Warning: spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones.
Arya Stark's big Battle of Winterfell moment when she killed the Night King with her Valyrian steel dagger wouldn't have happened if she hadn't been able to do one specific knife trick. Actress Maisie Williams trained seasons for the pivotal moment. As Harper's Bazaar recapped, Arya is left-handed and had the weapon in her left hand when she initially used it to try to attack the Night King.
He stopped her in a chokehold, knocked the dagger out of her hand, but then she caught it with her right hand and stabbed him. With that, he and all the White Walkers went down.
Writer Rob Sheridan pointed out on Twitter what a feat this was for Williams in response to those saying her character was a "Mary Sue" or unfairly overpowered. "At age 12, Maisie Williams, who is right-handed, decided to play Arya Stark left-handed to be true to the books," he wrote. "She rigorously trained to perform fight scenes with her non-dominant hand. Watch this insanely slick knife flip from the BTS training. Mary Sue my fucking ass."
That clip of Williams's knife trick has gone viral. It was from a behind the scenes clip of Williams training to do stunts for her fight with Brienne of Tarth in season 7.
You can see the training sequence in full here. Williams mentioned in the clip that because of her and Brienne actress Gwendoline Christie's height and size difference, "it’s been a massive challenge [training]." But she pulled it off like a real pro. It's honestly incredible to watch and sheds light on how deserving Arya is of season 8's biggest moment so far:
Twitter even has created a viral dance challenge off of it. People are now posting videos of them doing #TheArya, inspired by her dagger handwork.
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.
