Game Of Thrones: 10 Best Character Pairings So Far

4. Arya Stark And Tywin Lannister

The Battle of Blackwater was not the only major highlight of season two. We also got the weekly interplay between Arya and Tywin as she took on the role of his cup bearer at Harrenhal. Each episode we watched with anticipation to see if Tywin would learn her true identity and whether she would exact her revenge by attempting to kill the head of the Lannister family. What was so brilliant about this pairing is that it was one of the first major instances of the show deviating from the book and delivering us something magical. Tywin was always a background character until he came to King's Landing so to give Charles Dance this much screen time was a blessing. It also allowed us to gain insight not just into his psyche but Arya's follwing the death of her father Ned Stark. Her conversations with Tywin allowed us to open up about what that death meant and they begin to share a mutual respect. He knew she was lying but he also saw that she had the strength of will to match his own. Tywin came to appreciate his tete-a-tete with his cupbearer and in a way so did Arya. It is easy to see why she doesn't add Tywin immediately to her list of three kills Jaqen H'ghar has promised. It is only when he abruptly leaves that she realises she has lost her chance, which is a good thing, because Game Of Thrones without Charles Dance would be a much less interesting show.