Brienne is a great fighter, but Arya is just flat out deadly. What’s the difference between the two of them? Well, Brienne has a great deal of size on her side, a longer reach, and obviously a lot more experience. But Arya has youth and a style that Brienne is obviously not used to that was taught to her by Syrio Forel, the First Sword of Braavos.
Can you believe this is actually one of the first times, if not THE first time, that we’ve gotten to see Arya really acquit herself in a fight? Granted, it’s a training session and neither one of them wants to do any real harm, but after Brienne became a little too invested in the match Arya stepped right up to the plate and showed that she’s more than capable of handling her own with a larger opponent.
Keep in mind that Brienne has taken on the likes of the Hound and Ser Jamie Lannister and done well. But Arya managed not only to show her up but also move in for what could have been the kill. I can hear the naysayers already going on and on about how this was a training exercise and wouldn’t mean much in a real fight. But keep in mind, if Game of Thrones and Star Wars were to come together and lightsabers were used in battle (oh what a dream that would be) then Brienne would have lost both legs and been taken out of the fight long before she got a chance to boot Arya to the ground. Even if she’d just been wounded and still managed to disarm Arya that final blow would have been the end.
Face it, Arya is better in single combat than Brienne. Now put her in open warfare with opponents all around and that might be a different matter. Brienne is far more skilled in open combat and would fare far better. Arya is still small enough and limber enough that she’s built more for speed and stealth than face to face engagements. If left to her own devices she would have no issue silencing Brienne without hesitation. It’s just a good thing they’re allies.
The inclusion of the lightsabers in this fight adds a great deal of excitement right up until the moment when Arya taps her amethyst blade to Brienne’s armor. Then it begins to fade since unless Brienne’s armor is lined with cortosis, a type of metal that stops and even cancels out lightsabers (yes I am a Star Wars nerd), then she would have been horribly wounded and largely taken out of the fight. But all in all it was still a nice effect and even more so when Arya had been disarmed and had to rely on the Valyrian dagger she’d been given.
It was an awesome duel all around, and poor Podric is probably thinking that he’d be better off continuing with Brienne rather than try to take on Arya. At least he’d have a chance of keeping up with Brienne, if he managed to learn from his mistakes.
