Posted in: Game Of Thrones, HBO, TV | Tagged: game of thrones, sophie turner

Game of Thrones Star Turner: Dark Sansa Scene Does "Justice to Women"

Sophie Turner (Trust) reflects on one of Sansa's darkest character-defining moments on HBO's Game of Thrones and why the trauma was important.

As Game of Thrones tried to be reflective of the savage nature of medieval culture, echoing some of the most infamous world events in a high fantasy setting, there were also harsh realities like rampant misogyny, which some of the main characters, like Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen and Sophie Turner's Sansa Stark, had to deal with throughout the series. While Dany's harsh treatment started in season one with the patriarchal Dothraki, she eventually came to rule them. Sansa, with the exception of the sudden execution of her father at the end of season one, was largely spared the cruelest treatment until season five's "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," the sixth episode of the season that saw her arranged marriage to Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) in the Stark family home of Winterfell. While promoting her survival thriller Trust, Turner spoke to Flaunt on why having Sansa confront her trauma head-on was important for women, and how it shaped her character. The following does contain content that may be triggering.

Game of Thrones Star Sophie Turner on Why Sansa Needed to Suffer and How the Scene Served a Social Purpose

Having started on the David Benioff and Dan Weiss since the very beginning, Turner was 13 years old and grew up during the show's eight seasons. When it came time to film her infamous scene, the actress was 18 at the time. Ramsay begins to sexually assault Sansa, tearing her dress before the series cuts away off-screen for the act. "I did feel—and still do—that 'Game of Thrones' shone a light on things that many people were like 'Oh god, you can't show that kind of thing'—and I understand it can be triggering—I totally understand that point of view," Turner said. "But I did feel we were actually doing a lot of justice to women and the fight women have had to fight for hundreds of thousands of years—the patriarchy, being treated as objects, and being constantly sexually assaulted—I don't think there's one woman I know who hasn't had a form of that."

Previously, Sansa found herself in a similar situation in season two, but her "husband" at the time, Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) saved her. Turner admits that when she says this to men now, many still don't believe her. "And that's because we don't [talk about] it enough—we shy away from it," she said. "I think if 'Game of Thrones' came out today, we'd definitely put some trigger warnings on there, but I'm really proud to have been a part of 'Game of Thrones' where they didn't shy away from showing atrocities that happened to women back then. I feel proud to have been part of the conversation."

Things do eventually end well for Sansa in the series based on the George R. R. Martin novels as she escapes Ramsay's clutches with the help of Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen), whom he broke psychologically into his pet name, "Reek." As she reunites with her half-brother, Jon Snow (Kit Harington), and sister Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), the three eventually take back the family home at Winterfell. Sansa has Ramsey tied up at the kennel with his starving dogs, who kill him, like he had done with other past victims. She also takes her rightful place as the eldest surviving core Stark family member to become Queen of the North. For more on Turner's career, you can check out the complete interview at Flaunt.

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