Don't Cry for Me, Sexy Jesus

The difference here is that this one's on her and it's a friend that is dead because of her (as it turns out, it wasn't Jaqen, but it adds to the initial shock). Now you could say that it was the same with Mycah - but she didn't kill him, she felt responsible but really wasn't. On the contrary, the death in the last episode was a direct consequence of her actions.

Killing some people she didn't like or even hated can't be compared to that. She could justify everyone she's killed so far.

The people she's killed is only half my point, and I only brought it up to illustrate that by this point Arya is fairly jaded about death. This is someone who never had a chance to properly grieve the father she saw beheaded, and who saw 3/4 of the people she left King's Landing with slaughtered. Her losing it in that way for Jaqen felt completely forced, as did her saying "He was my friend!" It's like when a script needs to come out and tell you two people like each other. Did they seem like friends to you? Guess I'm the only person who cringed hard at this scene.

Well, IIRC we haven't heard yet how she can regain her eyesight in the show, so the jury's still out on this scene. Could be they do it the exact same way as in the books, so I wouldn't jump to conclusions.

Again, my issue isn't with how she gets it back. My issues are:

  1. In the book we don't get to see how she first reacts to losing her vision, but there isn't anything to suggest it's out of character, which up to that point has suffered some of the worst shit life can throw at a kid. When we do see her she's calmly and coolly living her life as usual, just without sight. This is the opposite reaction from the show, which struck my as strangely out of place. Maybe it's just me.

  2. Book Arya chooses to drink the potion every night, and is not only told that with a word she can have her sight back but is encouraged to do so. Every day she chooses to be a blind faceless apprentice instead of a sighted homeless girl. Contrast this to the forcing open of her mouth in the show, which made the whole scene feel like she has no choice about any of it. Again, I'll totally accept I'm the only one this bugs.

/r/freefolk Thread Parent