“I’ve decided to keep a tight lip on everything,” Maisie Williams, 21, said during the April 1 episode of The Tonight Show after host Jimmy Fallon, 44, pressed her for info about the upcoming season of Game Of Thrones. Though the actress who portrays Arya Stark said that HBO “would absolutely kill” her if she gave away any secrets, a mischievous glint appeared in her eye and she decided to spill the tea on one spoiler: “Like, during the shooting, the final days were really, like, emotional, saying good-bye to all of the cast, because when I found out that Arya died in the second episode….”
Wait, what? Maisie realized what she had just said she was shaken to her core. Despite Jimmy’s assurance that they would edit out Maisie’s flub, a distraught Maisie left the set when he tried to restart the interview. With an uncomfortable silence set in, Jimmy went to check on Maisie when…they both jumped out and shouted “April Fools!” Yes, it was all just a prank – and a testament to Maisie’s acting abilities. While she and Jimmy deserve props for this prank, some GoT fans weren’t laughing at what they saw.
“THIS IS NOT A FUNNY JOKE, MA’AM, ARYA CAN’T DIE THAT EARLY,” tweeted Tyler Greever, while @GoHansDad1899 was more upset. “This wasn’t even remotely funny although I knew it was a prank how DARE y’all say Arya dies EVEN in a joking fashion have you no dignity? No respect? HAVE YOU NO HEART?!” “I won’t lie, that Arya’s April Fool prank got me,” added @lotachiokafor, while @lifewithcarlos was still kinda shaken. “OMGGGG MAISIE WILLIAMS WAS ON THR TONIGHT SHOW AND SAID ARYA DIED IN EP 2 AND SHE CAUGHT HERSELF AND WAS FREAKING OUT AND I WAS LIKE WTFFFF AND it turns out it was an April fools prank and I want to leave this earth NOW”
SPOILER : ARYA DIES IN THE SECOND EPISODE
APRIL FOOLS 🤬
Me : pic.twitter.com/1tYjCSp5TT
— Shifuan (@mshifuan) April 2, 2019
https://twitter.com/mackerx/status/1113011887577300992
“What if that prank was the prank and Arya actually dies in episode 2?” asked @miss_atienoc. While Arya [spoiler alert] remains alive in George R. R. Martin’s books, the HBO show has deviated from his story, so it’s still possible that she does die in the second episode.
When Maisie wasn’t fooling everyone with the April Fools prank, she recounted how odd it was for a young girl (she landed the role in 2011, when she was 12) to grow up on such a bloody series. “So, we were shooting a scene where Arya was killing Ser Meryn Trant. And so it’s this really graphic, horrifying scene I was 16 and I was alone and I had just left school. I was on set and they said, ‘We’re going to have to do some overtime.’ And for me, it was the first time I was ever doing that, so it was really, really exciting. When they do overtime, they bring you pizza,” she said.
“I come out and I’ve got this dagger in my hand, a nightie on and I’m covered in blood, having just stabbed this guy in both of his eyes. And I walk out and I grab a slice of pizza and I remember thinking, ‘This is my life. I am so glad I left school.’ ”
Game of Thrones kicks off its final season – no fooling – on April 14 at 9 PM ET on HBO.