Yeah I read it as a visual back-to-Arya cue, too. The way she looked and was moving about evoked, in me anyway, the calm, knowing demeanor of Syrio Forel.
That’s more or less the reason I think everything was not as it seemed with the Arya/Waif scene—there’s been too many hints that still need to pan out: Arya’s preparation with Needle in the dark, and the sword’s conspicuous absence in the assassination scene; her explicitly shown familiarity with the face the Waif used; all her training re fighting while blind, etc.; the possibility of wearing multiple faces, even of living persons; the inexplicable bags of money; her grossly out-of-character strutting around in the wide open while she knows that there’s a society of killers out after her. If all of these really come to nothing, that would be way worse writing than we’ve generally seen on this show. But I haven’t really a clue a to what it is that really happened. Anyway, we ought to find out eventually.
Although I won’t let that stop me from throwing out my own crazy theory: it indeed wasn’t Arya who was stabbed, but one of the acting troupe, maybe the young woman who wanted to (apparently) have the older actress killed, whom Arya manipulated/bribed/threatened into brokering the deal with the Westerosi sailor, and whom she outfitted (using some faceless men magic) with her own face (although of course we haven’t seen that to be possible, and indeed, wearing a face while not being noone seems to have adverse effects—but of course, the well-being of the actress probably wasn’t really one of Arya’s concerns). So the reveal will be ‘Arya’ collapsing at somebody’s feet, breathing her last, and then the camera pans up to show the real Arya looking down at the corpse, and taking the face of her.
But my track record of predictions on this show is abysmal, so what do I know. Although when they introduced the commune of faithful building the chapel in this episode, I immediately thought, well, that’s just way too fucking wholesome for anyone of them to live, so at least I got that one right.
There was a potato controversy?
Oh, yes…
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=721412&highlight=Game+thrones+4.03&page=7
Real fun begins about post 323 with the beginnings of a philosophical discussion as to whether potatoes are mythical or not.
OB
I agree that the scene we saw was as it seemed is the most likely explanation. However, if I had to come up with a fake-out theory, I was going to post almost exactly this:
- Arya’s face has been used before, so it’s technically usable.
- Non-faceless men (specifically Arya) have been shown using faces before.
It’s not a huge leap to think Arya may have shown the actress she saved how to do it, and then sent her to book passage on a ship for her as “proof of concept.” And told her to meet her on the bridge when she was done. Sure it will strike the actress blind, but Arya’s desperate.
On a semi-related note, I don’t necessarily think there was fake blood involved, but you guys saying fake blood is hard to get are thinking too modern. Specifically regarding the “fake” part. Stroll into any butcher shop and buy as much real blood as you like, probably dirt cheap.
Well it’s been like a thousand years since the last wight had been seen. Even Ned Stark reassured Bran that they’re long gone. It’d be like somebody up and telling you their next door neighbour is a witch, or a worshipper of Baphomet, or has vampire melons* in their garden.
Far as the people of Westeros are concerned, the Wall is a relic of a time when their world was full on heroic-fantasy ; but it’s been a long time since the DM has been on a boring realism kick.
(* they suck back. RIP, PTerry)
But real blood clots?? And pretty damn fast, about six minutes unless treated with something like heparin according to some Googling. So Arya has to find a butcher, fill some pig bladders(?) with it, hide them under her clothes, get to the tavern where the ship owners are hanging out, go through those ‘negotiations’, walk over to the bridge, and get stabbed … all before the blood turns into chunks of clots in some watery ooze?
How in the world could she maneuver the Waif to be waiting to kill her at precisely that place and that quickly? And how would she know that the Waif would go for belly stabbing vs throat cutting or any other method?
It just doesn’t pass the smell test.
I’m sure animal blood is pretty easy to get, but I don’t know how someone in Game of Thrones times could get a blood packet. The packet would need to be concealed under clothes, and only burst when hit by a weapon, and not burst or leak out until needed, either for a play or for faking a death. They don’t have plastic bags, and I’m sure you could make some sort of bag from animal skins but I think it would either be too thin and burst too early, or too thick and maybe not burst at the right time. And you couldn’t exactly make a Ziploc seal so the bag isn’t just leaking on you as you walk around.
