Many Game Of Thrones fans believe there’s a bit more to a prophecy than meets the eye.
In the show’s most recent episode, The Long Night, Arya (Maisie Williams) shocked viewers when she became the MVP of the Battle of Winterfell by using her slick dagger-shifting skills to shatter the Night King and save humanity.
But Westeros’ most cunning pint-sized assassin might have never decided to take her game-changing shot if it weren’t for the return of the red priestess Melisandre (Carice Van Houten) and her reminder of a prophecy that she made about Arya long ago.
And many fans believe that this prophecy — which accurately predicted the fate of the blue-eyed Night King — also foreshadows the death of the green-eyed Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).
Back in series three, when the elusive Red Woman and the scrappy young Stark first met, they were at odds.
The Brotherhood Without Banners sold Arya’s friend Gendry (Joe Dempsie) to Melisandre so that she could work some creepy blood magic. Though the red witch never explicitly laid out why she wanted Gendry, Arya suspected she was up to no good.
“You’re a witch. You’re going to hurt him,” Arya shouted.
In response, Melisandre looked into Arya’s eyes and delivered this prediction: “I see a darkness in you. And in that darkness, eyes staring back at me. Brown eyes, blue eyes, green eyes. Eyes sealed shut forever,”
She then added: “We will meet again.”
Ayra went on to become a Faceless Man and murdered many — including the brown-eyed Walder Frey to avenge the murder of Ayra’s mother, Catelyn (Michelle Fairley), and her brother Robb (Richard Madden) at the Red Wedding.
It should be noted, however, that Melisandre’s prophecies haven’t always panned out (R.I.P. Stannis and Shireen Baratheon).
But she accurately predicted Ayra’s bloodthirst and the two did meet again on Sunday night in the Battle of Winterfell, during which Melisandre’s spotty fortunetelling skills actually hit the mark.
At a very low point in the brutal fight for survival — in which all hope for the living seemed to be lost — Ayra is surprised to see Melisandre again.
“You said we’d meet again,” Arya says, slightly stunned.
“And here we are… at the end of the world,” Melisandre responds.
“You said I’d shut many eyes forever,” Arya says. “You were right about that too.”
“Brown eyes, green eyes … and blue eyes,” the lady in red answers, the last of which refers not only to the cerulean eyes of the Night King but to those of his White Walkers.
Many fans are now arguing that because the first parts of this prophecy came true, Arya will slay Cersei, who has long been on Arya’s hit list for her role in the death of Arya’s father, Ned Stark (Sean Bean).
It is unclear if this fan theory actually has dragon wings, however. Arya has already killed a ton of people, including folks with all kinds of eye colours. And, as noted, not all of Melisandre’s prophecies have come true.
Carice van Houten has also downplayed her character’s influence in the past, urging fans to take those prophecies with a grain of salt.
“I think I’ve said other things that also didn’t happen?” she told HuffPost earlier this month.
But whether this theory seems eye-opening or eye-roll inducing, it is — at the very least — a whole lot of fun.