While we patiently wait for the final season of Game of Thrones [1] to air on Sky Atlantic, we're left to ponder theories about how our favourite fantasy series will wrap up. I have one of my own, and I think it's pretty strong: Arya Stark will kill The Night King. She will use her face-swapping ability to shift into one of the wights, sneak up on the Night King, and take him out with her Valyrian steel dagger.
It's a solid theory — let me explain.
We already know that Arya is destined to be a major player in the finale. She has one of the most in-depth storylines of the entire series. (For reference, the TV series dedicates 224 minutes of screen time to Arya's story so far, and she's the subject of a whopping 33 chapters in the books.) We follow her from Winterfell to the Red Keep. We watch her ill-fated attempt to get to The Wall and the safety of Jon Snow after her father was beheaded. We watch her become a servant girl for Tywin Lannister at Harranhal. We watch her bond with the Hound as they trek across the countryside. Then, we watch her extensive training in Braavos before finally coming full circle and making her way back to Winterfell.
All this has to be leading toward an amazing fate, right? Here's the evidence.
Exhibit A: Arya's Sheer Amount of Training
Arya's Faceless Man training takes up her storyline in seasons four and five. (As far as the books go, she is still in the temple completing her training, which means at least three of the books are dedicated to Arya's learning the skills.) This ability is a huge deal for her character, and it seems unlikely that R.R. Martin would have gone to all that trouble creating the arc just to give Lord Walder Frey an interesting death.
Exhibit B: Arya's Natural Bravery and Agility
She's just a little girl when the epic Fire and Ice series begins, but even at the very beginning, she's fierce. Remember when she takes a swing at Joffrey by the river? That fierceness only multiplies over the course of the series, and by the time Arya executes Littlefinger, she is a certified badass. She definitely wouldn't flinch at the thought of going behind enemy lines to slay the enemy.
Exhibit C: Arya Is Given a Valyrian Steel Dagger
In the massive battle at Hardhome, Jon Snow goes head to head with one of the White Walkers. The creature shatters when Jon strikes it with his sword, Longclaw, the ancestral weapon of House Mormont that is forged from Valyrian steel.
In the seventh season, Bran gives Arya the dagger under the weirwood tree — the same Valyrian steel dagger that is used in Bran's assassination attempt, slices her mother's hands, and is seen on her father's desk in the tower of the Hand . . . the same dagger that she uses to execute Littlefinger. This dagger, like its new owner, has a long and complicated storyline. It is only fitting that it should be used to take down the most formidable enemy in the Seven Kingdoms.
Exhibit D: The Wights CAN Be Caught
Jon Snow and his merry crew are able to catch a wight from beyond The Wall — albeit not without a fair amount of difficulty — so we know that it can be done. The one that's caught the first time doesn't really have any face left for Arya to carve off, but they can target a fresher one next time.
In closing, I believe those 33 chapters and 224 minutes of screen time have developed a character with the perfect skills and cunning to take out The Night King. Arya can snag the face from a captured wight, sneak behind the enemy lines with her nifty dagger, and stab a king in the back, just like Jaime Lannister does to the Mad King. Then, after she turns the tide against the White Walkers, Arya can head south to deal with Cersei — because it's only fair that she gets to take out the last surviving person on her kill list.