With one stab of her dagger, Arya Stark ended the Night King, the White Walkers, the Army of the Dead, the Great War — and years of theorizing over who is ~the chosen one~ on Game of Thrones.
Some fans are understandably frustrated. There have been a lot of hints that Jon and/or Dany would be The One, aka Azor Ahai, aka the Prince (or Princess) That Was Promised.
To unpack this and figure out what it all really means, let's take a look back at the original prophecy:
Basically, Azor Ahai was a hero who lived thousands of years ago, according to followers of the Lord of Light. To fight "the darkness" (commonly interpreted as the White Walkers), Azor Ahai forged a sword, Lightbringer. He first attempted to temper it with water and then with the heart of the lion, and in both instances the sword broke. Finally, he laboured on the sword again and tempered it by plunging it into the heart of his beloved wife, Nissa Nissa. Her soul combined with the sword to create Lightbringer.
A prophecy the red priests and priestesses believe in is that Azor Ahai will be reborn as the Prince That Was Promised. In the books, different characters have mentioned bits and pieces of the prophecy that collectively add up to a set of conditions most fans believe need to be satisfied to signal the return of Azor Ahai:
• Born amidst smoke and salt.
• Born beneath a bleeding star.
• Will wake dragons out of stone.
• Will draw Lightbringer from the flames.
• Will have to make a sacrifice.
• Theirs is the song of ice and fire.
• They are the blood of the dragon (and more specifically, a descendant of Aerys II and Rhaella Targaryen).
Both Jon and Daenerys fit this criteria in some way, and it's the reason why fans have long believed one or both of them would be the key to defeating the Night King — with many leaning toward Jon in particular, due to the way his storyline has been so caught up in the fight against the darkness.
Even within the show — although the prophecy has never been as fully detailed as it has been in the books — Melisandre has stated repeatedly that Jon Snow is the Prince That Was Promised.
Meanwhile, red priests and priestesses in Essos suggested it is Daenerys.
And yet, in Season 8, Episode 3, Arya yeets herself right into the Night King, smashing everyone's theories in the process.
But here's the thing — Melisandre's whole arc has been about how prophecy and visions aren't clear-cut, and that she's human and fallible (as are the other red priests and priestesses).
Melisandre herself, by the time she meets Dany and discusses the idea that she could be the Prince (or Princess) That Was Promised, says how "dangerous" prophecies are, and is careful to state that Dany and Jon each have a role to play — nothing more than that.
So does that mean Arya is Azor Ahai?
It's likely more complicated than that, though. All the symbolism around Jon and Dany can't be for nothing, right? I mean, Melisandre very deliberately brought them together.
Perhaps their purpose — the way they brought the dawn — was to unite and bring together their armies and their people so that they stood a fighting chance against the army of the dead. So that Arya was in the right place at the right time in order to kill the Night King.
But maybe the prophecy wasn't just about killing the Night King — perhaps banishing the darkness and ushering in a new era of light is about what happens after the war, too. It could be a sign they'll actually rule together — and be good leaders, at that.
Then again, maybe it all comes down to the fact that the prophecy is wrong and ultimately meaningless.
