Arya Stark, in
my humble opinion.
For one thing,
she doesn’t possess the annoying habit of declaring her titles at whoever gets
under her skin, and she isn’t a glorified bastard with a questionable ancestry.
Moreover, Arya isn’t looking to claim the iron throne; making her an even
better contender for the throne and a more deserving one. George R. R. Martin has
himself stated that the winner will not be a mainstream contender. That rules
out the entitled Mother of Dragons. It would be a truly heart wrenching and
iconic moment to witness the crowning of a Stark, after everything they’ve been
put through; from decapitation and betrayal, to frightening encounters with white
walkers and unexpected massacres. It doesn’t help to know that only three Stark
children remain.
Arya is charming,
gutsy, unassuming and determined, making her an ideal candidate to lead the
seven kingdoms in the not so distant GoT future. Having come a long way from a feisty
little sprite of a girl in Season 1, her fighting spirit still remains the same
and she vows to exact revenge on all her enemies. She has endured massive
trials out of tremendous loyalty and for the best interests of her family, both
deceased and living.
Arya has also had
the most interesting story line so far, having encountered a deadly assassin
cult that aided her in furthering her repertoire of violence. There has got to
be a reason for her having sparked an interest (or fear) in Melisandre, who had
shown the same level of interest in Jon Snow. Did the Red Priestess envision
something big in Arya’s future? Her crossing paths with Gendry and the Hound
couldn’t have been mere coincidence.
Arya is a born survivor,
no doubt. She has risked her life on several occasions, having narrowly escaped
being raped and identified. She was chased and hunted down by the Waif, but succeeded
in fighting back despite having sustained an injury. She was blinded as
punishment by Jaqen H’ghar; but that didn’t keep her from continuing her
training. One could attribute it to pure luck, but I say she’s just gifted and
a natural at playing the game.
