Arya Could Become Lady Stoneheart On 'GoT'

The world has seen a lot of Arya theories. The world has seen a lot of Lady Stoneheart theories. But what about a rather unholy mashup of the two? Is it possible that Arya could become Lady Stoneheart, and go on a Bolton/Frey killing spree?

It's a new theory posited by Bill Bradley from The Huffington Post, and hinges on a few things, but relies perhaps most heavily on a certain game of Two Truths and a Lie that Yahoo TV played with part of the cast of Game of Thrones. You see, both Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams (aka the Stark sisters) took a stab at the game, and an overlap between their answers (plus a little process of elimination) might be key to unlocking some Season 6 secrets.

Here's what Williams said: "Arya goes to Westeros, back over the sea. Arya is in the trailer more times than people have realized, because they don’t realize it’s her. Arya doesn’t cross any more names off her list." And here's what Turner said: "Ramsay dies. Lady Stoneheart returns. Arya checks three people off her list."

Very interesting, right? Both actors did a plum job of choosing tantalizing and difficult to distinguish truths and lies — but there's a bit of a giveaway in the mix. You see, certain spoilers (which may yet prove false) avow that Ramsay Bolton will make it through Season 6 alive. So, if we accept that spoiler, it creates something of a domino effect — because if Ramsay's death is the lie in Turner's game, it means her other two statements are true. And if both of those are true true, that means Williams is lying about how many people Arya kills, and that, in turn, her other two statements are true. Whew.

In short, all that might just mean that we have four known truths on our hands. And if you add all four together — Turner's "Lady Stoneheart returns" and "Arya checks three people off her list" statements, along with Williams' "Arya is in the trailer more times than people realize, because they don't realize it's her" and "Arya goes back to Westeros" statements — you've got yourself the genesis of quite the kickass theory. Because if Arya is running around Westeros killing people and wearing other people's faces, and Lady Stoneheart is finally coming to town, who's to say Arya won't be taking on the role/face of a lifetime... as her own dead mother?

It takes a little mental gymnastics to get there, but it could actually work, especially when you consider the fact that Arya Stark and Lady Stoneheart have very similar kill lists and motives. And speaking of said kill lists, Arya wreaking vengeance whilst disguised as her brutally murdered mother would certainly send a very chilling message to all the Freys and Boltons Arya and/or Lady Stoneheart will be going after in episodes to come.

It's quite the exciting theory, but will it actually happen? The convoluted "Two Truths and a Lie" logic follows well, and it would certainly be an interesting way to tie up some story threads on the show, but I don't have much faith that it'll come to fruition. First off, it doesn't really solve the problem of getting esteemed actress Michelle Fairley back on the show to play the role. And even if they were able to skirt the issue by making Arya become Lady Stoneheart without using the face of her mother, I'm not sure it would make sense for her character development.

After all, in the books, it's generally agreed that Zombie Catelyn Stark is vastly, vastly different than Alive Catelyn Stark — lying dead in a river for three days took quite a toll on her, both mentally and physically, and her resurrection's left her something of a warped shadow of what she once was — something Arya, for all her trials and travails, hasn't been reduced to yet. In fact, if Arya's recent defection from The Faceless Men proves anything, it proves that she's still got her honor as a Stark. Yes, she's killed more people in cold blood than is generally socially acceptable, but she isn't yet the true killing machine she'd need to become in order to be Lady Stoneheart.

So, while the Arya/Stoneheart theory is certainly an intriguing one, I've still got my fingers crossed that we get the Lady Stoneheart we know and love from the books. Although she would arrive about three full seasons later than we first expected, the timing actually feels right this time around, what with Jaime, Brienne, Sandor Clegane, and The Brotherhood Without Banners all currently raising hell in the Riverlands. What do you think? Will Lady Stoneheart finally appear in Westeros? Or is wishing for her return a long-forgone conclusion?

Image: Courtesy of HBO