Daily Times

Maisie Williams, popularly known as Arya Stark from HBO’s TV series Game of Thrones has said that the show’s finale will be incredible for women as it portrays strong female characters.

In an interview with Elle magazine, Maisie said that not a lot of people would look at the younger generation and be inspired by them. But her statement seems to be an ironic one considering how every fan of the show – be it male or female – wants to be more like Arya.

Maisie’s character from the show gives major feminist vibes as she uses her sword training to punish cruel men who’ve harmed innocent women and children. But be warned. Hers is not the only character that highlights girl power. Cersei Lannister played by Lena Headey, Sansa Stark essayed by Sophie Turner and Daenerys Targaryen donned by Emilia Clarke, are not just wives or sisters of powerful men anymore. The ladies are practically running the show and giving a new found meaning to the term ‘leading role’.

In regards to strong female characters featured in the show, Maisie explained that Game of Thrones is set in a medieval world where women don’t have a lot of rights but still manage to prevail. She stated, “But I do think that as the seasons have gone on, it’s become more and more amazing for women. And the final season is going to be incredible. It just feels great being on set with all these girls. They’re all ruling and they’re all back on top – which is pretty impressive.”

The 21-year-old actor has enjoyed seeing her character evolve from a feisty little girl to taking the dark road. Speaking of her role in the seventh installment, Maisie added, “I think until the last season, Arya was always killing the baddies. But then we saw her start to use those manipulative powers. It’s not until she has that whole dialogue with her sister Sansa in the last season, that you realise what she’s become – that she’s being awful to someone who we love.”

She continued, “For me, it was a really great moment as an actor to be able to play the character people love as a baddie. It felt so amazing even though it’s an awful scene. But she rights her wrongs in the end.”

The iBoy actor shared that her co-star Sophie also happens to be her best friend and the two lift each other up on sets.

It not surprising that Maisie’s experience is that of an actor twice or thrice her age. The actor was aged 12 when Game of Thrones first premiered in 2011 and has since earned multiple awards for her performance.

Apart from Game of Thrones which will be returning to screens for its series finale in 2019, Maisie will be next seen in Marvel’s X-Men horror film The New Mutants.

Published in Daily Times, September 25^th 2018.