From Pawn to Player: Rethinking Sansa XV

[Le Cygne]

I don't deny that he initially makes a move to bed her and the marriage is forced.

"initially makes a move to bed her" (your words) = attempts to bed her (mine)

Pretty much. I kept the solicitous part. My point was it only took a few words to add the other relevant facts.

"Tyrion proves solicitous of his new bride though she refuses to consumate the marriage."

does not convey the facts I quoted above.

Sansa is a captive in a forced marriage to a family that did some pretty terrible things to her and her family, and Tyrion let it get to the point where she was naked and he groped her. It haunts her, too, something else they didn't include in her section:

The memory of her own wedding night with Tyrion was much with her. In the dark, I am the Knight of Flowers, he had said. I could be good to you. But that was only another Lannister lie. A dog can smell a lie, you know, the Hound had told her once. She could almost hear the rough rasp of his voice. Look around you, and take a good whiff. They’re all liars here, everyone better than you. She wondered what had become of Sandor Clegane...

She has a dream about it and replaces him with Sandor:

And she dreamed of her wedding night too, of Tyrion’s eyes devouring her as she undressed. Only then he was bigger than Tyrion had any right to be, and when he climbed into the bed his face was scarred only on one side. “I’ll have a song from you,” he rasped, and Sansa woke and found the old blind dog beside her once again.

Sorry, editing this paragraph for clarity:

Tyrion is solicitous but Sansa is not repulsed or disturbed. And my complaint is largely that in her own section, we don't see this. There is no mention that it got this far ("Once alone in their chambers, Tyrion tells Sansa that he will never touch her against her will"). But we do see his feelings.

[Lyanna Stark]

Note how I said walks the line of being inaccurate. I don't deny that he initially makes a move to bed her and the marriage is forced. But Tyrion agrees to not bed(rape) her, which is an important moment in that chapter. So wording that makes it sound like Sansa fought off his advances doesn't seem accurate.

How is she going to "fight off his advances" exactly? IS she going to wrestle him to death?

She was 13 years old and horribly frightened. That she dared tell him that she didn't want him is really brave and as much as a statement as she could do, at that point.

Besides, your arguments really don't gain anything when you don't even remember which POV chapter it was that dealt with the wedding. Last time I advised you to reread you said you had a job. As it happens, the rest of us are not unemployed basement dwellers but as this thread is a serious discussion thread, unlike a lot of other threads on this forum, it is expected that people posting here has at least a basic understanding of the novels, including POV structure. So please consider that before posting.

[Gannicus]

I don't know what your getting at?

You said this would be better than the original.

"Tyrion proves solicitous of his new bride and attempts to bed her, but she refuses to consumate the forced marriage."

Like I said, I disagree because it makes it sound like Sansa fought off Tyrion which didn't happen. Tyrion is expecting to bed Sansa but in the end doesn't attempt to. He sees how upset she is, and stops his advances.

Something like this might be more accurate

"Tyrion proves solicitous of his new bride though she refuses to consummate the forced marriage."

It gets to the fact that it was all unwanted by Sansa without portraying an inaccuracy.

[Le Cygne]

"Tyrion proves solicitous of his new bride though she refuses to consummate the forced marriage."

I'm not going to talk to you about this anymore but you. left. this. out.

He hopped down from the dais and grabbed Sansa roughly. “Come, wife, time to smash your portcullis. I want to play come-into-the-castle.”

Red-faced, Sansa went with him from the Small Hall. What choice do I have? ...

“I am your husband. You can take off your armor now.”

“And my clothing?”

“That too.”...

“Get in the bed, Sansa. We need to do our duty.”...

When he hopped up on the bed and put his hand on her breast, Sansa could not help but shudder. She lay with her eyes closed, every muscle tense, dreading what might come next...

She stared at the stunted legs, the swollen brutish brow, the green eye and the black one, the raw stump of his nose and crooked pink scar, the coarse tangle of black and gold hair that passed for his beard. Even his manhood was ugly, thick and veined, with a bulbous purple head. This is not right, this is not fair, how have I sinned that the gods would do this to me, how?

