As some of you may know, I’m a huge Game of Thrones fan. But after Sunday night’s episode, I’m having second thoughts about why. If you haven’t seen the “Battle of the Bastards” yet then be forewarned, there are SPOILERS coming! A lot of them!
My major complaint–and I just can’t get past this–Sansa stands around and does nothing to stop her brother, Jon Snow, from going into battle, where his meager army gets slaughtered. As I watched my TV in horror, the same question kept whirling around in my head. How did Sansa know Jon would survive what ended up becoming a meat grinder?
The answer is she didn’t. And I don’t think she cared one bit. Many people seem willing to give her kudos for saving the day. In reality, she did just the opposite. She gave the North to Littlefinger.
And it all started with her holding onto her little secret for no other reason than revenge in mind. It came across as though she didn’t give two hangs about Jon getting killed or anyone else for that matter. She held onto her secret knowing full well she’d written to Littlefinger for help. Why not share that with her brother? Maybe save hundreds of lives while she’s at it.
But no, Sansa keeps this all to herself. She cleverly gets rid of her faithful, loyal knight, Brienne of Tarth, by sending her off on some stupid errand that seemed like filler to me.. Now I understand why. I can only figure that this was cunningly clever on Sansa’s part because she didn’t want Brienne around to see her true nature kick in. Brienne, after all, believes in honor and would no doubt have had a thing or two to say to Sansa about getting an entire army wiped out and setting up Jon Snow for an abysmal failure. Oh wait, Sansa needed her revenge on Ramsay, after all, at any cost, no matter who she had to watch die to get it. Are we forgetting that Sansa is the one who goaded Jon into battle in the first place and just wouldn’t shut up about attacking Ramsay’s army?
For all those who say Sansa asked Jon to wait, my answer to that is very simple. Give the man a reason! And Sansa did not. She could’ve told him her plan, failed folly or not, Jon could’ve made a more informed decision. If the writers thought Sansa would come off as some type of heroic feminist–they failed miserably with me. Instead, I see her for what she truly is, a villainous Stark daughter, willing to do anything to avenge herself, even if that means getting her own brother killed. Now that’s a vengeful wench, not the mark of a brave woman, or a true leader, or a future queen. She’s not fit to rule any better than Ramsay was. Rather than lead or try to save lives Sansa sacrificed any and all who were willing to fight. She’s no different than Cersei who always thinks of herself first.
What gets me is that I’ve read other blogs and they all seem to defend Sansa, which for me is ridiculous. This is the same woman whose lie got the little butcher boy killed, who turned on her own father in favor of Joffrey, who lied to save Littlefinger, who repeatedly puts her welfare above her family and that of anyone else she professes to love. If that’s love, no thanks, I’ll pass.
Some say she didn’t tell Jon because she hadn’t yet received a reply from Littlefinger and wasn’t certain he’d show up. I don’t care. It was still a valuable piece of the puzzle. I don’t care if she finally got to watch Ramsay die. Jon beat the crap out of him and then turned him over to Sansa. Way to go Jon!
The last point, and maybe the strongest, is that smirk on Sansa’s face as she sits on her horse next to Littlefinger’s overlooking the battlefield, a battlefield full of blood spilled and piles of bodies. To me, she seemed to enjoy the scene a little too much, as if she’d taken her cue directly from Ramsay Bolton himself, smugly relishing in the carnage. Ugh! Smirking out onto the battlefield reminded me of another heartless, cold-hearted psychopath named Ramsay Bolton. But Sansa’s supposed to somehow be different. I don’t think so. She seemed pleased with herself as she watched her bloodied victims die for her own selfish gain.
Others are touting that now Sansa is the brilliant tactician. Yeah. Right. The writers seem destined to make Jon Snow the doofus, the former Night Watch commander who has actually seen battle and won victoriously again and again, has now been relegated to the sidelines when it comes to Sansa and Littlefinger. Maybe we’re supposed to believe Jon’s lost his ability to think since he was brought back to life. Even with half a brain, he’s better than Sansa in so many ways!
So to sum up, these turn of events beg me to ask the question to the writers about the direction of the Stark daughter. Just what kind of monster have you created now? Oh goody, you’ve given us another Cersei, maybe another Joffrey. While one monster bites the dust another rises up. But during all of it, thank you for finally proving to me that Sansa was never fit to rule. She has no heart, no compassion. Name one time Sansa has ever shown compassion to anyone because I must’ve missed the two seconds of that.
On second thought, don’t bother to answer. I’m not sure I’ll stick around to watch episode 10. I’m not sure I really care any more.
Romance, suspense, & chocolate 