The second blow of cold winds upon Winterfell was more poetic than momentous. This episode of Game of Thrones titled ‘The Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ was a perfect mending of most relationships and also, sadly, a perfect farewell to many characters who are undoubtedly going to die in the Battle of Winterfell. Be it Bran's acceptance of Jaime's actions or Brienne's knighting ceremony, the scenes were aesthetically and emotionally placed.
While most fans enjoyed the last drink near the hearth, they were torn into two halves with the Arya- Gendry intimate scene. The sexual tension between Arya and Gendry was much obvious from the beginning of season 8 but its culmination in an intimate scene was not speculated though eagerly anticipated. Arya, being the lone and strong wolf, was not expected to entertain any sort of emotional calibre post her tormentous experience with the faceless men. Yet, the circumstances under which the scene happened, the prospect of death lurking behind the characters added flavour to the scene.
Now, one half of GoT followers comprehended the scene as a perfect evolution of Arya's character and even asserted the scene to be Arya's return as the real Arya Stark of Winterfell. 'A girl has lost her virginity' trended across social media sites in a positive sense; celebrating Arya's growth into a Lady of Winterfell. The other half, however, was quite disappointed and felt extremely awkward with the scene. This had a lot to do with how Arya as a character had been appropriated across seven seasons. Every since the first glimpse of the little girl who exclaimed that ‘she ain’t a lady’, fans had accepted her as yet another kid in their own family. The tragic events that happened to the character heightened this sense of empathy the fans had to the character.
Moreover, Arya is one among the very few characters who did not appear nude in Game of Thrones, which in itself speaks a lot about the character. Fan tweets and memes overflowed social media with trolls exalting “get off my sister” (F.R.I.E.N.D.S fans can certainly hear Ross screaming) or “young lady put your pants back on”.
The sexual tension between Arya and Gendry was much obvious from the beginning of season 8
Maisie herself in response to this reaction tweeted saying that the whole thing was more embarrassing for her since her mom, stepdad, two sisters and four brothers had to watch this scene. Joe Dempsie, the actor who plays Gendry, also admitted that the scene was a tad bit awkward owing to the age difference between the two actors. He said in an interview that he had met a 10-year-old Maisie when he was in his early twenties, and hence, felt a bit out of place with the scene.
The whole prospect of the fans being disheartened is quite interesting if one looks unto the fact that nudity is not a big deal in the GoT world; nor is sexual violence. But then again the idea of Arya as a character growing up in front of the viewers' eyes and her enormous fan following had a lot to do with this response. Nevertheless, a girl must admit as an ardent Arya-Gendry enthusiast that the scene was undoubtedly a moment filled with love and passion and most importantly a much needed pause of reality before the Night King appears.
