For season two, there are so many epic scenes that I could pick, but I went with something quiet that showcases two of the show’s best actors fencing off in an incredibly awkward situation. Tywin Lannister rules the castle of Harrenhal where Arya Stark is posing as a boy servant. The Lannisters have just had her father beheaded and she’s one of the most wanted fugitives in the land. First it takes Tywin all of two seconds to see she’s a girl and decides to make her his cup bearer. That sets up this scene, completely not in the books (an example of a wise and well-handled change), wherein the two of them feel each other out. Does he know? Is she going to try to kill him? It’s a fantastic scene that proves that some of the best moments in Game of Thrones don’t involve dragons, armies or ice zombies.
I don’t love some of the changes the show made to Arya’s escape from Harrenhal, but the scenes with her and Tywin were definitely one of the better changes they made in this adaptation. Those two were excellent together.
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They really were. Maisie Williams is scary good. The best actors can do things, subtle things, with facial expressions or body language and the subtext and tension in this scene between the two of them is fantastic. She’s become my favorite character on the show and I didn’t particularly love the character in the books, liked her, but wasn’t in love with her. This Arya is fantastic.
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