[brashcandy]

Ok, I PM'd bumps for some clarification about this shady wording, and here's what she said:

I'm glad you mentioned it. Yes, I did in fact, and I remember seeing an entry (either Ned or Cersei's) where Sansa is credited for her father's undoing by going to Cersei. The way the info is digested and explained, I think Sansa actually gets short shrift in this. I was going to bring it up after my final on Monday, but yea-- Le Cygne is right. There's a slight tone issue. I'm not sure if it's "problematic" in terms of being intentionally this way; I suspect it is a convenience thing in some ways and an oversight to get information out at the expense of subtlety. But yes, there was a bit of pro Tyrion in the "bedding" scene if I'm not mistaken-- it does read as though it happened from his POV in the app.

[Gannicus]

How is she going to "fight off his advances" exactly? IS she going to wrestle him to death?

She was 13 years old and horribly frightened. That she dared tell him that she didn't want him is really brave and as much as a statement as she could do, at that point.

Of course she is not going to physically fight him off. She doesn't fight him off at all other than letting her displeasure be known. That's why such wording would be wrong.

She lay with her eyes closed, every muscle tense, dreading what might come next

It can't be argued that Tryion decides not to bed(rape) her.

Besides, your arguments really don't gain anything when you don't even remember which POV chapter it was that dealt with the wedding. Last time I advised you to reread you said you had a job. As it happens, the rest of us are not unemployed basement dwellers but as this thread is a serious discussion thread, unlike a lot of other threads on this forum, it is expected that people posting here has at least a basic understanding of the novels, including POV structure. So please consider that before posting.

Oh please. Heaven forbid I bring a different opinion onto your reread thread. I'm sorry for making an error about the POV and I'm sorry if I've offended you. Posters like yourself are comfortable pointing other people to reread threads like they're gospel. That's not only annoying but small minded seeing as most people on the these threads are of a like mind about certain topics. Unfortunately for you I have as much right to post where I will.

[Kittykatknits]

I don't know what your getting at?

You said this would be better than the original.

"Tyrion proves solicitous of his new bride and attempts to bed her, but she refuses to consumate the forced marriage."

Like I said, I disagree because it makes it sound like Sansa fought off Tyrion which didn't happen. Tyrion is expecting to bed Sansa but in the end doesn't attempt to. He sees how upset she is, and stops his advances.

Something like this might be more accurate

"Tyrion proves solicitous of his new bride though she refuses to consummate the forced marriage."

It gets to the fact that it was all unwanted by Sansa without portraying an inaccuracy.

Of course she is not going to physically fight him off. She doesn't fight him off at all other than letting her displeasure be known. That's why such wording would be wrong.

She lay with her eyes closed, every muscle tense, dreading what might come next

It can't be argued that Tryion decides not to bed(rape) her.

I've got some other thoughts on the app that I will address in a separate post but I wanted to express why I find the approach in the app regarding the wedding to be frustrating and not quite accurate. It's not technically wrong but it doesn't really tell the whole story here either. In my view, the app is doing what I often see readers of the books doing too.

The actual wedding and bedding scene are all told from Sansa's point of view and I think that is a very critical and important decision. Martin had two characters he could have picked from in order for us to have eyes and ears in to what is happening. Yet, Martin chose Sansa over Tyrion here and I think we, as readers, need to ask why. The basic events are going to play out the same - the surprise wedding, her refusal to kneel, Sansa crying, Dontos acting as footstool, Tyrion's offer, the awkward wedding party afterwards - regardless who is telling us the events, right? The big difference here is whose thoughts are pivotal in this point of the story to reveal and Martin chose Sansa here, not Tyrion.

So, my takeaway is that Martin has some very important messages that concern the character Sansa here. We are going to get some insight, some thoughts, some development that will not only be about the current plot but about her future story arc. In other words, Sansa may be a 12 year old hostage and forced child bride, Martin still felt it was important to grant Sansa agency in this chapter. Martin rejected the male gaze here, he gave that gaze to Sansa. She is the one that evaluates Tyrion, looks upon his body, and determines whether she can ever feel attraction to him. Tyrion may say that he feels desire for her and he may say that he won't bed her until she is ready - but the thoughts that Martin gives us are Sansa's. I think this is critical and often overlooked when discussion of their bedding scene comes up.

