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Sansa Stark Is the Real Queen We Deserved on Game of Thrones


Caution: Spoilers for Game of Thrones ahead.

Stand up, Sansa Hive—we finally have a Queen. Game of Thrones took its final bow last night, closing out its eight-year run with a final episode that left many fans scratching their heads.

To recap: Daenerys flattened King’s Landing and was inches from taking the Throne, Jon stabbed her, Drogon burned the Iron Throne to the ground, and then a counsel of Westerosi leaders picked the first chosen King of the Seven (now Six) Kingdoms, and they landed on…Bran Stark. Despite that bizarre and underwhelming choice, there was at least one positive development from it: Sansa Stark is now the Queen of the North, something her fans—a.k.a. those of us who have our heads screwed on straight—deserved to see.

HBO

New members of the Sansa Hive aren’t welcome here—I’ve been a Sansa stan for as long as I’ve watched the show, and throughout those years, I’ve endured Game of Thrones “fans” calling Sansa whiny, weak, and spineless. For some reason, the eldest Stark sister was polarizing.

But on last night’s final episode, she proved why everyone should have been stanning this whole time. Case in point: When Tyrion first suggested that the counsel choose a king or queen and her uncle Edmure Tully embarrassed himself by standing up and pontificating about his accolades, Sansa cut him off with a command, “Uncle. Please sit.” It was the only moment in the episode that made me audibly gasp for air.

In that same scene last night, Sansa was the only member of the counsel to vote against Bran, asserting without contest that the North would recede from the Seven Kingdoms and become and independent state once again, with her ruling in Winterfell. That’s not the only savage way she called out her little brother:

Sansa’s rise to power was a slow burn; but once she grabbed it, she held on with an iron grip. Even when Lady Stark was stripped of her name, her autonomy, and everything she knew and loved, she was still—to borrow a phrase Turner herself used to describe Arya—was always “that bitch.” There was the time she bitch-slapped Robin Arryn in the face. Or when she sniped at Septa Mordane in season one with one of her greatest one-liners: “Oh wait, I just realized I don’t care.” She’s the Stark who always reminded us that “the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives,” and speaker of truths such as, “No one can protect me. No one can protect anyone.”

Sansa has been especially good at putting mediocre men in their place and making them feel mortified for even breathing around her. This season she told Tyrion, “I used to think you were the cleverest man alive.” That didn’t even sting half as badly as her takedown of Lord Baelish in season seven: “No need to seize the last word, Lord Baelish. I’ll assume it was something clever.” Sansa and Arya conspiring to kill Littlefinger at the end of last season was probably the most satisfying moment in Game of Thrones history for me—a feeling so blissful, I wish it could have been recreated in last night’s episode. But could anything really feel as rapturous as Sansa being crowned Queen? Answer: Hard no.

To the rest of the Sansa Hive, it’s been a pleasure stanning so ruthlessly alongside you. In my opinion, the Sansa Hive is the most passionate (and therefore the scariest) of all the Game of Thrones fandoms. We’re the scrappy ones, the ones who are always ready to drive our claws through your extensions and drag you by the hair.

I’ll miss our Queen’s severe wintry lewks, her cascading orange braids, and her devastating one-liners that made Ariana Grande look timid. And I want to thank Sophie Turner for bringing her wonderful energy to play Sansa (lest we forget the video of her chugging wine on the jumbotron at Madison Square Garden). Screw Bran—Sansa Stark is the Queen we’ve always deserved. Step on me, ginger legend!





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This 'Game of Thrones' Theory Suggests Sansa Stark Will Be the One to Kill Cersei Lannister


Warning: Some spoilers for this season of Game of Thrones ahead.

Sansa Stark has been rising in the Game of Thrones power rankings for weeks—seasons, really. Once a privileged young girl of Winterfell who didn’t care to focus on much outside of herself, Sansa has become a true force in the Seven Kingdoms. She’s my personal choice to sit on the Iron Throne when this saga wraps up in three weeks.

And now, a new theory (from Hollywood Life) suggests that Sansa will actually be the one to kill Cersei Lannister as focus returns to King’s Landing after the defeat of the Night King.

The most popular guesses as to who might take down the queen are her brothers, Jaime and Tyrion, or Arya. This is thanks to the prophecy from Maggy the Frog, which Cersei heard as a child. In the books it says, “And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.” Valonqar means “little brother,” which at first glance would mean Tyrion. But it could apply to Jamie, too, considering he’s the younger twin. Notably, thought, that specific part was left out in the show. And then, of course, Cersei sits high on Arya’s kill list.

