‘Game of Thrones’ Aidan Gillen Answers Long-Running Arya Mystery
We’re just two weeks from Game of Thrones dropping another season’s worth of mysteries and crossovers, though some from early years are bound to fall by the wayside. One Arya-Littlefinger question in particular has bothered us since Season 2, and Aidan Gillen finally has a (foreshadowing?) answer.
Entertainment Weekly got Gillen to address an old Season 2 moment, in which Arya (Maisie Williams) was still serving as Tywin Lannister’s cupbearer at Harrenhal, and ran afoul of Petyr Baelish (Gillen) in a meeting. Baelish certainly seemed to recognize something about the girl, though the matter was never revisited before either Baelish or Arya left the burnt-out castle behind.
As Gillen now explains, Littlefinger indeed realized that Tywin made an unwitting hostage of Arya Stark, sister to their chief enemy Robb, but never had time to enact any plan:
It was unclear if he recognized her or not, but I have my own thoughts on that … Yes, I did recognize her — I just didn’t say anything or do anything about it.
Granted, Littlefinger recognizing Arya had zero bearing on the plot; it’s not impossible to imagine the moment mentioned if Arya crossed paths with him again. After all, we don’t quite know Arya’s next move in Westeros, and it’s looking more and more like certain Starks are headed home.
For his part, Gillen also teased the shifting dynamic between Littlefinger and Sansa, as well as her burgeoning rivalry with Jon Snow, but might we see Arya and Littlefinger share their own tense relationship this year? Watch the Season 7 trailer again below.