Game Of Thrones: 20 Greatest Performances

There's no denying that Arya completely lost her way as a character after season four. Not only were her story-lines boring and irrelevant to the rest of the show, but she was also overly unlikable. So, why did she work at all? Because of Maisie Williams.

Maisie Williams is, next to Florence Pugh (fun fact: they starred together in Pugh's debut film, The Falling), probably the finest British actress of her generation. A mature, consistently charismatic performer who gave a killer performance as the vengeful young Stark, she was always able to hold her own while acting alongside the adult cast. Most notably, she was brilliant in her scenes opposite the amazing Charles Dance.

Even though the writing for Arya went downhill, Williams never lost her edge and turned in a fearsome and powerful performance every step of the way.