Top 10 Coolest Things About Arya Stark

Arya Stark’s journey in ‘Game of Thrones’ moves from a young noble girl who prefers practice yards to needlework to a traveler who learns skills far from Winterfell. Her path crosses swordsmen, assassins, and outlaws, and each step leaves her with a new technique or bit of knowledge that she uses later. The result is a character who survives war, captivity, and long miles on the road because she keeps learning and adapting.

Across Westeros and Essos, Arya picks up languages, customs, and fighting styles that rarely overlap, then blends them in ways that fit the moment. She studies with a First Sword in King’s Landing, navigates a ruined castle as a servant, sails to Braavos to train at the House of Black and White, and returns home with lessons that change how she moves and how she thinks. The details below focus on concrete skills, tools, and actions that define what she actually does on screen.

Needle and Water Dancing

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Arya receives Needle at Winterfell, a slim blade sized for her height, and immediately begins lessons in the Braavosi style known as water dancing with Syrio Forel in King’s Landing. The training focuses on balance, footwork, and precision, which suits the blade’s design and Arya’s quick movements in tight spaces. The style teaches her to see openings and to strike with the point, not the edge.

She later uses the same blade and footwork in corridors, courtyards, and crowded rooms where larger swords are hard to swing. Needle’s small profile lets her conceal it under clothing and draw it fast. Even after learning new methods abroad, she keeps Needle as a reliable tool that fits her size and her earliest training.

Faceless Men Training

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In Braavos, Arya trains at the House of Black and White, where Jaqen H’ghar introduces rituals and rules that strip away identity and teach obedience to a creed that serves the Many Faced God. The training includes stealth, observation, poisons, and close quarter techniques that rely on misdirection rather than brute force. She learns to fight blind, to track movements by sound, and to strike without telegraphing intent.

Assignments at the temple require study of a target’s habits and routines, along with preparation of a persona that can approach without drawing notice. The methods emphasize patience and accuracy, and Arya spends long periods sweeping floors, washing bodies, and practicing minor tasks that build discipline before she is allowed to use the more advanced skills outside.

Many Identities and Disguises

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Arya learns to move through cities and strongholds by adopting roles that fit the environment, such as servant, cupbearer, and vendor. Each role comes with clothing, posture, and speech that match local expectations, which lets her pass among guards and townsfolk without attention. She also practices facial concealment techniques learned in Braavos, which let her blend further when needed.

These disguises give her access to kitchens, halls, and storerooms where real information moves more freely than in council chambers. By entering spaces where people assume she belongs, she can place herself near targets, escape without pursuit, and observe routines that later become weaknesses.

The Kill List

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Arya keeps a list of names that she repeats before sleep, which organizes her memory of harm done to her family into a clear set of targets. The list changes across seasons as people die or as she reorders priorities based on new information. It functions as a mental map of enemies scattered across regions that she might visit later.

This practice shapes her choices on the road because she uses the list to decide where to travel and whom to approach or avoid. When paths cross by chance, the list gives her a quick way to assess opportunities. The habit also keeps her focused during long stretches when supplies are low and direction is uncertain.

Valar Morghulis and the Iron Coin

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Jaqen H’ghar gives Arya an iron coin and a phrase, Valar Morghulis, which she uses as a password for travel and introduction to Braavosi contacts. The coin signals an affiliation with a group that spans ports and trade routes, and the phrase confirms that she knows how to use it. This combination opens a path to the House of Black and White without formal letters or escorts.

When spoken to sailors or gatekeepers, the phrase prompts help with passage and safe entry. Arya uses the coin on a dock to secure a cabin and silence where questions might bring trouble. The item itself remains small enough to hide among other coins, which lets her keep it close even when searched.

Journey With the Hound

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Arya travels with Sandor Clegane across riverlands and border towns, learning how a mounted fighter moves through hostile country. She watches how he scouts roads, trades for information, and chooses when to fight or ride on. The pairing forces her to negotiate with villagers and soldiers at checkpoints, which teaches her what small bribes or words can do without a drawn blade.

During this time she practices seizing chances in chaotic moments, such as disarming a man when attention shifts or slipping away when patrols change. She also learns field care for injuries, how to find water and food in burned hamlets, and how to read signs of raiders and foragers on the move.

Harrenhal Survival and Intelligence Gathering

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As a servant at Harrenhal, Arya moves among Lannister soldiers and their prisoners, gaining knowledge of supply routes, interrogations, and the daily patterns of guards. She memorizes faces, ranks, and routines, which helps her avoid searches and stash items where no one checks. The position also lets her hear plans before they are executed, such as departures and expected reinforcements.

She uses kitchens and corridors as safe lanes, traveling with trays and buckets that give a reason to be anywhere at any hour. When she needs to pass a message or set up a meeting, she picks corners where heat, smoke, or noise drown out conversation. The castle’s size works for her because there are more doors and stairwells than anyone can watch at once.

Nymeria and the Direwolf Bond

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Arya’s direwolf, Nymeria, leaves early after an incident on the Kingsroad, yet the bond remains. Years later, Arya encounters a larger, independent pack led by Nymeria in the riverlands. The meeting shows that the wolf survived, grew, and now commands territory without human ties. Arya recognizes the change and does not attempt to reclaim an animal that no longer lives by a human hearth.

This bond matters because it tracks Arya’s own shift from a castle child to a traveler who relies on instincts and quick movement. Knowledge that Nymeria roams nearby affects how Arya reads the woods, since a direwolf pack changes the behavior of other predators and hunters. It also confirms that her family’s sigil is not only a banner but a living presence in the wild.

The Twins and House Frey

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After returning from Braavos, Arya targets the Freys responsible for the Red Wedding. She gains entry to the Twins by using a disguise that allows her to approach Walder Frey in his own hall. She eliminates key family members who manage the house’s affairs and then removes Walder himself, which breaks the leadership structure that held their lands and alliances.

With the heads of the family gone, the remaining Freys face confusion among vassals and rivals who question who speaks with authority. Arya ensures word of their fate spreads quickly inside the hall, which changes how others view Frey power during the wider conflicts in the realm. The move opens the riverlands to shifts in control that follow soon after.

The Long Night and the Night King

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During the Battle of Winterfell, Arya uses speed, stealth, and close range movement to navigate a fortress overrun by wights. She moves through libraries, roofs, and courtyards to find openings where undead numbers are thin. The skills she learned in Braavos help her avoid detection in tight spaces where noise would bring a swarm.

She reaches the godswood at a critical moment and uses a grip change learned in training to complete the attack. The move relies on misdirection and a quick catch with the off hand, which fits the water dancing principle of using the point at the right instant. The result ends the threat to the castle and stops the army at once.

Share your favorite Arya moments in the comments and tell us which skill or scene impressed you the most.