As far as shocking “Game of Thrones” team-ups go, Arya Stark and Sandor “The Hound” Clegane was definitely one of the weirdest — but also the most entertaining. The duo spent all of season four putting up with each other’s annoyances as they robbed farmers and practiced combat on the worst road trip ever. And despite the Hound’s place on Arya’s list of unfortunate souls she intends to kill, the two seemed to develop a bit of a bond with each other.

That’s why some fans were surprised when — after Brienne of Tarth defeated the Hound in an epic duel — Needle-wielding Arya left him bloodied and bruised on an abandoned hillside, ignoring him as he begged her to end his misery and just kill him.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Maisie Williams shed some light on the finale shocker, sharing her opinion on why Arya chose to walk away and leave the Hound’s fate uncertain.

“So many people were like, ‘Why didn’t you [kill The Hound?]’ You have to think about this logically,” she said. “This guy has been awful to her for years, even in his last moments. She’s very confused. She’s experienced far too much for any person, let alone a child. She doesn’t know what the right decision is. All she knows is she’s not going to give him his last wish.”

The 18-year-old also reflected on Arya’s “fan favorite” status, speculating that viewers love her character so much because she’s flawed and conflicted, something her last scene with the Hound definitely proved.

“This is what I find strange about Arya and her fans. Honestly, I think there will always be a few who will back her no matter what,” Williams said. “Because a lot of other characters do the ‘right’ thing and lose their head… She’s not your favorite character because she always does the right thing. She’s a real person, and sometimes you’re going to disagree with what she does. That’s what I love about the show.”

Williams continued by teasing Arya’s growth in season five, saying, “I think you’re going to see more of her emotions and decisions coming out this season that are different than what your ‘favorite character’ might do. She’s losing that feisty-little-girl thread.”

Even though the Hound’s fate is still up in the air, Williams thinks it’s “unlikely” that he and Arya will ever come face-to-scarred-face again (that is, if she didn’t lose herself to the Faceless Men before then).

“If she does go back to Westeros, she’s got one thing on her mind, and I don’t think she wants to kill him anymore,” Williams explained. “In an ideal world where everybody lives happily ever after, they’d become friends and have a little log cabin together.”

Though that last bit seems far-fetched, she’s right about one thing: Arya definitely has different priorities now, like tackling that infamous to-kill list. Asked which name she’d most like to check off first, Williams pointed to the devilishly seductive Red Woman.

“She’s bad news to everyone,” Williams said. “[Melisandre has] been underestimated. She’s got a lot of power over everyone and ultimately she can be a really dangerous person. Arya doesn’t know that, but Maisie as an audience member knows that. We are seeing cracks in Cersei, but Melisandre doesn’t look like she’s losing steam anytime soon.”

Williams does admit, though, that putting Arya and Cersei in a room together would cause some definite must-see fireworks.

“It would be amazing, and one would end up dead by the end of it,” she predicted. “I don’t know if I want [Cersei] dead. She’s a baddie, but we love to hate her.”

Bottom line: Watch out, Melisandre and Cersei — Arya’s comin’ for ya.