Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams utterly missed Sword Fighting while filming Season 2

Arya Stark was undoubtedly one of the finest warriors on Game of Thrones. Her use of weaponry was unmatched, and she could take down foes much bigger in size than herself. It all started way back in season 1 when Ned Stark employed Syrio Forel to give her ‘dancing’ lessons. The actor who played Syrio Forel, Miltos Yerolemou, recently talked to Collider about his experience on the set. He also revealed that Maisie Williams, who played Arya Stark, had grown quite fond of the lessons. She really missed them in the second season of the show.

He said, “Even though we had stunt doubles who were brilliant at what they did, they never got a chance to film any of the stuff because … And Maisie, herself, is a dancer — as you can see as her fighting develops through the show. All of that is her because she’s a natural. And so, the two of us just were in our element. We relished that. In fact, I remember Maisie saying to me when she was filming Season 2 — I think I met her at a convention and she said, “I really miss doing the sword fighting,” because I think in Season 2 she didn’t get to do hardly any. And she was like, “I really, really miss it.”

He continued, “It was her very first job that she’d ever done. She was 13 years old. She was still at school. Maisie had an amazing mom that read her the bits that she couldn’t read because those bits were quite adult. She had a really supportive mother. And the team around her really looked after her.”

What do you think of Maisie’s sword fighting skills? Tell us in the comments below!

Game of Thrones wrapped up filming nearly two years ago and left the fans with several unanswered questions. One of the most prominent ones was what really happened to Syrio Forel? He was last seen fighting Lannister soldiers with a wooden sword, while Arya escaped. But no one knows how the fight ended. After so many years, we might finally have an answer, from the actor Miltos Yerolemou himself!

When asked about the same in an interview with Collider, the actor replied, “It’s a really good question. I’ll say it is a really good question because it has changed a lot over the years. Initially, I knew very much about the fan theories about is he dead? Is he alive? Is he Jaqen H’ghar, are they faceless men?”

“I would never say one thing one way or another, because the whole point, especially while the show was still going on, was that I didn’t want to give anything away, one way or another, because the mythology is what is exciting about a lot of things. And who knows? Certain things happened in the series that never happened in the books. And vice versa.”

“So, there was ambiguity there. But ultimately, each time I answered that question, I would formulate a clearer idea of really what happened. And to me, it makes a lot of sense because I remember asking George, who wrote the episode — Episode 8 in the first season — I remember asking him, “Why don’t you answer the question that everyone has asked since you wrote that chapter in the book? Why don’t you do that?” And he said, “That isn’t what I want to do. That doesn’t serve my narrative purpose.” And that’s all he would say.”

“And I understood it. And yet, now I really understand it because to me, it makes a lot of sense that you don’t get the traumatic ending of Syrio, because in the books Arya remembers his words. It’s like the training is kept alive, in the same way … I keep going back to Star Wars. The presence of Obi-Wan Kenobi is still there because he’s kind of still there. No one really ever dies. That kind of thing.”

He continued, “It’s not mystical in the same way as Star Wars. But the resonance and the echo of the words, the mantra, the training is alive in her head. And I think the ambiguity allows that to exist. And if she’d seen him cut down, I think it wouldn’t have the same effect on her, or it would be too traumatic for it to live on in her head in the same way.

So, as a narrative device, I think it’s brilliant. And I think that is the reason why George did it. And I think that is the reason why, ultimately, Syrio Forel sacrifices himself to save this girl he barely knows. That’s also very poetic. And also, there aren’t that many good guys in Game of Thrones, so you got to have at least a couple.”

Even though it is not a clear answer, he hints vaguely that Syrio didn’t survive the battle. What do you think happened to Syrio? Tell us in the comments below!

Game of Thrones became one of the most successful shows of the past decade due to a variety of factors. Highly realistic fight scenes were one of the reasons why the show became so popular. Some characters, like Arya Stark’s teacher Syrio Forel, did not have much screen time, but their popularity skyrocketed nonetheless. His last appearance on the show where he fights his last battle while protecting Arya is one of the most beloved fight scenes amongst the fans. Miltos Yerolemou, who played the role, revealed how they made the scene look so realistic.

Yerolemou explained to Collider, “The team on Game of Thrones were fantastic. Let’s be absolutely straight here — the Hungarian stuntmen were the people who really made me look good, because they flipped and fell over, and reacted to my movements in such a way that made it look even more phenomenal. So, it’s a collaborative effort, like it always is.”

“Ultimately, it’s a matter of creating the choreography and then making sure that you just practice it. In the end, with the Lannister fight, I think we spent a few days. But also, part of mine and Maisie’s agreement or deal was that we made sure that we did everything ourselves. So, even though we had stunt doubles who were brilliant at what they did, they never got a chance to film any of the stuff because …

So, it’s a collaborative thing. Ultimately, it was having people that just created really good choreography and then we just worked our butts off.”

What do you think of Syrio Forel’s last scene? Tell us in the comments below!

Game of Thrones’ first prequel House of The Dragon has already caused a huge stir amongst all the fans around the globe. The upcoming series based on the Dance of The Dragons focuses on a civil war that nearly destroyed Westeros prior to the events of Game of Thrones. HBO has already showcased the key players in the acting roster, hyping up the fans even more. WarnerMedia Chief Jason Kilar recently talked about HBO’s success and Game of Thrones prequel in a virtual appearance at the MoffettNathanson Media and Communications Summit.

“I’d argue we’ve done more for theatres in 2021 than anyone else in Hollywood, by far,” Kilar declared. “There will be those stories that are so epic in scope and fit a certain sensibility that we feel that an exclusive theatrical release makes sense. … But there will be other stories that are different, that we actually think hew much closer to what we’re seeing this year in terms of movies that are available on HBO Max the same day that they’re made available to the exhibition. It’s going to be fascinating to see how that all evolves.”

When asked about the long-awaited prequel to Game of Thrones, House of The Dragon, Kilar said, “I’m just so excited because the world that exists in Westeros and the broader landscape and the characters,” he said. “The Targaryens are about as crazy as they get. It’s literally the essence of good drama.”

Are you excited about the upcoming prequel? Talk to us in the comments below!