So, let's examine some of Sansa's thoughts. In the beginning of the chapter, Sansa attempts to run away and then has her talk with Tyrion. Her internal thoughts tell us that she know understands just what Dontos was telling her - she is wanted for her claim. Sansa the person does not matter, Sansa the heir to the North is an object to be used. Equally important, she recognizes this is a motivation for the Tyrells, not just the Lannisters. Then, during the wedding scene, she is crying and thinks that it does not matter, let them see. When she does not kneel, Sansa thinks that she does not care because no one is caring about her feelings. Sansa is an object to those around her, she is a piece of land to be taken and used and she knows it. Sansa may not be able to stop the wedding, but her thoughts are hinting just how strongly she is resenting all of this. It's not just about the marriage itself but rather that Sansa is turning away from the idea of what she is as a woman in her culture. She's more than a piece of meat, she is an individual.

So, fast forward a bit to the bedding scene and we get some more revealing thoughts. Sansa was a girl who always did what she was told, she was the ideal daughter in many regards. Septa Mordane loved to heap praise on her, right? So, for a woman in her world, the primary role she has is to marry well and provide sons. It would appear that Septa Mordane worked quite a bit to prepare Sansa to do that and gave her some (to put it frankly) really shitty advice. She told Sansa that all men are beautiful. In other words, a woman must feel attracted to whoever man her patriarchial figure has designated for her. It's a flat out denail that a woman may have needs, desires, and wants of her own. Not all woman are beautiful to all men and on the flip side, not all men are beautiful to all women. Septa Mordane lied to Sansa about this. Now, during the bedding scene, Sansa reflects on what could very well be her Septa's most important teaching and flat out rejects it. This is not right. It's a natural progress. To go back to that use of gaze again, Sansa is looking upon Tyrion and he knows he is being looked upon. She's evaluating him, determining how she feels, and then recalls what her Septa said.

Just after this, Tyrion says they will wait until she is ready yet Sansa then asks what if she never wants him. We may not be in Tyrion's head but his reaction, as if struck, tells us quite clearly this is not what he was expecting of her. Sansa has been a prisoner, she has been subjected to emotional and physical abuse by his family, earlier that day she was just forcibly married off. The Lannisters have been steadily working to strip Sansa of her identiy and agency for almost two books now. Yet, Sansa, a prisoner whose thoughts Martin deliberately decides to give us at this point, refuses to do her duty, refuses to see him as beautiful, refuses to tell him that she would ever want to be with him. She even reiterates this when she shakes her head no and tells him "never" once again. Sansa may not be able to physically stop him from raping him, but she is clearly communicating to Tyrion what she is thinking here. And he knows it too.

It's also important to note that there is a clear before and after in Sansa's thoughts on marriage and duty once her forced wedding to take place. I think there is overall agreement on Joffrey in GOT so I won't go in to that. But, her thoughts on Willas: "she would make him love her", she would be a good wife who would give him sons. Now, we can argue that Sansa romanticized life in Highgarden but when it comes to those thoughts about Willas, hmm, how very dutiful! Then look at what Sansa is thinking of marriage in Feast. If Sansa marries again, she is going to want it on her terms. Sansa does not want to be loved for a claim or because she is a good,dutiful wife. She simply wants to be loved for herself. The big transition point is her wedding and wedding night.

So, Martin felt the use of female gaze was important, he felt her thoughts were important, he felt her rejection of wifely duty was important. He felt Sansa's build up towards saying never was important.

Yet, the perspective of the application is to deny all of this and return the power of the moment over to Tyrion. That description, if not factually incorrect, is very misleading. It's what we see happen so very often when it comes to an interpretation of this scene.

Now, are we denying that Tyrion chose not to rape her? No

Are we denying that he refused to follow his father's orders? No

Are we denying that he recognized she was unhappy? No

However, Sansa had power here too. Martin certainly seemed aware of it. He also has turned that wedding night in to a transformative moment for Sansa. Based upon all this, I think our frustration over the portrayal within the app makes sense.

