The seventh season of Game of Thrones had a non-stop series of stunning moments. Living dragons wiped out vast seas of men with flames spewing from their throat, and an undead dragon took down The Wall with its minty-cool breath like the Night King fed it a million pieces of Icebreaker wintergreen. Jon Snow and his band of bastards and badasses went beyond The Wall to capture a wight in what was HBO’s most impressive set-piece battle, and HBO spent millions per episode in an effort to out-do themselves over and over. And yet, it’s the intense, yet fascinatingly subtle sparring session between Brienne of Tarth and Arya Stark that might be the best use of special effects and editing.
Not only was the friendly fight important for the story, showing that Brienne might actually have a worthy foe in the diminutive Arya, but it proved that the smaller moments and one-on-one battles could still elicit a rise out of the audience. Here was Arya, nearly besting one of the greatest warriors in Westeros, someone who was tasked with protecting her, proving that she didn’t need protection. All it took was some sly green screen and a few stunt doubles, along with a lot of choreography.
The little kip up to her feet was pretty cool too. You have to hand it to Maisie Williams for being able to pull off half of it.
