Game of Thrones season 6: Arya Stark returns – where is she headed next?

The Starks are finally resurgent

*This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 6 episode 8 - 'No One'*

Arya Stark's pretty shambolic time in Braavos finally came to an end this week, as she managed to kill the Waif and walk out of the House of Black and White, leaving Jaqen H'ghar standing there probably thinking: "Damn, I really need to stop mentoring teens."

It's great news for fans, as Arya's storyline has been pretty stagnant the last couple of seasons, but what is next in store for perhaps the most fierce Stark?

At the start of episode 8 she dreamed of heading west of Westeros, perhaps to the edge of the known world, but this was probably just the Milk of the Poppy talking.

Given she later declared that she is not 'No One' but "Arya Stark of Winterfell" (FFS, did she really need two seasons of barely-passed Faceless Men training only to denounce the order?), it makes sense that she will set sail from Essos and return to her home, her last scene this season probably involving her boarding a boat.

She has a hell of a lot to catch up on, but provided siblings Jon and Sansa beat Ramsay next week, she should at least have a castle to go back to. After that, it's hard to say. Sansa is the logical choice to hold the fort at Winterfell while Jon presumably tackles the White Walker threat in the final (?) season, so will Arya go with him? She's tough and has a little assassin training, but zero experience fighting massive zombified ice skeletons.

There is, however, the small matter of her completing her list, so maybe she will be the Stark to turn her attention to the Lannisters/Baratheons.

A lot hinges on what happens in next week's episode, which is set to be a bit of a bloodbath.