Game Of Thrones: 7 Characters Who've Changed Beyond Recognition

5. Arya Stark

Arya's odd couple experience with the Hound is fun, but the premiere implies that her character arc this season will venture into more serious territory. In her final scene in the episode, she kills Polliver in revenge for Lommy's death with a sadistic smile on her face as she slowly slides her blade into his throat. She's still smiling later when she rides behind the Hound, savouring the moment. We first met Arya in season one back when she was desperate to learn to fight and reluctant to follow Sansa's more ladylike example, but the swords were wooden and the battles were shouting matches with her sister. Now she's mourning her lost family and seems to have developed the ability to enjoy death rather than recoil from it. Maisie Williams always delivers in Arya's big scenes, but the juxtaposition between her barely concealed grief when Polliver mentions the Red Wedding and her coldness as she repeats his own words to Lommy as he dies was particularly disturbing. The fourth season may see Arya's sanity stretched to breaking point.