• Warning: Spoilers ahead for “Game of Thrones” season eight, episode two, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”
• On Sunday’s episode, Arya Stark had sex for the first time with Gendry, her old friend from earlier seasons.
• The scene, while eliciting plenty of reactions from fans, also unveiled some gnarly scars on Arya’s torso.
• In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “Game of Thrones” writer Bryan Cogman said the scars are mostly from season six, when Arya was nearly killed by The Waif.
• “One thing I wrote specifically when crafting that scene is ‘Gendry notes her scars,'” he said. “They’re having this nice flirtation and have this own shared history they draw upon but she’s very different from the Arya he used to know.”

HBO’s latest episode of “Game of Thrones” added a new dimension to Arya Stark – for viewers as well as for Gendry,her old friend from earlier seasons.

On the eve of the White Walkers’ arrival at Winterfell, she made the surprising decision to lose her virginity. And while Arya takes her clothes off, Gendry makes note of some gnarly scars on her torso.

Read more:
‘Game of Thrones’ fans are mounting a passionate defence of Arya after that controversial steamy scene

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, “Game of Thrones” writer Bryan Cogman explained the camera’s lingering focus on Arya’s injuries during an otherwise tender scene.

“One thing I wrote specifically when crafting that scene is ‘Gendry notes her scars,'” he said. “There are so many things Gendry doesn’t understand about Arya. They’re having this nice flirtation and have this own shared history they draw upon but she’s very different from the Arya he used to know. There’s an attraction for him, but she’s also a bit scary too.”

Indeed, Gendry hasn’t seen Arya since she was still a child on season three. Now 18 years old, Arya has trained to become a vicious warrior in the years since – and sustained some serious damage while doing so.

According to Cogman, the scars are “from all of Arya’s encounters but most specifically when The Waif tried to kill her.”

Arya nearly died on season six, episode seven, “The Broken Man.” Her rival from the Faceless Men death cult, who was known as The Waif, stabbed Arya multiple times in the stomach.

On the following episode, “No One,” Arya sustained multiple injuries while running away through the streets of Braavos. She fell down a massive flight of stairs (and probably broke a few ribs) before managing to find her sword.

Arya managed to kill The Waif in the following fight scene – but it isn’t shown onscreen, so it’s possible that that’s when Arya received the scars on the side of her torso.

Maisie Williams, who plays Arya, told Entertainment Weekly that she had complete control over how much of her body would be revealed onscreen.

“David and Dan were like: ‘You can show as much or as little as you want,'” Williams said. “So I kept myself pretty private. I don’t think it’s important for Arya to flash. This beat isn’t really about that. And everybody else has already done it on the show, so.”

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