Arya Stark is an essential part of both George R.R. Martin's smash hit book series A Song of Ice and Fire and the HBO adaptation, Game of Thrones. She's one of the most powerful and intimidating characters in the story, and her strength and unique abilities quite literally wound up saving the world in the TV series.
However, like any adaptation, there are elements of Arya's character in the book that never made it to the screen. What dimensions of Arya's characterization and story development were left behind? And what about Arya's character are book fans solely privy to?
She's A Lot Like Her Aunt Lyanna
In the books, Arya is the only child of Catelyn and Ned who actually takes after the Starks in terms of her looks. Ned doesn't discuss Lyanna much in the TV series, but in the books he tells Arya that she looks like her.
And their similarities don't end with their appearance. Lyanna was willful and wild, and seemed to enjoy more martial pursuits over traditionally feminine hobbies, which is very much like Arya as well.
She Was Engaged To Elmar Frey, Not Waldron
In the TV series, when Robb and Catelyn make their deal with House Frey, it includes an agreement that Arya will marry Walder's son Waldron once they're both of age.
The deal in the books is pretty similar, except she's engaged to Walder's youngest son Elmar Frey. Walder Frey has many children in the books as well, but he doesn't have a son named Waldron.
And She Unknowingly Met Her Betrothed
Despite never officially meeting and despite the fact that Arya isn't even aware that she's betrothed to someone, Arya and Elmar Frey unknowingly interact with one another quite often in the books.
Elmar is a part of Roose Bolton's army when they take Harrenhal, and Arya is still there as well. Elmar knows he's engaged to Arya, but Arya has taken on the name of "Nan," and throughout their interactions at Harrenhal Arya never knows that this betrothal pact has been made on her behalf.
Sansa's Best Friend Is Posing As Her
The entire plotline with Sansa marrying Ramsay to secure the Bolton hold on the North does happen in the books, but in the books it is Sansa's friend Jeyne Poole who is actually posing as Arya Stark and is married to Ramsay instead.
Jeyne appears briefly in Game of Thrones but isn't even mentioned after the first season, whereas obviously her storyline is much bigger and more relevant in the books.
The North Is Rallying For "Her"
So although the real Arya is still training in Braavos when all of this is going on, the entire world actually does believe that Arya Stark is married to Ramsay Bolton and is being abused by him horribly.
As a result, many of the houses in the North (as well as Stannis Baratheon, actually) are planning on rebelling against the Boltons in the hopes of rescuing Ned's youngest daughter from her abuser.
Jon Died Trying To Save Her
Unsurprisingly, Jon Snow didn't take the news of his favorite sibling's marriage and abuse very well either. In fact, that is really the catalyst for his death in the books.
When Jon receives a threatening letter that is purportedly from Ramsay, he decides that he's going to leave Castle Black and head south to try to rescue his sister in Winterfell. It's then that a few members of the Night's Watch attack and murder him.
She Met Sam Tarly In Braavos
In the books Arya seemingly has a habit of running into important people who don't know that she's Arya Stark.
She also coincidentally runs into Samwell Tarly in Braavos, although she doesn't know that he's Jon's best friend and he doesn't know that she's Arya. During the voyage down to Oldtown, Maester Aemon gets quite sick, so their party stops off in Braavos to seek help.
She Wargs Into Nymeria
Although Bran was seemingly the only magical Stark sibling in the TV series, in the books it's quite clear that all of the Stark children are quite powerful wargs.
Arya is actually so powerful and has such a strong bond with her direwolf Nymeria that she often wargs into the wolf when she's sleeping, despite the fact that Nymeria is still running free in the Riverlands and Arya is across the Narrow Sea in Braavos.
She May Be Learning To Warg Into Other Animals
The Starks have varying degrees of understanding of warging and the fact that they themselves are wargs, but Arya has gotten much closer to figuring it out.
During the whole plotline where Arya was blinded, she fended off an attack from a priest of the Many-Faced God. Her teachers presume that she is learning to work with her other senses, but it's implied that she could actually see the attack coming through the eyes of a nearby cat.
She Didn't Make Frey Pies
Arya baking Walder Frey's sons into pies and serving the pies to him was one of the most exciting moments of the entire series. However in the books, it's not Arya who carries out this poetic revenge.
In the books it is a Northern lord named Wyman Manderly who does this. It hasn't been confirmed yet, but he supposedly had three of Lord Frey's sons killed, baked into pies, and he presents these "pork" pies at the wedding of the fake Arya and Ramsay Bolton.