Sansa Stark, Queen of Westeros

What happens to Sansa Stark?

A few months ago I posted my opinion about one of the most popular characters in Game of Thrones - Daenerys Targaryen in one of mine controversial articles Why I Hate Daenerys Targaryen. Ever since people categorized me as a women hater and said I should read the books because apparently I didn't get what George RR Martin was trying to tell his readers. They didn't understand why I didn't see the beauty of this psychopathic character that everybody love so much. Now being called a women hater by brainless militant feminists, spineless men or stoned teenagers doesn't really bother me but it hurts me that people who worship the psycho Targaryen didn't even bother to read my analysis of her character (it was a pretty good post), where I explained in depth why Daenerys Targaryen is so overrated. This is not going to be a Daenerys rant; actually this post will have little to do with mother of dragons. It will be about a character that seemed similar to Daenerys at the beginning of the story. Just like with Daenerys I was sort of ambivalent towards her because I didn’t consider her as somebody who is important enough. Now at this point (book 5 A Dance With Dragons) I start routing for her. Did you guess who I was talking about? ... Well surprise surprise it's ... 

House Stark

Sansa Stark.

Spoilers inside 

Like we all remember Sansa Stark was a spoiled silly teenager that lived in a fairy tale world protected by her parents and the name of one of the noblest families in Westeros. At the beginning she was not important because she was overshadowed by Rob, Catelyn, Eddard and even Arya. Sansa was constantly day dreaming about lemon cakes, singers, handsome knights and all the dumb shit teenage girls dream about. The moment Eddard was arrested Sansa was finally brought to reality. Don’t get me wrong she didn't get what the harsh universe (Joffrey and Cersei) was trying to tell her because she lived too long in her imaginary world. Even when Eddard Stark lost his head Sansa didn't really grasp what happened. Instead she cocooned in herself trying to fly under the radar in blind belief that all of this is going to blow over soon, when she will be married. Unfortunately this isn't the case and right after discovering that Joffrey is marrying Margery the reflex disappointment of not becoming the Queen surfaced but immediately the disappointment transformed into joy. It took Sansa a while until she understood (or was implied) that Joffrey is not going to release her the moment he will marry Margery but instead constantly rape her just for fun of it all. 

At that moment I think she really got it, she was in a major mess from which she needs to get out no matter what.

Sansa

Until that point many bookies considered Sansa as dumb and silly character. Sansa wasn't dumb she was scared and there is a huge difference between the two. She wasn't ready for the world to which she was exposed in the harshest way possible. That is why it took her so long to learn how to maneuver and survive in King’s Landing.

When Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish swept in Sansa was stuck (mostly thanks to Littlefinger himself) her plan to leave for Highgarden was off the table because she was to marry Tyrion and that’s when Littlefinger swept in. Baelish rescued Sansa and brought her to safe haven in the Vale. Baelish didn't do it for the kindness of his hart. Some say he sees the younger version of Catelyn in Sansa, there for he wants her for himself. Maybe it's true but only Martin knows Baelish’s real agenda. Throughout the entire a song of ice and fire saga Martin made Littlefinger one of the most mysterious, smartest and deadliest characters in the story. Every move he makes is a calculated checkmate and Sansa is lucky to stick around near the sharpest player of the game. The last few chapters of Sansa in A Feast for Crows proved that she is not that same dumb girl most bookies expected her to be, Sansa is learning. She is starts figuring out Littlefinger, something none of Baelish’s allies / enemy's managed to do so far. Sansa still needs to learn a lot from the ultimate master of the game but how long will it take? Most importantly will Sansa manage to break away from Baelish? And will she do it in time? Like I mentioned before it’s hard to read Littlefinger. One of his better qualities that allowed him to rise so high is his ability to cut through instantly. With Sansa it seems to be different, if Baelish got the hots for Sansa it makes Littlefinger wonarable and if Sansa going to play it smart she can use it for her advantage.

Lets wont forget Sansa Stark thinks that she is the only living Stark family member. That is why she feels she is the rightful heir to Winterfell and the entire North. After the events with the Frey's in the Riverlands (Edmure Tully being out of the picture, being hostage to the Lannisters) Sansa is the closest living heir in the Tully heritage line (She is the daughter of Catelyn Tully), what makes her the heir to Riverrun and the Riverlands. Even in the Vale Sansa has a sort of a claim in some circumstances. When young Robert Arryn will die there will be a battle for power in the Vale, although Lysa was Sansa's aunt,  Sansa’s claim in the Vale is very small that is why Littlefinger convinced her to marry Harrold Hardyng in order to secure the Vale through him. Whatever happens to Hardyng in the future has little difference to Littlefinger and probably to Sansa as well (although maybe Sansa is not as cold as she should be regarding issues like that) especially if Hardyng will start having ideas that won’t sit well with Littlefinger's plan, he can be easily removed.

So what do we have overall? If Littlefinger’s plan will work (they usually do, and when they don’t he makes a new one) Sansa will have control over: The North, The Riverlands and The Vale. That is a lot of power for a teenage girl that only a few years ago was in a problematic situation in King’s Landing. If Sansa reaches the goal Littlefinger set up for her what does she do next? Or what does Littlefinger do next? 
This is not a post about Littlefinger so I won’t try to guess his next move (actually I don’t have a clue what he is going to do next, he is just unpredictable) but I will try to elaborate on Sansa's options. 

In this ASOIAF world that Martin created the first rule every character needs to know is that when an opportunity presents itself you have to take it. If you don’t you will die ... soon. If you make a mistake not seizing the opportunity there is no 2nd chances here (unless you are Daenerys, she is protected by Martin himself so that rule doesn’t apply to her). At this point in time Sansa does not have the upper hand, she needs to play along, the moment she takes control over The North, The Riverlands and The Vale she takes control of her fate in her hands. From that point on she has the upper hand, and that is when she needs to take Littlefinger out just because he is such a dangerous and unpredictable character. Sansa can drag him along as she confronts the Iron Throne (The Lannisters and The Tyrels). She will confront the Iron Throne because when Littlefinger opened up to her she had the desire to play the game and taking the Iron Throne for herself for power and revange. If Sansa keeps Littlefinger around she opens herself and becomes exposed to Littlefinger who can change his plans and get rid of Sansa. Let’s assume that Sansa succeeds completing Littlefinger’s plan (at this point it doesn’t matter if it’s with Littlefinger or without him) and she confronts the South, there is a 50 / 50 chance of her taking the Iron Throne. But even if Sansa will take the Throne what will happen when Daenerys arrives with her Dragons, was all that for nothing? Seeing how Daenerys is being presented in the TV show and how overprotective Martin writes her chapters, it’s a no-brainer. Daenerys is going to take the Throne and all of us will suffer from it. I guess we will have to wait until Martin publishes The Winds of Winter (and A Dream of Spring) or wait for HBO's TV series catch up to find out who will sit on the Iron Throne, either way it’s going to be great

photo credit: Bruno Alberto via photopin cc

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About Sasha Shapiro

Sasha is the founder and editor of Cool Reviews Rule. He is very passionate about Movies, TV Shows and some Books. His favorite genres are: Action, Fantasy, History, Horror, Sci-fi and Adventure.
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