Game of Thrones SHOW thread for people who are confused by the book thread

[Benja]

good rough ridin' grief.

 

[Belvis Noland]

i get why she didn't kill him.  I didn't get why she mended his neck (aka) showed compassion a few miles earlier in their journey. 

I think somebody explained that she was just using him?  meaning that she was just keeping him alive, using him as protection on her journey, self gain?  this makes sense to me.  if this is not the case, then the story was not executed properly. 

they were both using each other. they recognized similar things in each other on their journey, but they were still using each other.

i mean, yeah, they were using eachother.  But that's not all they were doing.  That's why their relationship was compelling.  At least in the show (didn't read the books) they appeared to genuinely care for eachother.  or, at least, the Hound appeared to genuinely care about Arya. 

[Mrs. Gooch]

I don't really understand your harping on the point of "specifically" not killing him.  It is a point of fact that she chose not to kill him, no one is arguing that.  What does it mean to "specifically" not kill him? Are you alluding to a specific motivation and, if so, what?

She specifically chose not to kill him, as in she made the distinct choice to not kill him. It wasn't just that she happened to not get the opportunity to kill him or that she couldn't make herself kill him. It was that she made the distinct, explicit, precise decision to leave him alive to suffer.

Ok, so you're saying that it is clear that she chose to let him die more slowly and painfully out of spite?

Yes, She chose to let him suffer. The thing that may have made her make that final decision might have been when he started being condescending toward her. "OK, you know where the heart is. Go on, girl."

[Asteriskhead]

It's not that rough ridin' hard, people. The Hound and Arya were both using each other to accomplish their goal(s). The Hound sought money and reprieve from Stark sympathizers, as he had burned his bridge with the Lannisters. Arya sought safety and revenge. Over the course of their story arch they began to relate to each other on some levels, but neither actually developed the sort of relationship that is being suggested here. Arya still said his name in her prayer every night before going to sleep and Sandor was well aware of this.

Arya chose not to kill The Hound, as she did not want to give him the satisfaction of a quick, painless death. She thought this was the appropriate form of justice. It's not that rough ridin' hard to understand. Arya wanted safety, then revenge. The Hound wanted money and clemency.

[Belvis Noland]

It's not that rough ridin' hard, people. The Hound and Arya were both using each other to accomplish their goal(s). The Hound sought money and reprieve from Stark sympathizers, as he had burned his bridge with the Lannisters. Arya sought safety and revenge. Over the course of their story arch they began to relate to each other on some levels, but neither actually developed the sort of relationship that is being suggested here. Arya still said his name in her prayer every night before going to sleep and Sandor was well aware of this.

Arya chose not to kill The Hound, as she did not want to give him the satisfaction of a quick, painless death. She thought this was the appropriate form of justice. It's not that rough ridin' hard to understand. Arya wanted safety, then revenge. The Hound wanted money and clemency.

You're not wrong.  you can settle down.  I just assumed there was more to their relationship than ^^ given a portion of every episode was devoted to developing their story.  By the end, I believed that they had developed a true care and respect for one another.  This, based off of all of their interactions ove the course of the season.  I guess I was just watching a different show. 

[Benja]

I mean, if you've been paying attention, the whole thing about the GOT world is that, sure there are some relationships built and some political savvy required, but at the end of the day that is outweighed by the brutality of the GOT world and the practicality that it requires.

[Benja]

So, belvis, they could have developed a relationship, but at the end of the day she's still gonna leave him to die.

[Asteriskhead]

Cleaning his neck was a strategic decision to keep him alive and ensure her safety. She decided to end the mutually beneficial relationship after he was too far gone.

[Spracne]

It's not that rough ridin' hard, people. The Hound and Arya were both using each other to accomplish their goal(s). The Hound sought money and reprieve from Stark sympathizers, as he had burned his bridge with the Lannisters. Arya sought safety and revenge. Over the course of their story arch they began to relate to each other on some levels, but neither actually developed the sort of relationship that is being suggested here. Arya still said his name in her prayer every night before going to sleep and Sandor was well aware of this.

Arya chose not to kill The Hound, as she did not want to give him the satisfaction of a quick, painless death. She thought this was the appropriate form of justice. It's not that rough ridin' hard to understand. Arya wanted safety, then revenge. The Hound wanted money and clemency.

