‘Game of Thrones’: Was Arya’s Epic Scene With the Night King Copied From ‘Star Wars’?
Aside from geek culture and mythology, one would imagine Game of Thrones and Star Wars wouldn’t have anything more in common. The former has a “back-in-the-day” feel, as it is inspired by British medieval history and the latter has a futuristic vibe, as space travel is feasible.
But one pivotal scene in season 8 episode 3 of Game of Thrones had the shows having more in common, leaving some fans wondering just how much Star Wars borrowing the show plans to do. Did the scene where Arya slaughters the Night King turn into a blatant Star Wars copy?
It’s perhaps just a slight nod, though the show has been known to mimic Star Wars idioms before. This was inevitable when dealing with a mythological story using medieval-like weaponry.
Who first hinted at a ‘Star Wars’ tribute?
Vanity Fair (and other media) picked up on this idea the day after the episode aired of Arya killing the Night King. They showed a comparison shot of Arya battling Brienne using a similar dagger move we saw with Rey using her lightsaber in The Last Jedi.
While battles with sword-like weapons will likely lead to some of the same physical maneuvers, how similar was the destruction of the Night King to a Star Wars scene? It turns out the move was almost identical to Rey taking on and killing a Praetorian guard during a chaotic battle.
Was this a blatant Star Wars trilogy ripoff, or just a harmless nod? You can probably find some clues based on past associations, including the GoT producers being hired last year to write a new series of Star Wars movies.
‘Game of Thrones’ has been known to take from more than ‘Star Wars’
HuffPost posted a compilation back in 2014 showing just how much GoT has taken from iconic fantasy/sci-fi/medieval movies. They note a lot more similarities to Star Wars than fans may want to admit.
One of those is Jaime Lannister losing his hand, just like Luke Skywalker did at the end of Empire Strikes Back. Also, many of the characters in Game of Thrones have had similar characteristics to those in the galaxy far, far away.
Another example includes the family crossover relations, as in Jon falling in love with Daenerys. We saw the same with Luke and Leia briefly, outside of not initially knowing they were related. Of course, Jon and Daenerys didn’t know either, yet don’t seem to want to stop now that they do know.
Then you have numerous baddies who received their comeuppances. The Night King almost looks a little like Darth Maul made out of ice. Their demises are also slightly similar.
What about the deal by the producers to write ‘Star Wars’ movies?
David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were said to have signed on last year to write a new Star Wars trilogy set in the Old Republic. Yes, this deal was confirmed, but a lot of rumors still brew about what the films will really be about.
If Game of Thrones is borrowing from Star Wars recently, is it Benioff and D.B. Weiss bringing a backhanded reference to being involved with their next project? There isn’t anything surprising about producers and writers sneaking in sly references to things while working on something else. Nevertheless, the more Game of Thrones takes from Star Wars, the less likely it is to resemble anything from George R.R. Martin.
The latter would probably bristle at the idea that his own creation would try to take from other sci-fi/fantasy products. When it comes to TV, however, borrowing is sometimes ironic flattery.
Will Arya Stark become like Rey?
We’re all happy to see amazing women characters like this take off into the realm of ruling the roost. Daisy Ridley’s Rey set such a high-bar example in the new Star Wars trilogy, it was impossible not to imitate.
No doubt Benioff and Weiss saw an opportunity to do the very same thing for GoT, no matter if it strayed a little from Martin’s initial vision. Arya is already very much like Rey in using her superior physical battle skills to survive the almost insurmountable.
Both of them may have eye-opening and rewarding outcomes as they reach their own apexes as characters.
