Maisie Williams recently starred in her first sex scene as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones, and unlike a lot of the relationships on the HBO show it wasn't incestuous. However, as severalsites point out, that almost wasn't the case, as A Song of Ice and Fire George R.R. Martin's original outline for the saga involved a particularly disturbing relationship. Revealed years ago, his outlined arc for Arya involved a messy love triangle.
"Arya will be more forgiving...until she realizes, with terror, that she has fallen in love with Jon [Snow], who is not only her half-brother but a man of the Night's Watch, sworn to celibacy," an excerpt from Martin's plot outline reads.
**Spoiler alert for those who haven't caught up on Season 8**
While we now know Arya and Jon aren't actually half-siblings, as Jon's real parents have been confirmed, it's undoubtedly a shocking change from the arc she has now. "Their passion will continue to torment Jon and Arya throughout the trilogy, until the secret of Jon's true parentage is finally revealed in the last book," the except continues.
Unfortunately for Jon Snow, he still found himself in an incestuous relationship upon discovering his parentage. In the first episode of Season 8, he discovered he was the secret son of Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, meaning he's been kissing his aunt Daenerys. Snow was understandably upset by the news, while Daenerys skipped past the incest and got to the contentious issue of Jon's Aegon's claim to the Iron Throne.
The original plot outline included another relationship for Arya, as she was to become involved with Tyrion Lannister. "Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he's at it," the outline reads. She wasn't quite as interested, however, which would have lead to a feud between Tyrion and Jon. The Tyrion/Arya connection somewhat mirrors his eventual strictly-for-political-purposes marriage to Sansa Stark.
Of course, George R.R. Martin eventually decided to change the plot, which is probably for the best.