You're not wrong.  you can settle down.  I just assumed there was more to their relationship than ^^ given a portion of every episode was devoted to developing their story.  By the end, I believed that they had developed a true care and respect for one another.  This, based off of all of their interactions ove the course of the season.  I guess I was just watching a different show.

I think you have the right of it with respect to the story, but it does appear that in adapting the story to the show, they may have glossed over some aspects in order to make it easier for the viewing audience to understand.  If in fact Arya never omits the Hound from her nightly devotional in the show, then that's a pretty clear signal to me. 

[Mrs. Gooch]

I think they were showing their journey together more to show Arya's character development than to say that their relationship was turning in to some sort of really caring relationship.

[Belvis Noland]

ps, the final scene explained by the actress herself....

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/06/15/maisie-williams-on-arya-stark-the-hound-and-the-game-of-thrones-finale/

How did you play her emotional state as she walked away?

I really don’t think it was spiteful. She doesn’t purposefully leave him there to die. He’s bossed her around for so long, it’s like that final straw of, “Now you take me seriously, and it’s too late.” Her whole life, she’s been desperate to prove to people what she’s capable of. Now the Hound really gets it, and it’s too late. He has almost created a monster and it’s started to backfire on him. That’s a lot for her to deal with as well. She kind of likes him! He really helped her out, and as much as it would be doing him a favor, I don’t think she wants to kill him at all. And possibly walking away is killing him. But in “Game of Thrones,” unless you’ve got a dagger in your heart, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dead.

[puniraptor]

But in “Game of Thrones,” unless you’ve got a dagger in your heart, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dead.

MAISIE COME ON SIS SPOILER ALERT JFC 

[Spracne]

Sounds like the character was pretty conflicted, then.

[Belvis Noland]

Sounds like the character was pretty conflicted, then.

yeah.  and I, the viewer, was confused. 

but, one thing is for sure, the story of Arya and the Hound wasn't as clear cut and obvious as many outted dumbasses on here tried to make it. 

[Mrs. Gooch]

That's not what she said in this interview.

http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2014/6/15/maisie-williams-reveals-aryas-red-flags

She basically said she did purposefully leave him there to die and the thing that cinched it up was him asking for her to kill him.

[Asteriskhead]

That's an actress projecting herself into a character, not an actress understanding the source material.

[Spracne]

That's not what she said in this interview.

http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2014/6/15/maisie-williams-reveals-aryas-red-flags

She basically said she did purposefully leave him there to die and the thing that cinched it up was him asking for her to kill him.

I mean, you might as well have just pasted the relevant answer, rather than  a subjective summary:

HBO: Was there any temptation on Arya's part to put the Hound out of his misery?

Maisie Williams: She almost would have – until he asked. It's like when you have an argument with someone and they go, "I'd like you to apologize." You immediately don't want to because you feel talked down to. They never saw this day coming. If anyone, it would have been Arya on the floor. She's kicking it over in her head and not quite sure what decision she's going to make until he says, "OK, you know where the heart is. Go on, girl." And that's when that sick, twisted girl we saw in Episode 1 of this season comes back again. With every cry and plea from the Hound, it almost gives her more strength to hurt him more, emotionally. He's taught her so much and she uses it against him.

[Benja]

ps, the final scene explained by the actress herself....

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/06/15/maisie-williams-on-arya-stark-the-hound-and-the-game-of-thrones-finale/

How did you play her emotional state as she walked away?

I really don’t think it was spiteful. She doesn’t purposefully leave him there to die. He’s bossed her around for so long, it’s like that final straw of, “Now you take me seriously, and it’s too late.” Her whole life, she’s been desperate to prove to people what she’s capable of. Now the Hound really gets it, and it’s too late. He has almost created a monster and it’s started to backfire on him. That’s a lot for her to deal with as well. She kind of likes him! He really helped her out, and as much as it would be doing him a favor, I don’t think she wants to kill him at all. And possibly walking away is killing him. But in “Game of Thrones,” unless you’ve got a dagger in your heart, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dead.

Really the writers are the only people that can say for sure. But that doesn't even really conflict with what we were saying. I'm not saying she wasn't conflicted, just that at the end of the day she leaves him because that's GOT.

[K-S-U-Wildcats!]

Jeesh, simpletons.

[Mrs. Gooch]

That's not what she said in this interview.

http://www.makinggameofthrones.com/production-diary/2014/6/15/maisie-williams-reveals-aryas-red-flags

She basically said she did purposefully leave him there to die and the thing that cinched it up was him asking for her to kill him.

