How did Arya manage to disguise herself?

Question

In Game of Thrones S08E03, we see Arya killing

the Night King.

How does she manage to sneak up on him given that he's surrounded by an army? Did she use the face of someone from the army?

score 20 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 29 '19 at 11:31

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Contrary to KharoBangdo's reasoning, I would theorize that Arya snuck up on the Night King in one of two different ways.

To get some other details out of the way, looking at the scene, I do not believe her flight angle is correct to imagine that she has been hiding in a tree this whole time, waiting for the Night King to approach. Yes, the screen is slightly tilted up from Bran's perspective, but as Arya is in flight, she seems to be flying straight for the Night King - and the momentum shift slightly before they make contact (and when the Night King catches her) makes it seem much more like horizontal momentum.

Anyway, here's really the detail that I think blows the whole 'waiting in a tree thing out of the water' -

You'll notice in the scene just prior to Arya revealing herself, one of the White Walkers notices something. The Walker feels a breeze, and you can see the Walker's hair get blown slightly (either by the wind or someone moving swiftly by). The Walker then looks to the right, as if the breeze came from there (or something / someone passed there).

This detail leads me to two theories:

That breeze was produced by Arya sneaking by. It's unclear whether or not she was making her dash straight to the Night King then or if she was making a dash through the tree line to remain relatively unseen while she approached (before making her big run up through the open ground). Perhaps some of her training from Jaqen was used here to be 'invisible' on her approach.
A little more far fetched, but not out of the question. The Walker is Arya, who simply feels a breeze and looks to the right. Arya is borrowing the Walker's face to blend in and get close to the Night King. The breeze (and the subsequent look) are an indication that something is about to happen - or perhaps that the time is right.

I think #1 is more likely, though I do hope they reveal a bit more about how this scene unfolded. Would be interesting to hear (or see) the scene from Arya's perspective.

At the very least, I do feel like there is some level of significance from that subtle breeze and motion the Walker makes just prior to the Night King dying. The sound of wind blowing rises up slightly over the dramatic music, and I'd like to think that was a purposeful touch.

edited Apr 29 '19 at 11:31

Napoleon Wilson

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answered Apr 29 '19 at 10:55

A J D

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I'm inclined to agree that productions involving this much money don't leave details up to coincidence. Everything that's in it is on purpose (or an oversight by multiple people involved with production, which doesn't seem likely to me in this case). – JJJ Apr 29 '19 at 11:02
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Have we seen a White Walker die that didn't immediately explode? That would be the only way she could wear his face. – DeeV Apr 29 '19 at 13:59
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Another point in disfavor of jumping from trees: the area around the central tree is pretty clear of trees. Theon's charge against the Night King, in particular, illustrate how long the way to next tree is. – Matthieu M. Apr 29 '19 at 18:57
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The main problem with the idea of taking a Walker's face - when has a killed Walker ever not shattered or completely disintegrated? Plus, the taking of a face takes some time. Seeing as how all the Walker's were pretty much together, how would she kill one, peel off its face, put it on, and then take its place without them noticing? Seems more likely she snuck by, which was the whole point of her sneaking by the dead in the library, to lay the groundwork for "she can do that.".... IMO, of course. Good to have ideas thought out and put out there for discussion, in any case. – PoloHoleSet Apr 29 '19 at 21:24
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@JJJ You've clearly never seen a superhero movie, like when Hulk sneaks up on Thanos in the beginning of the Avengers movie, even after the ship was boarded and prisoners captured. Since when does Hulk ever sneak? – Chloe Apr 30 '19 at 02:30
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@Chloe additionally, the budget goes to actors and CGI, it's pretty clear the money isn't in the writing the last few seasons. – JAD Apr 30 '19 at 06:49
regarding 1.: It is left unclear where she was hiding or wether she dashed through the army of the dead surrounding the area as if she was invisible (how?). The best explanation would be in a tree, but that breeze suggests she ran right past the wight walkers, and her angel suggests she jumped from behind with pace instead of dropping down out of the tree. – user2378197 May 03 '19 at 14:53
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regarding 2.: The possibility of her killing a wight walker, putting on his face and remaining undetected seems very unlikely. Not just because they seem to differ strongly from living beings and they burst into ice shards as they get killed. If she had managed to do so (why didn't we see we her do it?), she would have used her disguise to walk right up to the NK, kill him and then take off her mask. – user2378197 May 03 '19 at 15:02
@user2378197 That is the part I am uncertain about - getting through everything unnoticed. But her ability to sneak is alluded to in the first episode when she sneaks up on Jon in the Godswood. Might have been foreshadowing to her ability to sneak relatively unnoticed.
I still highly doubt the tree example (unless it was the giant tree itself - and flight angle would not match). To me, the breeze that the White Walker notices is an indication that she moved by swiftly then. The overall approach is still unclear.
– A J D May 03 '19 at 19:05
@user2378197 One of the other explanations I can think of is that the Night King's own overconfidence did him in. At that point, it is clear that he is having his army in the immediate vicinity stand down while he does the whole dramatic approach and stare down with Bran. Perhaps Arya noticed this and took the opportunity that his command over the undead (to stand down) would give her an opening to move swiftly before any of them could respond. Maybe this will all be revealed in the last 3 episodes. All just speculation now. – A J D May 03 '19 at 19:08
@JJJ I just wonder what posssible meaning would a Starbucks coffee cup bear ;) – Neinstein May 07 '19 at 21:56

