Why I’m angry with the latest ‘Game of Thrones’ episode

Spoiler alert! The following contains spoilers for Sunday’s episode of Game of Thrones.

This season of Game of Thrones hasn’t shied away from making changes from the books on which they’re based. Some have been for the better, but others have left fan favorites on the cutting room floor, or set beloved characters down a completely different path than their book counterparts.

I’ve been a patient watcher of Game of Thrones and an avid reader of the Song of Ice and Fire series, but last night’s episode was nearly the last straw for me. Yes, I’m talking about Sansa Stark’s impending marriage to the psychotic Ramsay Bolton (formerly Snow), which will inevitably result in tears and torture. Sound like a familiar plot? It’s Sansa’s arc for the first three seasons of the show.

Yes, at this point in the books, Sansa is still in the Vale doing … not much. But subjecting her to another terrifying relationship after her abuse-filled relationship with Joffrey just for the sake of good story is unfair to a character who is already so demeaned in the show and hated by the viewers. And don’t even get me started on the weak logic behind sending Sansa to Winterfell to marry Ramsay. She is still married to a very much alive Tyrion and she’s a fugitive from the law.

Think I’m overreacting? (Mild spoilers for the books follow) In the books, Ramsay does get married to a “Stark” — a girl named Jeyne Poole masquerading as Arya Stark so the Boltons can strengthen their claim in the North. Jeyne is subsequently tortured and raped for the remainder of their marriage. Sounds like a fascinating arc for Sansa.

The showrunners, David Benioff and Dan Weiss, and the writers defended their decision to combine Sansa’s arc with the Boltons, stating that they didn’t want to see her languish in the Vale with little to do.

“You have this storyline with Ramsay,” writer Brian Cogman told Entertainment Weekly. “Do you have one of your leading ladies — who is an incredibly talented actor who we’ve followed for five years and viewers love and adore — do it? Or do you bring in a new character to do it? To me, the question answers itself: You use the character the audience is invested in.”

Sure we’re invested in Sansa, but do we want to see her physically and emotionally tortured just to garner more sympathy? No.

Fans on Twitter shared my outrage:

Even though we did see Sansa go through a game-changing makeover with Petyr last season, there’s almost no way she learned enough from him to fend off the psychotic Boltons. If there’s a sliver of hope that she finds a way to outmaneuver them, I’m all for it.

But if we’re in for another season of Sansa as the victim, I may be done with this show. And if the showrunners give her another torturous storyline, it makes Benioff’s statements like, “Sansa is a character we care about almost more than any other,” ring false.

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