Game Of Thrones: 10 Most Satisfying Moments

In the wake of her father's death, Arya Stark - who adopts a series of aliases to stay beneath the Lannisters' radar - slowly becomes a killing machine. She tries to join the assassins' guild known as the Faceless Men, but misses the cut when she refuses to poison an innocent actress. Doing it, after all, would make her no better than Joffrey, Cersei, Ilyn Payne, or The Hound.

Arya's refusal means that she can't be a Faceless Man, which makes her a liability to the group. Leader Jaqen H'ghar sends his right hand, the fearsome Waif, to kill Arya, leading to a bloody chase through the streets of Braavos. Finally, after Arya defeats The Waif, she confronts H'ghar. The leader of the Faceless Men makes one last attempt to turn her to his cause, but she refuses, telling him "My name is Arya Stark."

With that once sentence, Arya reclaims her identity. She had spent seasons five and six trying to win the acceptance of a group of murders who kill not for honor or even vengeance, but for coin and the love of death. Every step Arya took toward becoming a Faceless Man brought her further from her true goals, and while she may not have realized it, we certainly did. Leaving the guild finally puts her on the right path.

It's more than that, though. All of the running and all of the hiding? It's finally over. For the first time in five years, Arya Stark is acknowledging who she is privately and publicly. She's a Stark, the daughter of Ned and Catelyn. She's proud of that. Now she's going to live up to it.