Maisie Williams says 'Game of Thrones' fans should rewatch first season ahead of new episodes

Maisie Williams has urged Game of Thrones fans to revisit the show’s earlier episodes ahead of the eighth and final season premiering in just a few weeks’ time.

The 21-year-old, who plays Arya Stark in the epic fantasy drama, recently told Entertainment Weekly that many of the plot points explored in Game of Thrones’ eagerly anticipated conclusion directly reference the first season. So it would help if some viewers refreshed their memories as to what went down…

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“After reading the scripts I went back and watched season one again because so much of it refers back to that season,” Williams recalled to the publication. “There are so many scenes that will look similar.”

She went on to reveal how her performance during the final six episodes was influenced by looking back on how her character has gone from wide-eyed, innocent child to deadly, independent avenger since the pilot episode in 2011.

“Also, I watched just to remind myself of the arc I’ve taken already. I wanted Arya to go full circle and try for some kind of normalcy like when she was younger.”

Talking about the Arya we’ll meet in season eight, she said: “This year it’s like she has a dual personality — there are so many emotions and memories that come flooding back when you’re with your family and the things that you fight for become very different.

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“Yet she’s also remaining on this path to try and kill Cersei and remembering her list and getting closer to that.

“So there’s this split with Arya between trying to be who she wants to be — getting back to the naïveté and innocence with her family — and unfinished business.”

Game of Thrones‘ eighth season premieres on HBO at 9pm on 14 April in the US. It will air at 2am, and be repeated at 9pm, on Sky Atlantic in the UK the following day.