Westeros

This is one we’ve been waiting for awhile—our first glimpse of the “dancing master” Syrio Forel with Arya while her father looks on.

Miltos Yerolemou looks fantastic in his costume, and we can’t help but think it’s purposefully just a bit similar to that of a certain cinematic swordsman. Of course, Miltos is not very much like Syrio as described, lacking the “great beak of a nose” or quite so much slightness (he is, however, quite short, as you might guess by comparing him to Maisie Williams in this shot).

Most notably, of course, he’s also not bald. Miltos did state early on that he was going to be visiting with the makeup department to decide what they’d do regarding his hair, whether they’d shave it or fit him with a prosthetic, but they seem to have decided to keep his very curly hair. We think it works very well, however—he’s not going to be mistaken for anyone else!

As to Arya, we see her here in a boy’s clothing. There’s some wonderful details—we particularly like the shoes, which look very period indeed. The one thing that did make us wonder is the hand in which she holds the sword. It’s been noted on a couple of occasions that Maisie has trained to use the sword with her left hand, because Arya’s left handedness is one of those small details that’s actually pointed out (in fact, first noted to us by Syrio in their first meeting). Why is the sword in her right, then? We were going to guess that this is their first encounter, and she attempted to emulate her (right-handed) brothers and other role models, and we’ll see Syrio suggest that she take it up with her left hand instead when he recognizes the hand she favors. However, Miltos has noted at Winter is Coming that, “what you didn’t and haven’t seen in this ‘still’ is what Arya was attempting to do before i disarmed her.

i can assure you all, and from has been passed on by various fans and members of production that Maisie does indeed train and fight with her left hand.”

So, that sort-of explains that: it may not be her first session, may instead be some trick Arya tried to get the better of Syrio.

We rather like the touch of Eddard watching. In the novel, it’s a surprise to Arya when she’s introduced to Syrio, as she’s sent to the hall alone by her father’s steward. From the novel, it seems Eddard never actually watches any of Arya’s training sessions, so even if he’s just standing in to watch the start of her training, it’s an additional chance to more clearly see his fondness and love for his daughter.

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