Arya Stark is back. After a season full of near death experiences and losses, Arya is back where she belongs: serving up sweet, sadistic revenge to all of the names on her coveted list. And now, she's doing it in style. With the help of No One, Arya now has mystical shape-shifting powers that make her all the more lethal to her foes. Obviously, Arya hasn't always been like this. Her difficult journey from the spunky tomboy daughter of Ned Stark to skilled assassin has made her all the wiser and makes it clear that she is the unsung hero of this twisted, magnificent series.
Way back in season two, while Sansa was playing mind games with the Lannisters and Bran and Rickon were still toddling around Winterfell, Arya found herself in the hands of criminals being sent to the Wall. Mind you, this girl isn't older than 10, yet wields her sword menacingly enough to hold her own with her sinister peers. As the series progresses, Arya gets no slack as she is imprisoned in Harrenhal and then kidnapped by Sandor Clegane. Although the two eventually form a sort of dysfunctional friendship, Arya is forced to be separated from her family and is constantly in danger on the Kingsroad with Clegane.
All of these hardships, however, pale in comparison to what Arya goes through during her time in Braavos. On her quest to become "No One," Arya is forced to give up her belongings and cast aside her moral compass in favor of becoming a trained assassin. Under the tutelage of Jaqen H'ghar and The Waif, she is beaten up repeatedly and even blinded during her training. Let's not forget when The Waif repeatedly tried to murder Arya for being unable to kill her only friend in Braavos. Seconds from death on multiple occasions, Arya managed to barely escape her seemingly inevitable fate and return to Westeros fully equipped with a new set of skills.
Throughout all of these trials, Arya never once seemed resigned to her fate. There was never a moment where Arya asked to be taken back to her family or tried to run away from whatever was causing her trouble. Instead, she focused on what she wanted and how to get it. She trained relentlessly to be a nimble fighter and constantly plotted revenge on those who had wronged her and her family. Could you ever see Tommen or Joffrey surviving even half of Arya's journey? It's important to acknowledge that, for the most part, little Arya did all of this on her own. She did what she had to do to accomplish her goals with very little support from other people. As a little kid raised in a comfortable life prior to the events of the series, she had no way to prepare for what she was inevitably going to face. Yet she did so, and better yet, did so with grace and the honor that runs in her Stark blood. I have a feeling that her revenge on Waldor Frey in the finale is just the tip of the iceberg of the good things that are still to come for Arya. Let's just say that they have been a long time coming.
