We stop by Arya and the Hound once more on their seemingly never-ending travels towards the Vale. After an attack from Rorge and Biter which leads to a nasty wound on the Hound's neck, he attempts to sew it up. Arya notices his trouble accomplishing this and offers to help cauterize it. The Hound rejects this offer out of fear, leading to the Hound actually letting his guard down around Arya and revealing his softer, more human side. He points out that while Arya got a sword from her brother, he got his face pushed into the fire by his. That was the worst part about it for him; that such a horrible thing was done to him by his own flesh and blood. Seeing how much he is hurting, Arya offers to help stitch the wound up. This season has been showing us the slow evolution of Arya and the Hound's relationship over time. As they spend more time together, each starts to rub off on the other. We see this earlier in the episode in how Arya kills Rorge - she does it in the same fashion as the Hound did the old man, down to the wiping of the blood off her sword. While the Hound's cold-bloodedness is teaching Arya how to be a better killer, Arya's innocent childishness is exposing cracks in the Hound's armour. It's no mistake that the Hound's most emotionally exposed scene also sees him without armour for the first time. The Hound is one of the most nuanced characters because despite the horrible things he has done, he is still human, which means he carries the same emotional baggage that most humans do. Arya is starting to see that there is more to this man she hates than she initially thought. which must add a great deal of confusion to her feelings towards him. Will she be able to cross his name off her list?
