Arya, you've really got to cool it with the whole murder thing
The devil’s in the details - or maybe HBO just used any old prop for a photoshoot.
The new cover of Entertainment Weekly, which depicts the remaining Stark family from Game of Thrones, has keen-eyed fans freaking out over one small element. Namely, the dagger that Arya Stark appears to be carrying.
If the fan theories are true, then the weapon could be a spoiler for one of season seven's biggest deaths at Arya’s hands. Littlefinger - or Petyr Baelish - was revealed to be the owner of the dagger way back in season one and this could be a sign that Arya straight up murders the silver-tongued noble.
While the dagger may seem like a pedantic detail, it’s actually already played a pretty significant role in the series. It was the weapon used in Bran’s attempted assassination in the first series, which was then taken as evidence to King’s Landing for further investigation by Catelyn Stark.
Upon seeing the unique blade made of Valyrian steel and dragonbone, Littlefinger immediately identified it as his. However he also explained that he had lost it in a bet with Tyrion Lannister, who he then frames for the assassination. If you’re struggling to cast your mind back, then basically it was what led to Tyrion’s trial by combat at the Eyrie and Bronn kicking someone out of the Moon Door.
It’s presumed that the dagger has been returned to his possession as it was in the original book series, but we haven’t really seen it onscreen since. It wouldn’t be a massive stretch though since the new trailer has hinted at tensions between the Starks and Littlefinger, with the latter causing rifts between Sansa and Jon.
In any case, we can’t wait to find out what the future holds when the UK premiere of season 7 drops on July 17. British viewers can watch it on Sky Atlantic, who have the exclusive rights to the series. The return of the show is slightly bittersweet however, as it will only run for only seven episodes but it’s predicted to be the biggest yet.
