Game of Thrones is over for good, and for the most part its cast is satisfied with how their characters ended up.
Though fans have been divided over the way the series came to an end, even taking to the internet to beg for a “remake” by way of petition, it’s all over. It’s not going to be redone. With that said, there are some members of the cast who do have a few regrets about the way things played out, including Maisie Williams, who portrayed Arya Stark.
Warning: This post contains major spoilers for the series finale of Game of Thrones.
GiphyIn an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Williams opened up about the biggest regret she harbored for her character. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she stated unequivocally that it was not getting an additional scene in season 8 with Lena Headey, who played Cersei Lannister. More specifically, it was not having Arya kill Cersei. Same, honestly.
“I just wanted to be on set with Lena again, she’s good fun,” said Williams. “And I wanted Arya to kill Cersei even if it means she dies too. Even up to the point when Cersei’s with Jaime I thought ‘He’s going to whip off his face [and reveal its Arya]’ and they’re both going to die. I thought that’s what Arya’s drive has been.”
It turns out Cersei herself (Headey) felt similarly, hoping she’d also have another scene with Williams by the end.
“I lived that fantasy until I read the script,” said Headey. “There were chunky scenes and it was nothing that I had dreamt about. It was a bit of come down and you have to accept that it wasn’t to be. There is something poetic about the way it all happens in the end with her and Jaime.”
Speaking more on the less brutal direction Arya’s character followed instead, Williams mused on how the ending for the young Stark was actually a positive one.
“It’s not a Game of Thrones ending for Arya, it’s a happy ending,” she replied thoughtfully. “It gave me a place to take Arya that I never thought I’d go with her again.”
We’d say most fans would agree, seeing Arya sail off to explore rather than meeting a grim end like many of the other characters. And it does feel a bit better knowing she’s out in the big, wide world finding herself and doing it all on her own – even if the end of the series still hurts a little. At least Arya made it, you know?