score 10 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 30 '19 at 07:49

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There are a lot of trees in the Godswood. She was hiding on top of one of them. Hence, she could sneak up on Night King and jump from above.

The angle at which Arya jumps and the way Night King catches her indicate that she can't do it from the ground. Also, the Night King was away from the castle walls. So, a tree is a logically correct deduction.

When Arya meets Melisandre inside the castle, she tells Arya that she will shut blue eyes. This is to prophesise the Night King's death.

Melisandre ask Arya: "what do we say to the God of Death?" She says "Not today" and walks off. Arya understands clearly what needs to be done and she goes away from the battle to hide in a tree as she knows that the Night King will come for Bran in the Godswood.

edited Apr 30 '19 at 07:49

answered Apr 29 '19 at 04:49

KharoBangdo

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is this just a speculation? or do u have any proof – J M Apr 29 '19 at 06:38
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@JM logical reasoning based on the angle at which she jumped on NK. She could not have gained that elevation from ground. So trees are the only place as they were away from the wall – KharoBangdo Apr 29 '19 at 06:47
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I could swear I saw wind blow the leaves “differently” right before that scene. – kojiro Apr 29 '19 at 10:47
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There is a gif (link to reddit thread) of the Making Of Episode 3 that clearly shows that Arya did not jump out of a tree. – Ian Apr 30 '19 at 07:58
@Ian ya I saw that yesterday in the Game Revealed. It shows, she standing on a table & then jumping using strings attached. That was just for filming. Unless D&D specify, I m sticking to mine. Unless she managed to sneak in the table also, then she can jump – KharoBangdo Apr 30 '19 at 08:51
After watching Game of Thrones | Season 8 Episode 3 | Game Revealed (HBO), this seems to be the correct answer. Note that by the way it was finally shot, it appears like she simply dashed him. However, it is stated that they tried to mount the wire rig on top of the tree right next Brandon, but it proved impractical. – Apr 30 '19 at 09:52

score 8 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 29 '19 at 15:05

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Unclear.

One of the most popular theories going around right now is that she disguised herself as a walker to get close.

This does seem like a plausible explanation.

We know that Arya's training under the guidance of her former mentor, assassin Jaqen H'ghar, taught her how to successfully wear the faces of others, enabling her to get into places that she couldn't if she looked like herself.

So, is that what happened there? Did Arya disguise herself as a White Walker so that she could sneak into the Godswood entirely undetected and then, when the time was right, slay the head zombie?

A lot of people are convinced that that was how she slipped in undetected and did her very worst.

_{Is this how that dramatic Game of Thrones moment really happened? - DigitalSpy}

Among other explanations, it's believed that she was noticed.

