'Game of Thrones' Spoilers: Why Sansa's Book Story Was Changed to Add Ramsay

Spoiler alert: "A Song of Ice and Fire" book spoilers referenced ahead.

If anyone should be Bolton right about now, it's Sansa Stark. Run for your life, little bird! Last night in "Game of Thrones" Season 5, Episode 3, "High Sparrow," the ill-fated elder Stark daughter was pushed into an engagement with Ramsay Snow Bolton. This is a big twist from the book, where Sansa's friend Jeyne Poole is forced to marry Ramsay, while pretending to be Arya Stark. Bad things happen to Jeyne as Mrs. Bolton, and fans are concerned that Sansa may face the same treatment.

In the book, a rescue attempt is launched to save "Arya," even though it's really Jeyne. On television, Littlefinger seems to have a plan to appear to align with the Boltons, who helped to kill Robb and Catelyn Stark at the Red Wedding, while really helping Sansa to avenge her family by taking back the North. More details on his plan should emerge in Episode 4, but Roose is already suspicious of Petyr Baelish, and Littlefinger is apparently not aware of Ramsay's love for torture. If Littlefinger is a step behind, while also being beckoned by Cersei Lannister in King's Landing, it puts Sansa in a very delicate position. Again.

Hasn't this girl been tortured enough?

Showrunner David Benioff talked to Entertainment Weekly after "High Sparrow," and what he said is pretty heartening for anyone worried about our little lemon-cake lover. "Sansa is a character we care about almost more than any other, and the Stark sisters have from the very beginning been two characters who have fascinated us the most." He said it's because of Sophie Turner's strength as an actress that they decided to give her this Ramsay engagement storyline. "We really wanted Sansa to play a major part this season," Benioff said. "If we were going to stay absolutely faithful to the book, it was going to be very hard to do that. There was as subplot we loved from the books, but it used a character that's not in the show."

Writer-producer Bryan Cogman said they liked the power of bringing a Stark back to Winterfell and having her reunite with Theon under these circumstances. It would've been kind of interesting to have Arya -- the real one -- in this position since she's enough of a ball-buster to be able to put Ramsay in his place. Sansa is more subtle. But maybe that's exactly what's called for here. EW took pains to note that, just because Sansa appears to be taking on part of another character (Jeyne's) role, it doesn't mean GoT will continue to follow that plot. Book readers may not know what will happen next, which is something we could say a lot this season.

Do you think this could be a good opportunity for Sansa to show the kind of strength fans have been waiting for, to lead the charge to take back Winterfell and slay the Boltons?


from The Moviefone Blog http://ift.tt/1EdeOz9
via IFTTT