And sorry this turned out to be so gosh-darned long.

[Lykos]

Instead of "Tyrion was kind to her." it should have said "when Tyrion tried to seduce Sansa, she rejected him." ,it would be closer to pure fact.

It could be added, that Tyrion stayed mostly true to his word and didn´t force himself any further on Sansa. Tyrion was really lucky, that this time his cock didn´t detach itself from his body to stab him in the back.

[brashcandy]

This is supposed to be Sansa's section in the app:

"Tyrion tells Sansa he will never touch her against her will." (but he did)

"Tyrion seems grim and resolved". (no Sansa seems)

"Tyrion tries to treat her kindly, but is kept busy with his new duties..."

"Sansa watches as Joffrey begins to mock and insult her husband."

So, Martin felt the use of female gaze was important, he felt her thoughts were important, he felt her rejection of wifely duty was important. He felt Sansa's build up towards saying never was important.

Yet, the perspective of the application is to deny all of this and return the power of the moment over to Tyrion. That description, if not factually incorrect, is very misleading. It's what we see happen so very often when it comes to an interpretation of this scene.

Now, are we denying that Tyrion chose not to rape her? No

Are we denying that he refused to follow his father's orders? No

Are we denying that he recognized she was unhappy? No

However, Sansa had power here too. Martin certainly seemed aware of it. He also has turned that wedding night in to a transformative moment for Sansa. Based upon all this, I think our frustration over the portrayal within the app makes sense.

And sorry this turned out to be so gosh-darned long.

I'm not sorry it turned out so long, Kitty :) Seriously speaking, you made a really good argument which captures my feelings as well. I wanted to also highlight Le Cygne's points to make clear the contrast. As you noted, the wedding chapter belongs to Sansa. What was supposed to be represent her ultimate defeat and humiliation at Lannister hands, turns out instead to be an empowering rejection of patriarchal authority. This cannot be stressed enough. However, the language of the app erases that agency, and makes no mention of what is behind Sansa's rejection of Tyrion. And my point is not that the app should have gone into a detailed explanation of patriarchal oppression and why Sansa's realisation was important. For example we could have read in Sansa's section:

Forced to marry into the family she despises, Sansa's wedding day is one of abject misery. On the wedding night, she is repulsed by her husband's looks, and although she pities him, she cannot bring herself to actually desire him despite his attempts to convince her otherwise. Sansa's final rejection of Tyrion comes when he offers her a reprieve from the bedding, but she makes clear that she will never want him.

This to me is just as accurate, but more importantly, it constructs Sansa as an agent in the decision making process on that night. It also highlights the injustice of what she's made to endure, and her resistance to it. I'm even more put out by how it was written in Tyrion's section:

"Tyrion proves solicitous of his new bride though she refuses to consummate the marriage."

"solicitous of his new bride"? The "new bride" that has just been married against her will? This makes it seem like Tyrion was the soul of generosity whilst meeting with unjust denial.

[Le Cygne]

However, Sansa had power here too. Martin certainly seemed aware of it. He also has turned that wedding night in to a transformative moment for Sansa. Based upon all this, I think our frustration over the portrayal within the app makes sense.

Also, the author chose to have Tyrion make Sansa get naked and grab her breast. He didn't have to do that. He could have had Tyrion call it off before it got to that.

So this tells us something about Tyrion, while creating an additional challenge for Sansa. The wedding night would have been far less traumatic without the stripping/grabbing.

Encouraging post, thank you.

It's funny, app Sandor calls her a "pretty bird" (sigh, not little bird) to "mock" her (sigh, what happened to trying to help her). The app literally makes her a bird.

Forced to marry into the family she despises, Sansa's wedding day is one of abject misery. On the wedding night, she is repulsed by her husband's looks, and although she pities him, she cannot bring herself to actually desire him despite his attempts to convince her otherwise. Sansa's final rejection of Tyrion comes when he offers her a reprieve from the bedding, but she makes clear that she will never want him.

Perfect!

