Game of Thrones’ Arya Stark unmasked as shape-shifter the Waif in twisted deleted scenes
ARYA Stark nearly met a bitter end at the hands of the Waif during her gruelling training in the art of stealth.
The skilled combatant, played by Maisie Williams, underwent quite the journey in season 6 as a student at Braavos’ order of the Faceless Men.
One of her peers, the Waif (Faye Marsay) struck up a fierce rivalry with Arya, goading her throughout her lessons.
The tensions culminated in a fight to the death, with the Waif stabbing Arya in the stomach while disguised as an elderly woman.
Ultimately Arya got the upper hand though, killing her nemesis after tapping into her newfound skills of deception.
However, in subsequent series many fans feared Arya would be unmasked as the Waif, proving that she had in fact loss the duel and the shape-shifter was simply wearing her face.
This ultimately proved to be unlikely, as the Waif would’ve had no motives to wade into Stark family business and the subsequent attack on King’s Landing.
Now producer Bernadette Caulfield has waded into the debate, revealing how the Waif was involved in season 8 filming in documentary Game of Thrones: The Last Watch.
The character was brought onto set to help throw off potential spoilers, filming alongside old foe Arya, as well as Jaqen H’Ghar (Tom Wlaschita).
“We have Jaqen, who's also another House of Black and White character,” Caulfield explained.
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“It's very hard to keep the cast quiet, because when in Spain, you're going to eat and drink. They're going to be out and about.
“So we brought in a few ringers, so they won't know what's happening. It'll be a big surprise no matter what.”
The pair filmed scenes that were ultimately unused, but were in keeping with fans’ theories that the Waif survived after all.
They were shot in Spain, one of the sites of King’s Landing, and no doubt sent whispers through the cast before the final scripts were disseminated.
No doubt the fandom would have been heartbroken if Arya had indeed turned out to be dead.
Ultimately, Arya set off on a mission of exploration in the finale episode, planning to sail west of Westeros into uncharted territory.
In other Game of Thrones news, fans noticed how Jamie Lannister predicted exactly how he’d die in a poignant conversation in season 5.