (who turned into Jaqen in the same scene).
So perhaps this week saw Arya try to kill the part of herself that wanted to go home, be a Stark and have something resembling a normal life – a metaphorical death foreshadowed by the aforementioned “death of Jaqen” scene, where the final face under all his masks was Arya’s own body, poisoned for her disobedience.
So perhaps next week’s episode, tellingly called “No-One”, will see the Waif remove her mask only to prove that she was Arya all along – or rather, that she used to be.
Game of Thrones continues next Monday at 2am and 9:00pm on Sky Atlantic