Game of Thrones regularly surprised and even shocked its audience. Of course, the writers of the show seemed to learn the wrong things from these shocks, which led to the show's downfall. One shocking moment in Season 8 of Game of Thrones was the demise of the Night King. Arya Stark ended up disposing of him in a move that no one would've expected. Was this a pleasant surprise from the show's writers? Did her saving the world by getting rid of the Night King make all of her combat training worth it? Or was this the beginning of the show's fall from grace in Season 8? Arya did have extensive training in combat and therefore was able to defeat many powerful enemies. However, her being the one to take out the Night King was very surprising, especially when so much pointed towards Jon Snow being his main enemy.
Or Bran Stark himself. So, therefore, Game of Thrones fans could be forgiven for not appreciating Arya's epic moment since it came out of nowhere for so many. It also might have felt anticlimactic for some fans, as the Night King was a significant threat. For him to be destroyed by someone so young and relatively inexperienced might have been hard to believe. On the other hand, Arya has dealt with major threats before and come out on top. So perhaps it does make some sense for her to be the one to deal with this one. And the world of Game of Thrones is a fantasy world, so stranger things have certainly happened. Like the existence of the Night King himself, White Walkers, and dragons. However, it does also make sense for some fans to be disappointed, especially when they were looking forward to a different battle.
While Arya is an intriguing character, some fans might have preferred if Jon or Bran had been the one to dispose of the Night King. Jon and the Night King certainly had a good amount of battles. And the way the Night King treated Jon made many fans think he saw him as a considerable threat. So if Jon had been the one to do it in Game of Thrones Season 8, many fans would have been satisfied. The Night King also seemed to see Bran and his abilities as a threat. So Bran being the one to take him out would have satisfied fans as well. The show as it is didn't truly satisfy fans. So Game of Thrones Season 8 is mainly known for being a not-so-epic ending to an interesting tale.
Arya destroying the Night King was somewhat foreshadowed, but many Game of Thrones fans did not pick up on it. Therefore some fans might consider this moment the beginning of the show's fall from grace. Melisandre is there in Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3, "The Long Night," and reminds Arya of a prophecy she made a while ago. In this prophecy, she proclaimed that Arya would "shut many eyes forever." When Melisandre repeats the prophecy to Arya, she emphasizes blue eyes. The Night King's eyes are blue, which is most likely what gives Arya the idea and the courage to do it. Without Melisandre's presence, Arya possibly wouldn't have thought of it. Sure, she might have wanted to destroy the Night King, but how would it have occurred to her? After meeting Melisandre, she sneaks into the godswood and jumps on the Night King.
He grabs her throat and the hand that is holding the Valyrian steel dagger, but she allows it to fall and quickly picks it up with her other hand. Arya then stabs the Night King, and he and his army disappear. Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3 ends with the vast threat defeated, unfortunately not without some hard losses. Jorah and Lyanna Mormont both succumb to their wounds. Edd and Beric Dondarrion make noble sacrifices to save others. And Arya is loved as the hero of Winterfell. However, the show did not build up to this epic story properly. Yes, Arya was trained in combat. And yes, that training helped her defeat the Night King. Yet if the writers wanted fans to accept this outcome, they should have given her more of a role in the Night King's storyline earlier in the show.
So yes, it was a nice surprise that Arya won against the Night King. Yet it was also the beginning of the end for Game of Thrones. Both can be true. The show's writers seemed to love shocking their audience a bit too much. And fans don't always like to be shocked. Sometimes writers need to consider whether or not a story truly makes sense for a character and for the plot. Of course, not everyone will agree. Some Game of Thrones fans might have enjoyed Arya's heroic victory. So much so that they wouldn't consider it a bad thing at all. And that's fine, everyone's different. However, it is possible for there to be gray areas and for seemingly conflicting truths to both be technically correct.