by: Krissy Trujillo
The fate of Westeros lies in the hands of the most oppressed of the Stark children…
Sunday night’s premiere of the sixth season of our favorite bloody fantasy, Game of Thrones, featured a huge turning point in the life of Sansa Stark. She escaped her abusive, rapist, sadist of a husband, Ramsay Bolton, with the help of Theon Greyjoy. But Bolton’s men tracked the pair down and just as you think they’re done for and there’s no hope left, Brienne of Tarth rides in with Podrick and saves the day! Hoorah!
There are a lot of feelings evoked regarding Brienne and Sansa teaming up and vowing themselves to each other. Feelings regarding Brienne finally keeping her oath to Catelyn Stark. Feelings concerning her own sword – appropriately named “Oathkeeper” – being forged of Ned Stark’s Valyrian steel sword, “Ice.” ((Yeah, you know, the one he used to slice the head clean off of that one guy who left the wall in Season One. RIP Ned Stark, ultimate head slicer and all around honourable dude.)) But aside from all these deep feelings, this scene set up and solidified a major character development and turning point:
That’s right, folks, I’m talking about the new reigning Queen of the North, Sansa-fucking-Stark.
Let that sink in for a minute…
We already know that Sansa’s face-claim, Sophie Turner, referred to her as a “Boss. Ass. Bitch.” this season. That aside, the second trailer released for this now current season was the number one indicator of where Sansa Stark is headed. And definitively, it was emblazoned right across her chest (see header image!).
Costuming is a very important part of television shows, especially on those where families and regions have very specific styles, hairstyles, color schemes, and sigils. The last time we saw Sansa Stark in full Winterfell apparel, she was young, naive, bratty, and thought Joffrey was the love of her life. That poor green child begged to go to King’s Landing. She changed her hair to match the Queen’s. She dreamt of the capital, courts, and her prince charming. All that went to shit, very quickly. To put it mildly.
The thing about Sansa’s appearance, though, is how often it has changed. More than almost anyone on the show, Sansa has been a chameleon. From Lannister to Tyrell to Alayne Stone, Sansa’s primary survival tactic is to cloak herself, and in doing so, she’s grown and learnt to play the game. Yet, as much as she tried, she never went unnoticed. Her family name is too prominent, her family home too important. She’s been kept alive because of who she is, not who she has tried to be. And we see now that Sansa’s learnt to let all of that go. Sansa has come into her own.
In the aforementioned trailer, we see Sansa as a proud Stark, for the first time ever. And here and now, this Stark has a protector – she has allies. There are plenty of people in the North who stood beside her brother, and there are plenty of people who would happily stand beside her ((Perhaps they are some of the men who stand behind Sansa in this preview!)). This past Sunday’s scene with Brienne has laid the groundwork for the ultimate entrance of a new power player. Standing there with the look of vengeance in her eye, wolf skin around her shoulders, the Direwolf sigil across her chest – Sansa is the rightful heir to the North, and the North remembers, and the North has allies, and the North is coming back with a fury.
Krissy Trujillo currently works in e-commerce and marketing for the BBC Shop and Doctor Who Shop. In her spare time she enjoys dismantling the patriarchy, defending fictional female characters, and consuming copious amounts of cheeseburgers. Follow her @katullys.
