Deadly Dance of the She-wolves

[Nevets]

On 9/7/2022 at 8:04 PM, Only 89 selfies today said:

A twist which would make the stories of Sansa and Arya at least somewhat interesting is a battle between the two she-wolves.  I can see a scenario where Sansa will betray the family again and Arya puts her on the List.  I don't want  a sisterly spat.  It should be very serious and only one survives.  The duo of Sansa and Littlefinger against Arya. 

First, Sansa has grown considerably since she went to Cersei.  She is far wiser and much less naive, more observant, and more suspicious.  She is not anti-Stark and never was, nor has she ever trusted Littlefinger.  They are more likely to end up enemies than allies.  Their worldviews are too different.

Second, Arya has no knowledge of Sansa going to Cersei.  Nor is anyone likely to tell her.  When she shows up in Westeros, she will no longer be with the Faceless Men.  Either she leaves or they kick her out.

Sansa won't betray the Starks or anyone she cares about.  She is too sensible and cautious to make that kind of mistake again.  My guess is that once the Starks meet up, they will work together as a team.

[the trees have eyes]

On 9/9/2022 at 8:14 PM, Springwatch said:

Cersei, at the time of the coup, to Sansa (who already knows the truth): "Why else should you have come to me and told me of your father's plan to send you away from us, if not for love?"

Cersei, much later, to the brother she hates: "[...] If Sansa hadn't come to me and told me all her father's plans . . ."

That is a big, big change, from, the plan to send you away, to all your father's plans. Cersei is not being honest here.

Indeed, the only thing Sansa knows is that her father is sending her and Arya away and that she won't be allowed to marry Joffrey, which as an immature pre-teen she considers horribly unfair and so goes to the "kind" Queen rather than the "scary" King to try and get them to order her father to allow the marriage to go ahead.  I've never understood the condemnation of Sansa for "betrayal" rather than naivety and childishly poor judgment, things normally seen as eminently understandable and forgivable if frustrating.  Ned makes far too many mistakes of his own yet either Sansa or Cat seem to get the blame.  As far as Sansa knows her father and the King are best friends and she is betrothed to The Crown Prince, a Barratheon, so she is approaching the King through his wife, hardly an enemy from her pov.

The exact timing of the strongwine given to Robert to induce boaricide is unclear but I think Ned has already told Cersei he knows about the paternity of her children and that she is moving against Robert and laying plans for how to deal with Ned.  The key element in Cersei's success / Ned's failure is of course LF's betrayal and the consequent trap Ned walks into, not Sansa's revelations.  At best, you could argue that Sansa's news make Cersei aware of the need for speed by clueing her into the fact that Ned is not just planning to lay his findings before Robert when he returns but to make his family safe and that this gives her tactical advantage and Sansa as a hostage (an unused hostage until later) but surely she has spies and can observe Ned's guards (few since he sent so many with Beric).  Without the Goldcloaks (i.e. LF) Cersei would have failed.