In the episode’s most glorious and shocking moment, it is Arya who ended up vanquishing the Night King, putting an end to the long night once and for all. (You can click here to read my in-depth thoughts on it and the episode as a whole.) In an interview with EW, Maisie Williams said that she was initially reluctant about the big twist, worried that fans would get angry if it was her and Jon Snow that ends up killing the White Walker.
It has to be intelligently done because otherwise, people are like, ‘Well, [the villain] couldn’t have been that bad when some 100-pound girl comes in and stabs him.’ You gotta make it cool. And then I told my boyfriend and he was like, ‘Mmm, should be Jon though really, shouldn’t it?’” However, the integral scene with the Red Woman Melisandre (Carice van Houten) convinced Williams that it was indeed a great direction to take the story.
What’s great is Kit Harington, who plays Jon Snow — the man most thought would kill the Night King — is very happy with this creative decision. What’s great about Game of Thrones is that it consistently manages to subvert our expectations while also staying true to all the characters. And this was one such incident. Arya killing the Night King during the Battle of Winterfell wasn’t a random twist written simply for shock value. The seeds were planted many, many seasons ago when Arya first meets Melisandre. (Source: EW)
