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Some Game of Thrones Fans Are Calling Arya Stark a Mary Sue
Really?? Of all the characters to pick from, Arya is accused of being a Mary Sue???
Warning! Major Game of Thrones, Season 8, Episode 3 spoilers ahead!
So on last night's episode of HBO's wildly popular fantasy series Game of Thrones, fan-favorite Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) got the long-awaited, epic, heroic moment she deserved after she delivered a fatal blow to the infamous Night King.
Despite how badass all of it was, after the Night King's death, people still took it upon themselves to go on the internet and call Arya a "Mary Sue."*sigh* I guess this is why we can't have nice things...
For those of you who don't know, Mary Sue is a term used to describe a fictional female character who is unrealistically perfect, powerful, and without flaws/weaknesses. It's generally considered bad writing to have a Mary Sue in a TV show, movie, or book, and while male Mary Sues do exist in lots of different media (the terms for them is Gary Stu/Marty Stu), because of sexism and misogyny in fandom spaces, women characters get accused of being Mary Sues at far greater rates than male characters do. (Captain Marvel and Star Wars' Rey are two of the more well-known examples of the Mary Sue accusation.)
Luckily, there were a lot more people cheering for Arya, and pointing out that she actually did deserve her big moment, making her the complete opposite of a Mary Sue.
\u201cI don't even watch GOT but insecure men calling Arya or any strong female character a Mary Sue because they feel threatened by it is always hilarious\u201d— \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08Spectral\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 now reading: Mistborn Era 1 (@\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08Spectral\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 now reading: Mistborn Era 1) 1556556755
None— Luke (@Luke) 1556556424
None— Durrell (@Durrell) 1556555284
\u201cWait..... Arya is a "Mary Sue" now?\n\nDid y'all JUST start watching the show? She EARNED that moment. #GameofThrones #BattleOfWinterfell\u201d— Matt Jarbo (@Matt Jarbo) 1556556656
\u201cBefore you call Arya Stark a Mary Sue lemme hit you with some goddamn fact.\n\n1. Trained by the best swordsman in Westeros.\n2. Trained by the best assassin\n3. Studied/Watched the brilliance of Tywin Lannister\n4. Studied/trained with The Hound\n\nShes a full bred warrior, fuck off.\u201d— Se\u00f1or Shitposter (@Se\u00f1or Shitposter) 1556555586
\u201cPlease explain to me how Arya Stark is a Mary Sue. She spent her life fucking training and went through hell and back to get to where she is.\u201d— it was rachatha all along (@it was rachatha all along) 1556550211
\u201cWait people are calling Arya a Mary Sue when Jon is right there doing battle on a dragon after a five minute practice run?\u201d— Wesley (@Wesley) 1556556320
\u201cjon stans stop crying n calling arya a mary sue just say you don\u2019t like women and go\u201d— Sophia (@Sophia) 1556544491
\u201cRey is not Mary Sue.\n\nArya is not Mary Sue.\n\nOpen you eyes, sit down, shut up, and learn. \n\nStop being afraid of strong women.\u201d— \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 \u13df\u027e\u1961\u1949t\u1972\u1963 \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@\u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 \u13df\u027e\u1961\u1949t\u1972\u1963 \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25) 1556558555
\u201clol already seeing idiots online calling Arya a Mary Sue\n\nThat is...the furthest thing from the truth. She has an EIGHT SEASON training arc! What more do you WANT?\n\n"Get mo tuff" has been the trajectory of her character from episode 1. She is literally a shonen anime protagonist\u201d— Brandon Carbaugh (@Brandon Carbaugh) 1556513664
\u201cThe only tea here is that if Jon had defeated the Night King instead of Arya, or if any male star wars character had defeated Kylo in that battle instead of Rey, y'all petty male nerds wouldn't be calling them "Mary Sue".\n\nJust admit you're intimidated by strong women and go\u201d— Wayward Dai \ud83c\udf3b (@Wayward Dai \ud83c\udf3b) 1556560739
None— Ryan (@Ryan) 1556561268
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
Raffy is a Los Angeles-based writer, editor, video creator, critic, and digital director of Out Magazine. The former editor-in-chief of PRIDE, he is also a die-hard Rihanna and Sailor Moon stan who loves to write about all things pop culture, entertainment, and identities. Follow him on Instagram (@raffyermac) and Twitter (@byraffy), and subscribe to his YouTube channel.
