# Game of Thrones 6.08 "No One" 6/12/16 \[Show Discussion\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 12, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226 "2016-06-12T23:36:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![up\_the\_junction](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f1d935/32.png) [@up\_the\_junction](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/up_the_junction)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/241 "2016-06-14T14:51:40Z")
someone please talk to me about the touring troop - what was the freaking point? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/242 "2016-06-14T14:51:57Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > …I also adore Brienne. When [she and the Hound] fought I was all manner of excited and afraid. I loved seeing them fight but didn’t want either of them to lose. She is a completely different kind of character, almost a paladin. Also very noble and true to herself. Agreed. She and Davos are two of the most honorable characters in the entire series, although not always serving honorable causes. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/243 "2016-06-14T14:58:17Z")
If we can talk about something other than the survivability of abdominal wounds for a minute…notice that Brienne failed _yet again_ on a quest? Other than sword fighting, she’s not very good at her job. 🙂 I’m really glad The Hound is back. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/244 "2016-06-14T15:55:43Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Why should I bother? You will just say it isn’t the same, and we’ll go back and forth for a couple pages, arguing over subjective opinions with no resolution. I said what I feel, and I stand by it. You, of course, are entitled to a different point of view. I agree with **SenorBeef**. There have been big arguments in GoT threads before (potatoes, whether Targaryens are part dragon), and even entire subplots that everyone hated (the sand snakes), but I don’t believe there’s ever been a plot development involving one of the main characters that was as controversial and generally hated and scorned as this Arya storyline. And condescendingly clucking “it’s not Shakespeare” doesn’t help. It’s a show that we all love, or we wouldn’t be here, so it pains us when it dips in quality, and we are left hoping that it’s only temporary. ---
**Author:** ![oft\_wears\_hats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7993a0/32.png) [@oft\_wears\_hats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oft_wears_hats)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/245 "2016-06-14T16:12:43Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > someone please talk to me about the touring troop - what was the freaking point? Jaqen specifically picked that assignment for Arya because it was a meatier test of her “no one”-hood. The play was a harsh reminder of Arya’s identity as a Stark. She learned about Sansa’s forced marriage to Tyrion, was reminded of Ned’s execution, and saw how Ned was being portrayed as a treasonous buffoon. It gave her many reasons to abandon her training and resume her life as Arya Stark. Plus, it was a fun little aside to see the play. I expect the production team had fun with it, and it was fun to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/246 "2016-06-14T16:24:17Z")
So, I just remembered the secret conversation between Varys and an unknown party way back in series one—the one overheard by Arya, when she was chasing cats and finding dragon skulls instead. Did we ever learn who the unknown guy was? If not, could it have been Euron, whom Varys is also now out to meet? ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/247 "2016-06-14T16:28:32Z")
It was Illyrio, which was the businessman in Pentos that Varys took Tyrion to when they escaped King’s Landing. They stayed at his mansion - I don’t think he made an appearance at that point. Also the guy who supported Viserys and helped to broker Danerys to Khal Drogo. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/248 "2016-06-14T16:33:53Z")
Thanks! I really need to make some sort of spread sheet to keep track of all the characters and their interactions… ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/249 "2016-06-14T16:38:23Z")
> [@Jack\_Burden](#): > > So clearly they will send her to Dorne to tie up the WTF wasted storylines, then sit back and watch the internets explode. Yeah, she’ll join the Sand Snakes Grrrl-Power Team (who incidentally are the only one who have proved themselves even more incompetent at carrying out an assassination than the Waif). ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/250 "2016-06-14T16:40:18Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > So, I just remembered the secret conversation between Varys and an unknown party way back in series one—the one overheard by Arya, when she was chasing cats and finding dragon skulls instead. > > Did we ever learn who the unknown guy was? If not, could it have been Euron, whom Varys is also now out to meet? Why do you think Varys is meeting Euron? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/251 "2016-06-14T16:49:56Z")
> [@Mr.Kobayashi](#): > > On the Arya thing, I really don’t know why they showed her being stabbed in the gut twice and then taking a refreshing dip in canal shit water knowing that in the next episode she’d be parkouring around and fighting with no problem. Just have her get slashed or something, you can still have her being patched up by Lady Crane and then have her leave blood trails to where Needle is. > > Think the only reason they did was for cheap drama and to get the tinfoil hat brigade going for a week (personally I was convinced it was Jaqen wearing Arya’s face to test the Waif because I figured there was no way Arya would casually jaunt around knowing she’s made an enemy of an assassin’s guild, but so much for that), I think any other character that was shanked like that (except maybe Dany, Jon and Ramsay) would’ve been deader than disco. Right. As far as people saying that the Waif stabbed Arya in the gut in order to inflict suffering, fine. But her main mission was to kill Arya, and she would potentially be killed herself if she didn’t carry it out successfully. She could have inflicted suffering by giving her a wound that she definitely knew would be fatal. She didn’t do so. She was a fuck-up. Neither Arya nor the Waif looked like they had much training as assassins or in self-defense in that interaction. Both were acting out of the character they had previously established, for no reason than to make the attack more dramatic. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/252 "2016-06-14T17:03:40Z")
