Game of Thrones: Arya’s Best Kills, Ranked

Since she was little, Arya Stark never had any interest in the ladylike pursuits that captured the interest of her older sister Sansa. Instead of whiling away her time daydreaming of a bucolic life in court or snagging the attention of a noble knight, Arya spent it attempting to be more like her older brothers, with swordplay and feats of strength. Though small, she could be quick and agile, something her opponents only discovered when it was too late.

Throughout the eight seasons of Game of Thrones, Arya has gone from being considered a frightened little girl to a powerful, highly-trained swordswoman. She’s stared down tragedy and despair and laughed in the face of them. She’s defended her family, friends, the integrity of House Stark, and saved Westeros from its single greatest threat. Here are her best kills ranked.

10 A Frey Soldier

Even Lord Walder, instigator of the Red Wedding (and the murders of Robb and Catelyn Stark) had the sense not to boast within earshot of Arya about mounting the head of her eldest brother’s direwolf on his decapitated corpse. After The Hound and Arya escaped the Frey twins, they came across four Frey soldiers discussing just that without any remorse.

Arya approached them under the guise of wanting food, only to brutally stab them out of revenge for what they did to Grey Wind and her family. The first soldier she stabbed had the distinction of being her first official kill (the stable boy from King’s Landing doesn’t count since it happened by accident).

9 Polliver

Though Arya and The Hound didn’t always see eye to eye, a begrudging respect was born between the two. He never expected her to act “ladylike” and always encouraged her acts of violence, such as when they got into a fight at the Inn at the Crossroad. Their highest priority was each other’s survival, because they worked better together than alone.

During the fight, Arya has the chance to reclaim her sword, Needle, from the thief who made off with it (Polliver). When she sees him injured, she wastes no time and in taking him out with Needle (in the same fashion he killed  Lommy when he captured her and Gendry near Kings Landing).

8 Rorge

When Arya was traveling with Yoren, a member of the Night’s Watch in Season 2, she met Jaqen H’ghar (who would go on to teach her the ways of the Faceless) and Rorge, a man who had threatened her. Both were locked in a cage, and both of whom she freed, though perhaps she should have paid more attention to Rorge.

When he attacked her later during her exploits with The Hound in Season 4, she stabbed him with her sword, Needle. The Hound applauded her savagery, and women everywhere rejoiced.

7 The Waif

One would think that Arya’s most dangerous opponent might come from within the ranks of the Faceless, especially given their surreptitious abilities to transform themselves into literally anyone. When Arya can’t bring herself to kill Lady Crane (an actress whom she’s become quite close to on an assignment from the Faceless Man), he dispatches one of his most lethal assassins to kill Arya.

The Waif is highly trained, but Arya outmaneuvers her, leading her into a game of cat and mouse among the streets of Braavos until finally Arya evades her in a darkened room. Once The Waif takes the bait, Arya stabs her with needle and kills her off screen.

6 Ser Meryn Tyrant

The death of Arya’s sword instructor Syrio Forel was a heavy blow for her, delivered without mercy by Ser Meryn Tyrant in King’s Landing all the way back in Season 1. Unfortunately for him, he should never have arrived in Braavos, where Arya had been training with the Faceless to hone her skills at subterfuge and assassination.

Working quickly, she went to the House of Black and White, took the face of a brothel girl and ingratiated herself to him at a den of iniquity. She gouged out his eyes and brutally slashed his throat, an act which does not get the approval of the Faceless Man. As comeuppance, he struck her blind.

5 Lothar Frey And “Black Walder” Frey

After Arya refuses the command from the Faceless Man to murder Lady Crane, he sends The Waif after her, whom Arya summarily deals with. She then departs Braavos for good, intending to once again resume systematic annihilation of everyone on her kill list. Armed with her new skills from the Faceless Man, she sets off to make the twins of House Frey her first victims.

Though we don’t get the satisfaction of seeing Arya kill Lothar and “Black Walder” Frey on camera, we do know their grim fate: Arya makes a pie from the brothers’ grim remains, which she then feeds to their father, Lord Walder, shortly before killing him as well.

4 Lord Walder

One of the most sanctimonious and self-righteous lords in the North, Lord Walder was the mastermind behind the massacre of almost all members of House Stark at an event dubbed the Red Wedding. Arya’s years spent learning secrets from the Faceless Man pay off when she puts into motion the ultimate revenge plan.

Posing as one of Lord Walder’s servant girls, she is able to infiltrate the keep and wait on him, looking and sounding like the girl he knows. Lord Walder realizes only too late the girl is really Arya, who promptly kills him in the names of Robb and Catelyn Stark.

3 Every Member Of House Frey

When the majority of House Stark fell at the Red Wedding, there was only one house truly to blame for the cruelty of the massacre; House Frey. Once allies to the Starks, whatever good blood had once existed between them ran cold when Lord Walder Frey saw his opportunity to seize power in the North.

Arya had gotten her revenge against Lord Walder Frey and his sons Lothar and Black Walder Frey, but that wasn’t enough for their betrayal as one of Stark’s former allies. In an inspired plan, Arya used her face changing abilities to appear as Lord Walder, and set a trap that would wipe out the entire house with poison.

2 Little Finger

Lord Petyr Baelish, known as the insidious Little Finger throughout the series, had wormed his way into the good graces of whomever served his agenda best; securing a position of power after all the noble houses killed each other off in pursuit of the Iron Throne. His latest accomplishment was securing the trust of Sansa Stark, pitting her against her family so that he remained her only confidante.

Unfortunately for Lord Baelish, he grew overconfident. His desire to turn Sansa against her sister Arya backfired in a catastrophic way, forcing him to stand witness to his web of conspiracies. When he was finally found guilty of treason, Arya slit his throat on Sansa’s command, ending the machinations of one of the series’ most lethal threats.

1 The Night King

In Episode 3 of Season 8, Arya once again found herself heeding the cryptic prophesied visions of red priestess Melisandre, who repeated to her a line from Season 3 concerning Arya’s killing spree. At the time, it was predicted to include closing three pairs of eyes; a brown, a blue, and a green. Arya takes this to mean it’s up to her to kill the Night King attacking Winterfell, given his piercing blue eyes.

Arya delivers the killing blow to the leader of the massive army of White Walkers, which in turn wipes out his entire forces. Not only does this rank as Arya’s most epic kill, it makes her the possible embodiment of Melisandre’s other vision, the Prince That Was Promised.

About The Author

Kayleena Pierce-Bohen
(1347 Articles Published)

Kayleena has been raised on Star Wars and Indiana Jones from the crib. A film buff, she has a Western collection of 250+ titles and counting that she’s particularly proud of. When she isn’t writing for ScreenRant, CBR, or The Gamer, she’s working on her fiction novel, lifting weights, going to synthwave concerts, or cosplaying. With degrees in anthropology and archaeology, she plans to continue pretending to be Lara Croft as long as she can.

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