"solicitous of his new bride"? The "new bride" that has just been married against her will? This makes it seem like Tyrion was the soul of generosity whilst meeting with unjust denial.

I know! That's just how it reads.

[Kittykatknits]

Instead of "Tyrion was kind to her." it should have said "when Tyrion tried to seduce Sansa, she rejected him." ,it would be closer to pure fact.

It could be added, that Tyrion stayed mostly true to his word and didn´t force himself any further on Sansa. Tyrion was really lucky, that this time his cock didn´t detach itself from his body to stab him in the back.

That would be much closer to factually accurate. I took his "knight of flowers" statement to be a very bad and rather pathetic attempt at seduction. And his offer of more time a bit of an extension of that.

Also- that bolded line just might be one of the funniest things I've ever read on this board.

I'm not sorry it turned out so long, Kitty :) Seriously speaking, you made a really good argument which captures my feelings as well. I wanted to also highlight Le Cygne's points to make clear the contrast. As you noted, the wedding chapter belongs to Sansa. What was supposed to be represent her ultimate defeat and humiliation at Lannister hands, turns out instead to be an empowering rejection of patriarchal authority. This cannot be stressed enough. However, the language of the app erases that agency, and makes no mention of what is behind Sansa's rejection of Tyrion. And my point is not that the app should have gone into a detailed explanation of patriarchal oppression and why Sansa's realisation was important. For example we could have read in Sansa's section:

Forced to marry into the family she despises, Sansa's wedding day is one of abject misery. On the wedding night, she is repulsed by her husband's looks, and although she pities him, she cannot bring herself to actually desire him despite his attempts to convince her otherwise. Sansa's final rejection of Tyrion comes when he offers her a reprieve from the bedding, but she makes clear that she will never want him.

This to me is just as accurate, but more importantly, it constructs Sansa as an agent in the decision making process on that night. It also highlights the injustice of what she's made to endure, and her resistance to it. I'm even more put out by how it was written in Tyrion's section:

"solicitous of his new bride"? The "new bride" that has just been married against her will? This makes it seem like Tyrion was the soul of generosity whilst meeting with unjust denial.

Yes, I quite agree. The statement actually put forth in the app is a variant of the "he was kind to her but she was mean to him".

I want to go in to the app a bit more but it'll have to wait until tomorrow at this point. Really, I should stop being a cheapskate and just buy the thing.

[Le Cygne]

Not happy with the app. Things seem to be arbitrarily missing. If they'd just added one sentence to show that Sansa wasn't completely indifferent to Sandor, that was such a big part of her story to be missing. I can see myself using the maps section, though. And I just have to say this, Sandor doesn't look human in his picture. I wish they'd used the calendar picture instead. Daario, just no, he looks like Santa Claus.

Noticed something else, there's big section that's completely not about Sansa right in the middle. It has to be a mistake. Sandor rescues her from the riot. Then, in the same paragraph, it goes on and on at length about war. I mean, at length. About Stannis, and Renly, and Courtnay Penrose, and Guyard Morrigen. Why is this in Sansa's section? if you have the app, it starts, "As the War of the Five Kings continues..."

[Gannicus]

I understand you all are disappointed with the app. Sansa story and inner workings are more subtle. It's a brief note that's just not meant to include the type of detail you all seem to be looking for.

I've got some other thoughts on the app that I will address in a separate post but I wanted to express why I find the approach in the app regarding the wedding to be frustrating and not quite accurate. It's not technically wrong but it doesn't really tell the whole story here either. In my view, the app is doing what I often see readers of the books doing too.

The actual wedding and bedding scene are all told from Sansa's point of view and I think that is a very critical and important decision. Martin had two characters he could have picked from in order for us to have eyes and ears in to what is happening. Yet, Martin chose Sansa over Tyrion here and I think we, as readers, need to ask why. The basic events are going to play out the same - the surprise wedding, her refusal to kneel, Sansa crying, Dontos acting as footstool, Tyrion's offer, the awkward wedding party afterwards - regardless who is telling us the events, right? The big difference here is whose thoughts are pivotal in this point of the story to reveal and Martin chose Sansa here, not Tyrion.

