It would be an understatement to say there are a lot of rumors swirling around who may make the next surprise appearance on Game of Thrones [1], especially after last week's Benjen Stark reveal [2]. But avid fans of the A Song of Ice and Fire books are getting their hopes up yet again for the return of one character in particular: Lady Stoneheart.
Lady Stoneheart is actually Catelyn Stark [3], who returns from the dead in the book series to get vengeance on everyone who betrayed and destroyed her family. Her absence from the show thus far has left many book fans discouraged, but a new theory [4] proposed by The Huffington Post about her long-awaited entrance has arisen . . . fueled by none other than the Game of Thrones cast itself. Warning: spoilers follow!
The Background
In April, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner (Arya and Sansa, respectively) played a game of "Two Truths and a Lie" [5] with Yahoo — a game that when played at a sleepover is nothing special, but when played by people who know the secrets of Game of Thrones is cause for fandom freak-outs.
And boy, did both of those ladies know how to play. [6] Williams gave her two truths and a lie statements as follows:
- "Arya goes to Westeros, back over the sea."
- "Arya is in the trailer more times than people have realized, because they don't realize it's her."
- "Arya doesn't cross any more names off her list."
Seems like that first statement could very well come true, after Arya's apparent flight from the Faceless Men [7] in "Blood of My Blood." The other two statements are more up in the air, but consider them again after hearing Turner's statements:
- "Ramsay dies."
- "Lady Stoneheart returns."
- "Arya checks three people off her list."
Here's where the internet has our backs. Leaked photos from the Game of Thrones set have revealed the setup for a large battle [8] in the North. In addition, it's been revealed [9] that the ninth episode (which is always a climactic one) of season six will be called "Battle of Bastards."
If we're leading up to a showdown between Ramsay and Jon Snow at Winterfell (which, side note, would play right into the vision Melisandre claims [10] to have had about seeing Jon fighting there), we all certainly hope it would end in Ramsay's slow and hopefully painful death. Right?
Not so fast. Another leak from Reddit [11] revealed a bunch of spoilers about the rest of season six, including the fact that Jon will take the North back from the Boltons' rule — but will then imprison Ramsay instead of killing him. Argh. But what this information also tells us is that Turner's first statement was her lie.
The Implications
Stay with me here. If Williams's first statement was true, there's a higher chance her third statement was her lie. And if we know Turner's first statement to be her lie from the leaked show information, then her other two statements were true and, like Winter, Lady Stoneheart is coming.
However, this also means that Williams's second statement about Arya being in the season trailer but not always recognized was true, which leads us to the big theory: Arya will wear Catelyn Stark's face and act as Lady Stoneheart herself, seeking revenge on the people who destroyed her family.
Just hear us out. If Arya is already wearing other faces to get stuff done (according to Williams's truth), who's to say she wouldn't use Catelyn's? We know she's stolen faces before. And with her abandonment of both the Faceless Men and the idea of becoming "no one," Arya might be getting a renewed sense of family loyalty these days.
Two of the names still left on Arya's infamous kill list [12] are Cersei Lannister and Walder Frey — both of whom Lady Stoneheart would certainly want dead as well, especially Walder Frey. And after all this time we've just now seen the return of the cranky Frey to the screen — complete with a reference to his betrayal at the Red Wedding, so we're all reminded of how much we hate him. Coincidence? Could be. Or maybe he'll soon be getting a visit from an old wedding guest.
All this postulating is contingent, of course, on Turner and Williams telling the complete truth about their truths. We'd like to believe that Arya and Sansa are on our side, though. We've always been on theirs, haven't we?