Cersei Lannister and Euron Greyjoy in King’s Landing.

But it would be super cool if it was Sansa, especially since Arya just had a big moment in killing the Night King.

Don’t forget that Maggy’s prophesy also includes this bit: “Queen you shall be…until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.” Sounds like Sansa, no?

So, how might this all go down? The dagger that Arya gave to her older sister during the Battle of Winterfell plays a big part. “Stick ’em with the pointy end,” Arya says, in a callback to the same advice Jon Snow gave to her in season one. While Sansa has never trained to be a physical fighter like Arya, she has learned a lot about politics and manipulation by Littlefinger and Cersei herself. The theory points out that, in season seven, Sansa admitted to “learning a lot” from Cersei.

“What if it’s actually the person she least suspects? It would be satisfying as hell to watch Sansa kill Cersei with Arya’s dagger,” Avery Thompson writes for Hollywood Life. “Sansa learned so much from the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Cersei helped shape Sansa into the woman she is today. But just like Arya, Sansa harbors a hatred for Cersei. Cersei had a hand in having Sansa’s father, Ned, killed, which Sansa had to watch from just inches away. She helped keep Sansa in King’s Landing and away from her family for years.”

The motive is definitely there—and thanks to the dagger from Arya, Sansa now has the means. But will she take her shot when the opportunity arises? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.



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'Game of Thrones' Fans Think Catelyn Stark Could Return as Lady Stoneheart Still


Note: This post is dark and full of terrors. And also spoilers. You’ve been warned.

Game of Thrones has a mere five episodes remaining before we find out who takes the iron throne. But, before fans find out who will rule the seven kingdoms they are hoping one more character will return from the dead: Lady Stoneheart.

As far as fan theories go, the return of Lady Stoneheart does have legs. But, before we get into all that, and in case you never read the books, let us fill you in on who Lady Stoneheart is and why she was once such a pivotal character.

In the novels and in the HBO television show, Catelyn Stark dies at the tragic Red Wedding along with her son, Robb Stark. However, this is where the two mediums diverge. You see, in the books, Catelyn is resurrected from the dead after her body is found by Brotherhood Without Banners. The brotherhood brings Catelyn back with a magical kiss from Beric Dondarrion. Dondarrion dies as a result of the kiss, but Catelyn, now known as Lady Stoneheart, takes his place.

However, she’s not the loving mother we once knew anymore. Instead, she is a mere shell of a human.

“Death has changed Catelyn,” the Game of Thrones fan Wiki explains. “Stoneheart is less gracious and forgiving than in life and is consumed with a desire for vengeance on anyone she thinks betrayed her and her son, Robb. She hangs any men associated with the Freys, Boltons, or Lannisters, even if they had nothing to do with the ‘Red Wedding’ or if they are boys.”

In fact, in the books, Lady Stoneheart goes on to kill several characters including Podrick Payne and Brienne of Tarth, who are both still very much alive in the show. However, their lives could soon be in danger if fans of the series get their way.

Here’s where the theory of her return began: During a Q&A at Radio Times and BFI Festival, Joe Dempsie, the actor who plays Gendry, discussed his own character’s long absence from the show.

“They were kind of saying they wanted people to forget about him. And, I think what they underestimated and I think what everyone underestimated, because of the rich mythology that George R.R. Martin has created, this world in which there are family trees which go back thousands of years and political implications of certain relations are so crucial and it leads to endless theorizing,” he shared. “The longer a loose end is left untied, the more conspicuous it gets in Game of Thrones, rather than it just being something that fades from the memory.”

This answer prompted the interviewer to ask about Lady Stoneheart and her potential return. While Dempsie didn’t reply, Jacob Anderson, who plays Grey Worm, interjected by saying, “Give it up!”

However, both actors and the people working behind the scenes of Game of Thrones are well-known for attempting to throw fans off the scent of what’s going to happen next, so they could merely be lying.

To make the return of Lady Stoneheart even more convincing, just look back to this quote from show’s creator, George R.R. Martin:

“That was probably the first major diversion of the show from the books and, you know, I argued against that, and [creators] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] made that decision,” Martin told Time. “In my version of the story, Catelyn Stark is re-imbued with a kind of life and becomes this vengeful wight who galvanizes a group of people around her and is trying to exact her revenge on the riverlands. David and Dan made a decision not to go in that direction in their story, pursuing other threads. But both of them are equally valid, I think, because Catelyn Stark is a fictional character and she doesn’t exist. You can tell either story about her.”



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