Sansa had one of the greatest transformations of any character on HBO's hit series Game of Thrones. From one of the most hated to one of the most beloved characters in her eight-season arc, there is much to learn and love about "The Queen in the North."
From the whining princess who accidentally betrayed her family to one of the smartest schemers on all of Game of Thrones, even fans who didn't grow to love Sansa certainly grew to respect her. But, while Sansa did learn from her experiences, like everyone else on the show she was far from perfect, and made her fair share of mistakes. Here are a few things that are still hard to understand about Sansa.
Why Was She So Weird With Arya?
The rivalry between the very different sisters when they were young was understandable (Arya did throw food at Sansa at the feast in the premiere) but there's little to explain Sansa's attitude when the sisters find one another in season seven. Her coldness and her fear that Arya will kill her and wants to be the Lady of Winterfell never made any sense at all. Even though Arya had changed it was clear, with her newfound fighting skills, that she had no interest in being the Lady of Winterfell. Sansa being suspicious of her sister never made any sense.
Why Was She Not More Angry At Joffrey?
Later on in season two and beyond it was clear why Sansa had to agree with Joffrey and never show her true feelings but, after her betrothed demanded the murder of her dog, Lady, for no reason except pettiness, she was never really angry at him. She was mad at Arya, of course, it was her direwolf that bit Joffrey, but the fact that her beloved neither told the truth nor stood up for her beloved pet was quite a statement. And Sansa, while she grew to hate Joffrey for many other reasons, never really addressed the Lady situation.
Why Didn't She Kill Littlefinger Herself?
There was a certain poetic justice to Arya slitting Littlefinger's throat with his own dagger, but it's strange that Sansa didn't do it herself. She, for all intent and purposes, had taken over as the head of House Stark and, if she learned anything from her father, it should have been that those who the sentence should swing the sword. Add to that all the extra trauma she suffered under Littlefinger's tutelage and it would have been more satisfying to see Arya slip the dagger to her older sister and let her do the deed.
Why Did She Take Style Cues From Littlefinger?
Her new dark look in season four, when Littlefinger spirits her away to the Eyrie was certainly a cool look, but the fact that it seemed partially based off of Littlefinger's own look was a little disturbing.
Having spent so much time in King's Landing with all the ladies of the realm why Sansa couldn't have taken her cues from someone else is a little strange (especially after Littlefinger kisses her, which was super inappropriate). He taught her a lot, some of it inadvertently, but that doesn't mean she should have mirrored his look.
Why Didn't She Wonder About Arya?
At the end of HBO Game of Thrones season one Ned Stark gets his head chopped off and Arya disappears (heading to the wall and the Night's Watch, as viewers were aware). But Sansa did not know her sister had been whisked away to head north, she didn't even know if Arya was still alive. It was always a bit strange that Sansa didn't wonder about the whereabouts of her sister a little bit more. Of course she didn't like Arya, but after watching one family member get murdered it was hard to understand why she wouldn't be more interested in keeping track of those who, supposedly, remained.
Why Did She Tell Tyrion About Jon?
Of course, logically, Sansa told Tyrion about Jon to help undermine Daenerys' rule, but while it made sense logically the choice was always hard to understand. Sansa learned not to trust anyone while she was in the south and yet she goes against the wishes of her family at the first moment opportunity presents itself. It's a strange choice, especially after everything Sansa went through in the first seven seasons of the show. The pack survives, but it should get better at communicating.
Why Doesn't She Want To See Cersei Suffer?
Nothing good ever happened to Sansa in the South, that's true, but her not wanting to go down and see the final attack on King's Landing and watch Cersei's downfall is hard to understand (especially as she goes south later that season to help choose a new monarch). She didn't stay away from the south forever, just for this one moment when she could have seen or assisted in the downfall of one of her greatest enemies. Sansa should know better than to trust the words of others when it comes to the truth about what happens to enemies and family alike.
Why Does She Let Her Siblings Go?
At the end of the finale of Game of Thrones all the Stark siblings, having just been brought back together, break up again. Sansa goes north, Jon goes farther North, Arya goes west, and Bran stays south in King's Landing.
What happened to "the pack survives"? This pack hasn't had much practice if they are all going their own way again so quickly. The fact that Sansa, out of all her siblings, doesn't insist on everyone staying together longer is a very strange lack of decision on her part.
Why Doesn't She Reach Out to Brienne Sooner?
Brienne may make a mistake approaching Sansa while she is sitting with Littlefinger, but Sansa has grown wiser (even before being sold to the Boltons) and the fact that she doesn't reach out to Brienne sooner or come up with her own way of ing the knight is hard to understand. She knows exactly who Littlefinger is and how creepy he is (so being alone with him is already unwise). Brienne and Sansa should have ed forces far sooner than they did.
Why Couldn't She Get Along With Daenerys?
Sansa, over eight seasons, learned to be distrustful, to question people, that's understandable. What's no understandable is her unwillingness to listen or get to know Daenerys. Sansa and the Dragon Queen had a lot in common, underestimated as women, sold off in marriage, searching for home, they could have been good friends and great allies if only Sansa had been willing to listen to Dany or consider something aside from her own desires and an independent north.