Warning: Contains Spoilers
At the very beginning of Game of Thrones, she was an 11-year-old tomboy who balked at the idea of marrying a prince and becoming a ‘lady’.
In the years since, Arya Stark has gone from being cute and feisty to one of the most formidable assassins in all of Westeros.
Her story arc has been notably free of slushy stuff, even by Game of Thrones standards, until now…
And so fans were a little surprised by Arya’s sex scene in season eight, episode two, with many having never even considered that Arya was that interested in having sex in the first place.
Of course, fans have been shipping Gendry and Arya for some time and the flirtation between the pair in episode one of season eight was enough to set Gendry’s furnace ablaze.
However, some fans were genuinely shocked to see the once scrappy little girl acting so very grown up, despite the fact that we have already seen her feed somebody a pie made from their own family members.
Taking to Twitter, one person gasped:
Anyone else feel weird watching that #AryaStark #Gendry scene ……
Another shuddered:
Arya……… what did I just watch……. I felt like I just watched my daughter lose her innocence IM NOT OK WHY
The scene even saw a steep spike in the number of people googling the age of both the actor Maisie Williams and the age Arya is supposed to be, still perceiving the character as a very young girl, Barstool Sports report.
Turns out we can all relax. Maisie is 22 years old and the character of Arya is 18 years old. Old enough to go out to the coolest clubs and pubs in King’s Landing should she so wish.
However, others were way more cool with Arya getting some, with many arguing that this is perhaps the most normal sex scene we have encountered on the show so far.
No incest, no bawdy brothels, just two compatible people jumping into bed together before the world potentially implodes around them.
One person tweeted:
I felt this scene had the right balance between
1) mild awkwardness (everyone’s first time is always a little awkward)
2) the feeling of being able to connect with someone physically – it’s a powerful growth for EVERY YOUNG WOMAN
Another cheered:
A GIRL CAN MAKE THE FIRST MOVE
Get it baby Arya.
Damn right. Arya’s now an adult who knows her own mind and has proven her independence perhaps more than any other woman on the show.
And, unlike many of the other female characters, she has freely chosen a partner who respects her and who she evidently fancies the pants off.
You can be a badass, formidable woman and still have romantic or sexual feelings towards others, as Brienne of Tarth has shown.
After all the gory, disturbing things she has been through, Arya deserves a little spontaneous romance with a decent guy like Gendry. If Arya is happy – at least until the dead arrive – then all power to her!
You can now – finally – watch the new season of Game of Thrones on HBO or Sky Atlantic.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.