Has it been established that she knows the faceless men are trying to kill her? I thought she thought her failure to kill the actress meant not being accepted into the faceless men and after quitting she would just leave and go on with her life.
Jaq’en specifically said something like “a face is going up on the wall one way or the other” with Arya’s last assignment, with the implication that either Arya kills the actress or Arya is going to be killed, and Arya seemed to understand that.
I still really kinda like the switcheroo idea, because it at least seems to fit the weirdness of the stabbed Arya really well. We know the Waif seemed really contemptuous and/or jealous of Arya’s highborn background. We also don’t really know what her role is in the House of Black and White. But the last thing we hear her say to Jaqen, “You promised me,” seems odd: either she’s a terrible Faceless Man (or another failed acolyte) because she has a specific, personal desire to kill a girl, or it was something else that Jaq’en promised. That she could have Arya’s highborn identity and go live her life (maybe incidental to some other FM business in Westeros)? Still seems like a bad desire for “no one” to want to go be “someone.” Maybe that’s why Jaqen or another FM had to kill her.
But if it was the Waif who got to “be” Arya, it would explain the exaggerated “rich person” walk, flaunting money (and where the money came from, especially if she would have FM business where she was going, the FM would probably set her up with whatever money she needed), extreme confidence, and almost a gleeful outlook on what’s to come…and going to stare wistfully at the river and the giant statue, since the Waif has probably been in Braavos a long time. The Waif would also not expect that she herself is being hunted, and may have her guard down.
So that’s not to say that the old lady attacker is actually Arya wearing multiple faces. I guess it could be, but it could also be Jaqen or another Faceless Man; since it seems like the Waif is actually a pretty terrible FM if that’s what she’s supposed to be. She might have the physical ability, but her temperament is very un-Jaqen-like, malicious, and jealous.
It does parallel the actresses a bit: the jealous one wants the other dead, and the Faceless Arya sees the injustice and intercedes. Maybe Arya was the one who passed the test; the Waif, however, has failed and the Faceless Man intercedes to stop the injustice.
Why on Earth would the Waif put Arya’s face on ? How does that help her shank the real Arya in any way ?
Eh. We’ll find out what happened with Arya soon enough.
Arya didn’t like the “Sansa” actress, and basically ratted her out to the troupe. There was a little dialog between Arya and the Lady Crane actress about “masks we wear”, I think. So maybe Arya went back to the “Sansa”, apologized for ratting her out, told her to wear this mask and get on the next boat out of town, and here’s some bucks for the trip.
Arya knows the FM will be gunning for her, so the actress she doesn’t like will get whacked, the actress she does like survives, a face gets put on the wall, and the real Arya is hiding in her dark place with Needle, where the Waif will find her after the botched hit comes to light.
Please, we still have 4 more days of wild speculation.
Also, am I the only one that thinks that if was someone other than the young actress that set up the hit? I’m guess it was Richard Grant’s character, if only because of the Law&Order rule (it’s always the special guest).
How do we account for the fact that Arya is half the body size of all these people? Do they just morph when putting on “the face”?
This faceless ridiculousness can’t end soon enough.
Interesting idea, but that would mean that anyone could wear a face from the stock of the Faceless Men. And I doubt that’s the case. Plus wouldn’t the actress have ripped off the mask after being stabbed, or after emerging from the water?
A Man only speculates for he is bored. And I won’t be able to watch it until next Wednesday, so I won’t even know how this plays out until then.
New Theory:
We never find out. Arya suffers from Chuck Cunningham Syndrome
Has there ever been a character on this show who was mortally wounded in one episode and died in the next episode? Pretty much everyone where there was a question if they were going to die or not ended up alive.
They only person who I can think of who had a drawn out death was Robert, and that was still was over the course of one episode.