[SPOILERS for those not caught up on Game of Thrones ahead.]
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Sophie Turner’s portrayal of Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones has seen the character go through many changes throughout her run on the show, but the character’s biggest development arguably took place during this year’s season 6. Not only did she finally take her revenge on Ramsay Bolton (or, rather, his “loyal” pack of hungry dogs did so for her) but she reclaimed her home Winterfell alongside her “brother,” Jon Snow. It wasn’t all smiles and cheers, though, as the last part of the season seemingly to hint at future conflict between her and Jon, thanks to the wedge-driving of noted schemer Petyr Baelish and Snow becoming “King of the North.”
Now fans have been left to wonder what season 7 of Game of Thrones will have in store for Turner’s Sansa and the consequences to her and Jon’s reclamation of power - and in turn, how she deals with Jon’s newfound royalty. Thanks to a recent interview with Turner, fans may finally have a first glimpse into Sansa’s state of mind during the upcoming season 7.
Opening up to EW, Turner revealed that Sansa will adjust to having more power nicely; perhaps too nicely. She also teased that Sansa experiences high levels of insecurity, due to potential threats to her newfound power, though there was no elaboration on this point. Could she be talking about Snow, Baelish or simply an unrelated outside threat? Either way, that wasn’t the only neat little bit of information Turner revealed, as she also expressed excitement at the prospect of more main characters finally coming together to push Game of Thrones to its conclusion. On her character’s progression in season 7, Turner said:
She’s seemingly in control for the first time – and it really suits her. She’s kind of having a bit of a power trip. But she’s also becoming more insecure, because there are threats to the power that she holds.
The corruption of power is certainly not a new theme for Game of Thrones. The show has explored both pure characters becoming corrupt (think Robb Stark breaking his word to Walder Frey back in season 3 and what that inevitably led to) and what happens when those who are power-hungry already finally achieve their ill-intended goals (Joffrey Baratheon). Either scenario usually concludes in an early demise for said character(s), so things are not potentially looking good for Sansa if that’s the route showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss decide to take her character in.
If it is, it’s probably the smartest and most natural progression for Game of Thrones to take after the hints of future struggle were set up at the end of season 6. Still, it’s hard not to think that these power struggles won’t eventually give way to uniting under one banner to fight the true enemy in this fantasy world: the White Walkers. Though they’ve been mostly in the shadows, waiting for a way to get past the magical barriers of The Wall that keep them trapped in the far, it’s obviously only a matter of time before they break through and wreak havoc on Westeros.
Game of Thrones season 7 airs on HBO in summer 2017.
Source: EW
