The long awaited Game of Thrones season 6 premiere has come and gone, however my mind is still reeling.

At first i thought the episode was uneventful. But i keep replaying it over and over again in my mind. Especially the Arya Stark scene.

Can the Starks ever catch a break?

Sansa is on the run with a man who betrayed her family, the deceased Starks were murdered, Bran and Rickon are God knows were, and Arya is blind.

Sometimes i wish they had never left Winterfell. But then again, if they hadn’t, there would be no Game of Thrones to tell.

The scene starts with blind Arya begging in the streets of Bravoos, minding her own business. Then her attacker appears. My guess is that the attacker was sent by the faceless man to educate Arya, but hasn’t she learned her lesson already? We get it, the young Stark was getting too big for her shoes. But that thrashing in the middle of the street was just sad. Then the attacker says:

“Stand and fight, blind girl.”

And it hit me, it was not a punishment, it was training. Arya is cut to be a fighter and she will have to rely on her other senses to fight. The more Arya protests the fight, the more she angers her opponent.

Maybe i am reading too much into the episode, but i think it also symbolizes the necessity of tough love. That scene was even more painful to watch when Arya’s attacker left her with the promise of visiting again.

On Seth Meyer’s show earlier this year, Maisie Williams (Arya) spoke of how difficult it was for her eyes to adjust to the contacts she had to wear for her blind scenes. For her sake,  I hope Arya Stark regains her sight.

What do you think was the point of her beating?