There is a moment, right before the Night King is about to kill Bran, when the camera pans to one of the White Walkers stood behind him, who then turns their head to the side.

It's a minuscule detail – if you weren't paying attention you could very easily have missed it – and some might argue that it was entirely insignificant. But then again, is anything on GoT done without significant reason? [...]

There's every chance that the other White Walker, by moving his head, had picked up on Arya's presence. But by then it was too late. She was already mid-air and the Night King had turned around to face her and finally meet his maker.

_{Is this how that dramatic Game of Thrones moment really happened? - DigitalSpy}

So, in conclusion there are various different possible explanations.

edited Apr 29 '19 at 15:05

m1gp0z

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answered Apr 29 '19 at 13:46

Daeron

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I like the theory and would applaud it, but for me there would need to be an explanation as to how she removed the face from a being that would have smashed in to ice the instant it was killed as (all?) other white walkers have done? – Lamar Latrell Apr 29 '19 at 16:17
Seeing as how the Wight's eyes are clouded over, for the ones that still have any eyes at all, I don't think a largely visual disguise would make them think she's dead. – PoloHoleSet Apr 29 '19 at 21:20
The disembodied face may have still been alive in the manner of severed limbs... – mckenzm Apr 30 '19 at 05:26
@LamarLatrell: I don't subscribe to the Walker-face theory, but if so, who says the Walker needed to die/shatter? – Flater May 16 '19 at 15:46
@PoloHoleSet: Wights without muscles can still move. Wights without lungs can still make a sound. Having eyesight with cloudy eyes is not really any weirder from a physical perspective. – Flater May 16 '19 at 15:48
@Flater - having eyesight when you are a skeleton with no eyes would be weirder than just using other senses, definitely. What I'm getting at is that a "disguise" that would fool mortal and highly visually-inclined humans would not necessarily fool different creatures. Kind of like in "Walking Dead," it was the smell of zombies that was telling more than how they looked or moved ("Need more guts!"). There's no reason to assume what works for one works for the other. I can put my weed in an oregano container, but that's not going to fool a drug dog, right? – PoloHoleSet May 16 '19 at 17:48

DukeZhou · Answer 4 · 2019-04-30T18:04:09.983

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The sneak attack was merely a diversion--presumably Arya and Melisandre know one can't sneak up on the Night King.

Strategically, it was a feint, allowing her to get close enough to the Night King to kill him. The way they shot the knife dropping from her hand while she is being choked strongly implied she was losing consciousness or dying, only to have it revealed as a stratagem.

This was foreshadowed by Lyanna Mormont's killing of the undead giant earlier in the episode.

The producers may not have considered it strictly necessary to show how Arya got positioned for the sneak attack since it was merely a narrative device. The more meaningful aspect is that Theon's self-sacrifice bought her the time.

It's likely Arya's youth, sex, and small size compounded the night king's folly--he toys with her instead of immediately ending her because he fails to recognize her as a serious threat.

edited Apr 30 '19 at 18:04

answered Apr 29 '19 at 19:05

DukeZhou

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I'd say it was more foreshadowed when she did that exact move (drop the dagger to the other hand) when she first trained/sparred with Brianne of Tarth. – PoloHoleSet Apr 29 '19 at 22:01
@PoloHoleSet excellent memory! Both scenes definitely feed that heroic result, which also references Éowyn killing the Witch King of Angmar in LOTR. – DukeZhou Apr 30 '19 at 01:44
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Brianne of Tarth - "Who taught you that", Arya - "No one" – ashveli Apr 30 '19 at 05:19
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@ashveli - "No one can kill the Night King!" "I'll get right on that." – PoloHoleSet Apr 30 '19 at 16:33
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I'm pretty sure there is a Boromir (Ned Stark) meme generator where you can input "One does not just sneak up on the Night King" as the line. – PoloHoleSet Apr 30 '19 at 16:36
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@ashveli Odysseus also called himself "no one" (outis) when he stabbed the Cyclops Polyphemus in the eye! – DukeZhou Apr 30 '19 at 16:38

How did Arya manage to disguise herself?

4 Answers4

Unclear.

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