George RR Martin Wanted A Jon Snow-Arya Stark Romance In Game Of Thrones

Game of Thrones writer George RR Martin once planned a romantic angle between Jon Snow and Arya Stark, but is now ashamed of it. Jon and Arya’s reunion in the season eight premiere of the hit HBO show received mixed response from fans, with some suggested that it lacked emotion, while others were happy with how it was done.

Polygon says that the Song of Ice and Fire books (upon which GoT is based) offer more details about Jon and Arya’s relationship.

“Labeled as a bastard, Jon often felt ostracised in Winterfell,” the report says. “The only sibling of his that truly understood this was Arya, who experienced similar treatment due to her tomboyish nature.”

Fans of the books have often noticed strong foreshadowing that points to a possible romantic angle between Jon and Arya. Polygon says that Martin originally intended them to be a part of a love triangle that also involved Tyrion Lannister. Martin has expressed regret at this detail having been revealed to the public. “Well, this goes with what I said before, the story changes and expands as I write. I wish I was able to go back and make revised drafts, but that’s not going to happen,” a Game of Thrones fan site quotes him as saying. Martin said that he had submitted an outline to his publisher, which he ended up discarding, but not before it was leaked to the public, and ‘in that two-page outline, Jon and Arya become a romantic item’.

Polygon reproduced passages from the books that hint at this romance: “Arya… he missed her even more than Robb (Stark, brother), skinny little thing that she was, all scraped knees and tangled hair and torn clothes, so fierce and wilful. Arya never seemed to fit, no more than he had… yet she could always make Jon smile. He would give anything to be with her now, to muss up her hair once more and watch her make a face, to hear her finish a sentence with him.”

Also read: Game of Thrones 8 episode 2 new stills: Daenerys, Jon Snow, Arya Stark prepare for the big war with the army of the dead

The final season premiere of Game of Thrones featured many such reunions. And now that the pawns are in their place, fans can expect major moves in the remaining five episodes of the show. Game of Thrones will return on Monday morning in India, with episode two, to be simulcast on Hotstar. The episode will later be aired on Star World and Star World HD.