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08th Aug 2017

Game of Thrones actresses on why that Arya/Sansa reunion was ‘weird’

It's the reunion fans have been waiting for

Keeley Ryan

It’s the reunion fans have been waiting for.

Needless to say, this article is filled with spoilers for the latest season of Game of Thrones.

Game of Thrones’ The Spoils of War sent fans into a frenzy with one massive scene this week – and no, we’re not talking about the battle between Drogon, the Dothraki and the Lannisters.

The episode had another major Stark family reunion as Arya (Maisie Williams) and Sansa (Sophie Turner) shared their first scene together for the first time season one.

The duo are incredibly close friends in real life – which made their on-screen reunion all the more awkward, according to them.

Sophie admitted that the pair couldn’t keep a straight face when filming their reunion scene – and that the reunion was like “performing for your mom”.

She told Entertainment Weekly:

“Our relationship is so close, but it’s only that fun side, never the business side.

“I was nervous. It just terrified me. It’s like performing for your mom. When somebody is watching you don’t do it quite as well.”

Maisie agreed, confessing it took the on-screen siblings “a few hours to get serious” – but it was eventually fine.

She said:

“It was the weirdest thing when we shot our first scene together. We were both embarrassed to do our thing in front of each other.

“It took a few hours for us to get serious and actually do it.

“Later it was fine on set and we could concentrate, but it was so hard to get into character with Sophie in front of me.”

Sophie added:

 “But in the long run I think it benefits us because we can be free with each other in our acting.

“We’re not afraid to go there with each other because we feel so comfortable around each other.”

Sansa and Arya’s relationship has always been pretty tense, ultimately coming to a head in the first season after Sansa didn’t support Arya after her fight on the riverbanks with Joffery – leading both of them to lose their beloved direwolves.

But six seasons on, both of the characters have drastically changed – with Arya becoming a skilled assassin and Sansa becoming a political powerhouse.

And with each of them having their own devoted fanbases, the actresses are just hoping fans don’t start comparing them again.

Maisie said:

“I don’t do scenes with women much on this show and I thought [the reaction to season 7] would be like back in season 1 where people constantly compared us.

“We’re two completely different girls playing two completely different characters and I thought, ‘Well, it’s going to be that all over again, with people comparing us as characters and as actors.’

“So, in the beginning, I was nervous.

“But then my brain took over and I realized this is actually going to be really good fun.”

The pair took to Twitter after the episode aired in the US on Sunday night/early hours of Monday morning as they celebrated their onscreen reunion.

https://twitter.com/SophieT/status/894588926408765440

Featured image via HBO