‘Game Of Thrones’: How Does Arya Survive The Waif? Fans Have Formulated Theories

One of the biggest cliffhangers from this past week’s Game of Thrones episode was whether or not Arya Stark is going to be able to survive the recent attack from the waif. When last we left Game of Thrones, Arya Stark had been stabbed in the gut several times, after which she fell into the river. While it seems as though this character is one of those that might be death-proof, after the character played by Maisie Williams hit the water, we saw a pool of blood bubble to the surface.

So how is Arya going to survive this attack? Will the Stark we’ve grown closest to survive this attack? In order to get some insight into what’s going on in the upcoming Game of Thrones episode, we have to talk a little about what was already shown in the preview teaser for this week’s episode of Game of Thrones. If you haven’t watched that teaser or don’t want to know anything about what goes down in the next episode, it’s time to turn away.

The promo for the next Game of Thrones episode clearly shows Arya running through the streets of Braavos and even making a leap that seems it would be a bit hard to do if Arya Stark was as mortally wounded as she appeared at the end of the last episode. So just how in the world will the story in this Game of Thrones episode present itself when it comes to Arya? The fans of the show have more than a few theories about what’s going to go down and what has already happened.

As Moviefone points out, one of the most prevalent theories is that Arya wasn’t Arya when she was stabbed. There are some people out there who were quite surprised Jaqen H’ghar was so willing to trust that the Waif would make the young Stark’s death a painless one. The Waif clearly had a problem with the newest arrival to the Faceless Men. When Jaqen H’ghar tells his other protege that she should make it painless, there are plenty of people who believe he already had a feeling that there was no way she would follow through with those instructions.

Someone is definitely following Arya in that 'Game of Thrones' scene. Maybe. https://t.co/kfPhs50ppG pic.twitter.com/kSiqpyQ34R

— Mashable (@mashable) June 9, 2016

Carrying that out to the end, they think Jaqen H’ghar was able to pose as Arya Stark in order to test whether or not the Waif was going to carry out her own orders. If this is the case, it would certainly seem to be a bad turn for the older student and might end up having the Faceless Men turning their attention on her instead. Another theory is Arya knew assassins were hot on her trail and she was still far too casual when she was walking around the city center.

Those Game of Thrones fans believe it’s possible she scored a sachel of pig’s blood from the actress she recently befriended and refused to kill. An actress would understand the specifics of pulling off a trick to make it look as though she was bloodied and beaten when Arya had, in fact, managed to emerge without a scratch.

Metro has caught onto another popular fan theory, which suggests that the Waif isn’t real. Instead, this character is a figment of Stark’s fractured mind.

This is nuts. But also kinda makes sense?! #GameofThrones https://t.co/gaHUegzERQ

— JOE (@JOE_co_uk) June 8, 2016

This would certainly explain why the two girls have been at odds from the very start. It wouldn’t explain how Jaqen H’ghar managed to have conversations with her, unless he was simply humoring Arya, knowing what she was going through. The synopsis for the upcoming episodes includes the clue that Arya Stark is going to have to face yet another test. We won’t know whether it’s a test posed to her specifically by the Faceless Men or simply a test of her endurance and will to survive until we catch the next episode of Game of Thrones this Sunday night.

[Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images]