If GRRM were still writing: the waif killed Arya in the dark, gave both herself and Arya a face-ectomy, and the person talking to Jaqen in the final scene is the waif wearing Arya’s face. This has the GRRM-like quality of killing a beloved character who behaved foolishly and did not have the skills or resources to continue living - Arya _should_ die. And the entire faceless man shifting-identity plotline is no longer a complete waste of time. A girl (looking like Arya) returns to Westeros to murder-genie everyone that Arya hated and restore the cosmic death balance (for some reason). Since the same actress continues to play FM-Arya, everything looks just the same, so the Arya story does not die. We get a reveal much later that FM-Arya is really the waif. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/253 "2016-06-14T17:05:56Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Why do you think Varys is meeting Euron? because hes on a mission to get ships. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/254 "2016-06-14T17:10:32Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Why do you think Varys is meeting Euron? More likely he’s meeting Yara and Theon, since they are already in Volantis. He could be meeting with Illyrio for some reason, but going to Pentos would require him to bypass a large fleet of ships that is coming to ally themselves with Danaerys. This brings up an interesting point. If Volantis was preparing a huge fleet to invade Mereen, they would surely inquire why a large number of Iron Islands ships were heading east, and prevent them from leaving. ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/255 "2016-06-14T17:17:20Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > Why do you think Varys is meeting Euron? Pretty much nothing but baseless idle speculation—I’m still wondering what reason Euron could have to want to supply Daenarys with ships. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/256 "2016-06-14T17:19:21Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > someone please talk to me about the touring [troupe] - what was the freaking point? > [@oft\_wears\_hats](#): > > Jaqen specifically picked that assignment for Arya because it was a meatier test of her “no one”-hood. The play was a harsh reminder of Arya’s identity as a Stark. She learned about Sansa’s forced marriage to Tyrion, was reminded of Ned’s execution, and saw how Ned was being portrayed as a treasonous buffoon. It gave her many reasons to abandon her training and resume her life as Arya Stark. > > Plus, it was a fun little aside to see the play. I expect the production team had fun with it, and it was fun to watch. Well said. > [@Colibri](#): > > Yeah, she’ll join the Sand Snakes Grrrl-Power Team (who incidentally are the only one who have proved themselves even more incompetent at carrying out an assassination than the Waif). Ask Trystane Martell just how incompetent they are. > [@Riemann](#): > > If GRRM were still writing: the waif killed Arya in the dark, gave both herself and Arya a face-ectomy, and the person talking to Jaqen in the final scene is the waif wearing Arya’s face. > > This has the GRRM-like quality of killing a beloved character who behaved foolishly and did not have the skills or resources to continue living - Arya _should_ die. And the entire faceless man shifting-identity plotline is no longer a complete waste of time. A girl (looking like Arya) returns to Westeros to murder-genie everyone that Arya hated and restore the cosmic death balance (for some reason). > > Since the same actress continues to play FM-Arya, everything looks just the same, so the Arya story does not die. We get a reveal much later that FM-Arya is really the waif. I like it. I like it a _lot!_ ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/257 "2016-06-14T17:19:37Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Pretty much nothing but baseless idle speculation—I’m still wondering what reason Euron could have to want to supply Daenarys with ships. He said he’s going to partner with her to conquer Westeros. Probably while giving her his yuuuuuge cock. He’s going to make Westeros great again. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/258 "2016-06-14T17:25:51Z")
> [@up\_the\_junction](#): > > I have been bored shitless by the many faced bullshit for a season or more now. What is the fucking point except to loop her in a holding pattern for a year. Two years, or two seasons. She sailed to Braavos in the final episode of season 4, so two episodes short of two years right now. And sure not a lot to show for it. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/259 "2016-06-14T17:27:06Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > Why was she imitating Jaqen? She was walking around like she owned the place. Which is what you do when you want to go places unmolested. > > I’d say that it’s not hand-waiving if the “inconsistencies and stupidities” are based on an erroneous conclusion drawn by those complaining. I don’t think anyone, even SenorBeef, is saying at this point that this whole thing was part of Arya’s master plan. It very clearly was not. The point of his post was to say that if you actually believed it to be purposeful, here are the ridiculous steps that Arya needed to have taken in order to carry it out. The alternative, which you are arguing (and for the record I also believe) is that Arya got very very lucky to have not died multiple times in her attempts to evade and/or kill the waif. The problem with this whole thing has very little to do with Arya at this point. It has to do with the writing. 1. Most people believe that Arya as a character would NOT have acted the way she did leading up to her getting surprised and shanked by the waif. 2. By having Arya get surprised, barely escape multiple times, and then have no plan other than to run and hope she gets to Needle before she completely bleeds out and dies, the writers completely negated (right now) everything Arya learned. Yes, I’m sure her Faceless Man training will serve her well in the future. That’s the future. But we’ve spent 2 years with her in training and the culmination of that isn’t a conclusion based upon skill but rather dumb fucking luck. As a viewer, that’s not satisfying. 3. Beyond just dumb luck, the writers purposely placed Arya in a position where NO ONE should have survived. A gut wound, infected with feces, massive internal bleeding…and then she falls down about 1700 stairs when she’s not fully healed? No one survives any of that. It’s not realistic. It makes no sense. It was a dumb, dumb choice all for the sake of “shock value” at the end of last week’s episode. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2016, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226/260 "2016-06-14T17:32:49Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > This brings up an interesting point. If Volantis was preparing a huge fleet to invade Mereen, they would surely inquire why a large number of Iron Islands ships were heading east, and prevent them from leaving. Volantis isn’t one of the cities that’s fighting Mereen. It’s west of Slaver’s Bay. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/game-of-thrones-6-08-no-one-6-12-16-show-discussion/757226.md?page=14)