It contains major spoilers for Game of Thrones.
You have been warned.
And it was perhaps one of the most powerful takedowns on television.
Game of Thrones | HBO
From the very first scenes of the show, Arya defies what is expected of young women.
Her destiny is greater than one might assumeand her journey holds many powerful lessons about trauma survivors.
Arya undergoes numerous inescapable traumas throughout her very short life, drastically shaping her personality and worldview.
As we know, adverse childhood experiences have a deep, long-lasting impact on the brain.
She witnesses unimaginable trauma when she sees her own father being murdered as a young child.
Though she is small, she is fierce.
Her journey to that level of maturity is incredible.
She also learns that fear cuts deeper than swords.
These are all lessons that will inevitably help her to defeat the Night King.
It is in her life experiences after her initial training that give her the platform to utilize these lessons.
Arya develops it in spades as she learns to evade danger in every corner.
According to researcher Willem Frankenhuis, people who have been abused in childhood can develop whatDr.
Her fragmented sense of identity and search for her true identity and wholeness.
Trauma creates fragments: It shatters the connection among memories, thoughts, emotions, and the self.
There, she is beaten, terrorized, and challenged to fight back.
She goes home not just to her family but to herself.
While regaining a pre-trauma identity is next to impossible for characters like Arya, her post-traumatic growth is tremendous.
She learns the art of resourcefulness even when she has nothing.
It is her desire for justice, rather than power, that makes her unstoppable.
Her darkness has to be integrated so that fully own her light.
It is recognized, along with her authentic outrage, in all of its unflinching glory.
This is what I tell them: You dont have to forgive for move on.
Emotions are important and automatic.
When we can acknowledge and appreciate even the darkest, most negative-feeling emotions, they often soften and release.
The North remembers, and so does she.
Our so-called dark emotions must be acknowledged to fully own our true light.
Yet her intense emotions are an all too real part of this journey.
A weary traveler and warrior, she is forced to confront what no child should have to endure.
But she does endure, and she is able to use her skills to rebuild a new world.
No one expected her or saw her coming.
And therein lies her greatest power.
Arya is every little girl who grew up in terror and trauma.
Who survives impossible situations through her resilience, grit, talent, and determination.
And yes, she is truly ruthless when it comes to her enemies.
She is all those who have survivedand thrived.