I mean, you might as well have just pasted the relevant answer, rather than  a subjective summary:

HBO: Was there any temptation on Arya's part to put the Hound out of his misery?

Maisie Williams: She almost would have – until he asked. It's like when you have an argument with someone and they go, "I'd like you to apologize." You immediately don't want to because you feel talked down to. They never saw this day coming. If anyone, it would have been Arya on the floor. She's kicking it over in her head and not quite sure what decision she's going to make until he says, "OK, you know where the heart is. Go on, girl." And that's when that sick, twisted girl we saw in Episode 1 of this season comes back again. With every cry and plea from the Hound, it almost gives her more strength to hurt him more, emotionally. He's taught her so much and she uses it against him.

I linked the whole article because there were other relavant quotes, like this one...

HBO: Arya spends the whole season with the Hound. What has he become to her?

Maisie Williams: They're not necessarily friends but I think she does look up to him. Not quite in the way she looked up to Yoren; they'll never be that close. The Hound has so many walls up and so does she, but they are looking out for each other. They both have qualities that the other needs to survive. I feel like Arya was a popular character because of the decisions she made, and this year, the audience really started to see a nicer side to the Hound too.

But, exactly to Benja's point; it's not that she wasn't conflicted but her final decision was to leave him to suffer.

[Spracne]

We're all just projecting onto the text.  The ambiguity of the source material is intentional.  It lends itself to intrigue. 

[Belvis Noland]

ps, the final scene explained by the actress herself....

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/06/15/maisie-williams-on-arya-stark-the-hound-and-the-game-of-thrones-finale/

How did you play her emotional state as she walked away?

I really don’t think it was spiteful. She doesn’t purposefully leave him there to die. He’s bossed her around for so long, it’s like that final straw of, “Now you take me seriously, and it’s too late.” Her whole life, she’s been desperate to prove to people what she’s capable of. Now the Hound really gets it, and it’s too late. He has almost created a monster and it’s started to backfire on him. That’s a lot for her to deal with as well. She kind of likes him! He really helped her out, and as much as it would be doing him a favor, I don’t think she wants to kill him at all. And possibly walking away is killing him. But in “Game of Thrones,” unless you’ve got a dagger in your heart, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dead.

Really the writers are the only people that can say for sure. But that doesn't even really conflict with what we were saying. I'm not saying she wasn't conflicted, just that at the end of the day she leaves him because that's GOT.

I get that.  I'm commenting more on Metalhead's dumbassery that "It's not that rough ridin' hard, people. The Hound and Arya were both using each other to accomplish their goal(s)."

The reality is that it wasn't simple.  She was twisted and conflicted.  It was hard.   

[Benja]

We're all just projecting onto the text.  The ambiguity of the source material is intentional.  It lends itself to intrigue. 

That's not how K-S-U-Wildcats! would write it. He would clear this muddy crap up quick.

[Asteriskhead]

ps, the final scene explained by the actress herself....

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/06/15/maisie-williams-on-arya-stark-the-hound-and-the-game-of-thrones-finale/

How did you play her emotional state as she walked away?

I really don’t think it was spiteful. She doesn’t purposefully leave him there to die. He’s bossed her around for so long, it’s like that final straw of, “Now you take me seriously, and it’s too late.” Her whole life, she’s been desperate to prove to people what she’s capable of. Now the Hound really gets it, and it’s too late. He has almost created a monster and it’s started to backfire on him. That’s a lot for her to deal with as well. She kind of likes him! He really helped her out, and as much as it would be doing him a favor, I don’t think she wants to kill him at all. And possibly walking away is killing him. But in “Game of Thrones,” unless you’ve got a dagger in your heart, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dead.

Really the writers are the only people that can say for sure. But that doesn't even really conflict with what we were saying. I'm not saying she wasn't conflicted, just that at the end of the day she leaves him because that's GOT.

I get that.  I'm commenting more on Metalhead's dumbassery that "It's not that rough ridin' hard, people. The Hound and Arya were both using each other to accomplish their goal(s)."

The reality is that it wasn't simple.  She was twisted and conflicted.  It was hard.

I disagree.

[Mrs. Gooch]

I think everyone is arguing about this Arya/Hound thing because it is the easiest thing in the show to get your head around and make a point. Everything else is even more subjective.