Brilliantly brought to life by Maisie Williams as part of Game of Thrones’ cast, Arya stands a great character in the show, and the A Song of Ice and Fire books that preceded it. Author George R.R. Martin’s original A Song of Ice and Fire plan, though, would’ve massively changed her. Revealed in an overview from 1993, when the books were planned just as a trilogy – with story beats including Jaime Lannister becoming King, and Catelyn Stark being killed by White Walkers – Arya’s arc after leaving Winterfell went in the opposite direction.
What Happened To Arya Stark GRRM’s Original Plan
It’s Largely Unrecognizable
Arya Stark’s journey in Martin’s original vision for A Song of Ice and Fire would not have taken her south to King’s Landing, but instead north to the Wall… and then beyond it. Interestingly, some of the circumstances are the same: a bitter feud between the Starks and the Lannisters, with Ned Stark being killed on the orders of King Joffrey Baratheon. But Arya and Catelyn were instead folded into Bran’s story of going beyond the Wall, but with some major differences.
“All the north will be inflamed by war… Robb Stark will die in battle, and Tyrion Lannister will besiege and burn Winterfell… When Winterfell burns, Catelyn Stark will be forced to flee north with her son Bran and her daughter Arya. Wounded by Lannister riders, they will seek refuge at the Wall, but the men of the Night’s Watch give up their families when they take the black, and Jon and Benjen will not be able to help, to Jon’s anguish. It will lead to a bitter estrangement between Jon and Bran.
“Abandoned by the Night’s Watch, Catelyn and her children will find their only hope of safety lies even further north, beyond the Wall, where they fall into the hands of Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall, and get a dreadful glimpse of the inhuman others as they attack the wildling encampment. Bran’s magic, Arya’s sword Needle, and the savagery of their direwolves will help them survive, but their mother Catelyn will die at the hands of the others.”
Based on Martin’s overview of events, Arya would’ve been killing White Walkers long before she stabbed the Night King in Game of Thrones season 8. She’d also not only be sticking with Bran and Catelyn, a notable difference to what happens to her in A Game of Thrones, but seemingly her direwolf Nymeria as well. In the book and show, they’re parted early on, when Arya sends her away after the wolf attacks Joffrey.
Arya is still, notably, a fighter at heart, and possesses her sword, Needle, even in this version of events. But her going with Bran, and then seeing her mother be killed by the White Walkers, is a seismic difference to how her story actually plays out, so much so that, even reading it, I struggle to imagine just what her journey would be like and how she’d grow into the character she is heading into The Winds of Winter, or became in later seasons of Game of Thrones.
The Arya Stark/Jon Snow Romance Explained
Oh, And Tyrion Lannister Is Involved Too…
As strange as it is to picture Arya’s alternative story, it’s the other part of it that really baffles and surprises me: a potential romance arc with Jon. While the two were always the closest of the Starks, and have one of the sweetest relationships in the entire series, it’s thankfully never one that has a suggestion of romantic affection. That was not the case in Martin’s early outline:
“Arya will be more forgiving … until she realizes, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon, who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night’s Watch, sworn to celibacy. Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon’s true parentage is finally revealed in the last book.”
Even at this point, incest was clearly a factor in things. And, well, Jon Snow is a Targaryen, so it’s in his DNA to keep things in the family. Nonetheless, this story point would’ve felt too weird and gross: it’s bad enough with the Lannisters, but they aren’t the story’s great heroes. This would’ve been very difficult to accept, and risked ruining both of them.
Curiously, it notes Jon’s parentage, meaning Martin was planning a twist on this as far back as 1993. This at the very least suggests they wouldn’t be siblings, but if the plan was R+L=J, then they’d still be cousins. Which isn’t uncommon for Westeros, but I’m still very glad didn’t happen.
There was another wrinkle in this love story though. While Arya had fallen for Jon, Tyrion had fallen for Arya.
“Tyrion Lannister will continue to travel, to plot, and to play the game of thrones, finally removing his nephew Joffrey in disgust at the boy king’s brutality. Jaime Lannister will follow Joffrey on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, by the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession and blaming his brother Tyrion for the murders. Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he’s at it. His passion is, alas, unreciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow.”
Tyrion siding with the Starks makes sense, given it broadly aligns with his sympathy for them and hatred of his own family. Him falling in love with Arya is harder to imagine, and presumably is the genesis of him later marrying Sansa instead, though that was not for love by any means. Jon and Tyrion also have a great relationship, so it’s good that wasn’t turned into a rivalry.
I’m Glad GRRM Deviated From His Original Arya Stark Plan
Why Did The Story Change?
Martin’s plan changed a considerable amount from that initial overview, with the story itself expanding a lot – going from a trilogy to what’s now planned as seven books. Despite his outline, Martin, by his own admission, is not too much of a planner, preferring instead to see where the story and characters take him as he writes rather than adhering to a rigid blueprint. Or, as he puts it, he’s a gardener, not an architect [via The Guardian].
Arya’s story is a good example of that, as she ends up leagues away from going beyond the Wall, and I’m glad of it. While if he had followed that path it may have worked – except for the Jon stuff – Arya’s journey in the books and show is one of the absolute best. I adore her POV chapters, and the themes of identity, self-discovery, loss of innocence, and vengeance that form the backbone of her arc are some of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones’ most powerful, so this is one change that was definitely for the better.
