Graduate student Marc Patterson and his wife Katelyn Patterson busily prepared for the sixth season premiere of “Game of Thrones.” In their Westwood apartment, they baked dragon egg cookies, cut out house banners and tuned into HBO.
Neither of them were ready for Arya Stark to jump from the television screen to their front door.
On Sunday, actress Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark on the show, crashed Marc and Katelyn Patterson’s “Game of Thrones” viewing party, after asking students to share their viewing experience on social media.
ANY @UCLA STUDENTS HAVING A VIEWING PARTY IN WESTWOOD OR THE GROVE? TWEET A PICTURE OF YOUR PARTY USING #GameofThrones FOR A SURPRISE
— Maisie Williams (@Maisie_Williams) April 24, 2016
Williams took to Twitter earlier in the afternoon to offer UCLA students a mysterious surprise if they tweeted a picture of their viewing party with #GameofThrones. The surprise turned out to be a visit from the actress herself.
After hearing about Williams’ tweet from his sister, Marc Patterson said he and Katelyn Patterson both tweeted pictures of their party as they decorated the apartment and prepared food for the night.
While the couple started cooking, Marc Patterson tweeted the first picture displaying a crowded countertop filled with empty dishes, each with a special “Game of Thrones” related title.
The range of “Game of Thrones” inspired hors d’oeuvres included “Dornish gold extra butter popcorn,” “Littlefinger’s finger taquitos” and “Daenerys’ dragon egg cookies.”
Matching the colors of Daenerys’ dragons on the show, the black, green and red dragon egg cookies were the subjects of Katelyn Patterson’s second tweet in her effort to catch Williams’ attention. She then followed the baked treats with a picture of a homemade banner that displayed the different houses’ sigils and sayings on it.
Soon after the series of tweets, an agent associated with Williams contacted the couple through Twitter, announcing their positions as finalists in Williams’ search for a “Game of Thrones” viewing party.
At first, the five partygoers assumed they would just be receiving a gift basket with T-shirts or other souvenirs, Katelyn Patterson said. However, around 8:30 p.m., a notification popped up on the television alerting the small gathering that someone was trying to buzz into the building.
Marc Patterson rushed to open the door, while graduate student John Clifton ran the other way toward the balcony to yell down to the mysterious visitor that someone was coming down to the lobby.
When Marc Patterson returned, Katelyn Patterson said Williams followed close behind, bringing with her popcorn, chips and dip, brownie bites and a bottle of prosecco to share with the viewing party members.
“It wasn’t weird at all,” Katelyn Patterson said. “It was just like as if she were a friend coming over.”
After she met everyone, Clifton said Williams asked to take a picture and started small talk with the partygoers about when they originally began watching “Game of Thrones.” Williams also described some of the experiences she had playing Arya Stark on the show.
Williams then commented on a framed chalkboard voting tally, which the party guests had used to vote on whether or not Jon Snow would remain dead. Williams was unwilling to give any information about the status of Jon Snow’s character and only said that their questions would be answered soon.
After about 20 minutes of socializing, Williams said goodbye and left the group dumbfounded as they got ready to watch the premiere, said Clifton.
On Monday, Williams posted a 12-part photo story of the night to her Instagram with pictures and videos from the party, thanking Marc and Katelyn Patterson for welcoming her to their apartment and for sharing the dragon egg cookies.
“It was pretty shocking,” Clifton said. “We tried to start the episode after … but we had to stop and pause it for five more minutes and cool down a little bit more because it was so crazy having her there.”