So, my takeaway is that Martin has some very important messages that concern the character Sansa here. We are going to get some insight, some thoughts, some development that will not only be about the current plot but about her future story arc. In other words, Sansa may be a 12 year old hostage and forced child bride, Martin still felt it was important to grant Sansa agency in this chapter. Martin rejected the male gaze here, he gave that gaze to Sansa. She is the one that evaluates Tyrion, looks upon his body, and determines whether she can ever feel attraction to him. Tyrion may say that he feels desire for her and he may say that he won't bed her until she is ready - but the thoughts that Martin gives us are Sansa's. I think this is critical and often overlooked when discussion of their bedding scene comes up.

So, let's examine some of Sansa's thoughts. In the beginning of the chapter, Sansa attempts to run away and then has her talk with Tyrion. Her internal thoughts tell us that she know understands just what Dontos was telling her - she is wanted for her claim. Sansa the person does not matter, Sansa the heir to the North is an object to be used. Equally important, she recognizes this is a motivation for the Tyrells, not just the Lannisters. Then, during the wedding scene, she is crying and thinks that it does not matter, let them see. When she does not kneel, Sansa thinks that she does not care because no one is caring about her feelings. Sansa is an object to those around her, she is a piece of land to be taken and used and she knows it. Sansa may not be able to stop the wedding, but her thoughts are hinting just how strongly she is resenting all of this. It's not just about the marriage itself but rather that Sansa is turning away from the idea of what she is as a woman in her culture. She's more than a piece of meat, she is an individual.

So, fast forward a bit to the bedding scene and we get some more revealing thoughts. Sansa was a girl who always did what she was told, she was the ideal daughter in many regards. Septa Mordane loved to heap praise on her, right? So, for a woman in her world, the primary role she has is to marry well and provide sons. It would appear that Septa Mordane worked quite a bit to prepare Sansa to do that and gave her some (to put it frankly) really shitty advice. She told Sansa that all men are beautiful. In other words, a woman must feel attracted to whoever man her patriarchial figure has designated for her. It's a flat out denail that a woman may have needs, desires, and wants of her own. Not all woman are beautiful to all men and on the flip side, not all men are beautiful to all women. Septa Mordane lied to Sansa about this. Now, during the bedding scene, Sansa reflects on what could very well be her Septa's most important teaching and flat out rejects it. This is not right. It's a natural progress. To go back to that use of gaze again, Sansa is looking upon Tyrion and he knows he is being looked upon. She's evaluating him, determining how she feels, and then recalls what her Septa said.

Just after this, Tyrion says they will wait until she is ready yet Sansa then asks what if she never wants him. We may not be in Tyrion's head but his reaction, as if struck, tells us quite clearly this is not what he was expecting of her. Sansa has been a prisoner, she has been subjected to emotional and physical abuse by his family, earlier that day she was just forcibly married off. The Lannisters have been steadily working to strip Sansa of her identiy and agency for almost two books now. Yet, Sansa, a prisoner whose thoughts Martin deliberately decides to give us at this point, refuses to do her duty, refuses to see him as beautiful, refuses to tell him that she would ever want to be with him. She even reiterates this when she shakes her head no and tells him "never" once again. Sansa may not be able to physically stop him from raping him, but she is clearly communicating to Tyrion what she is thinking here. And he knows it too.

It's also important to note that there is a clear before and after in Sansa's thoughts on marriage and duty once her forced wedding to take place. I think there is overall agreement on Joffrey in GOT so I won't go in to that. But, her thoughts on Willas: "she would make him love her", she would be a good wife who would give him sons. Now, we can argue that Sansa romanticized life in Highgarden but when it comes to those thoughts about Willas, hmm, how very dutiful! Then look at what Sansa is thinking of marriage in Feast. If Sansa marries again, she is going to want it on her terms. Sansa does not want to be loved for a claim or because she is a good,dutiful wife. She simply wants to be loved for herself. The big transition point is her wedding and wedding night.

So, Martin felt the use of female gaze was important, he felt her thoughts were important, he felt her rejection of wifely duty was important. He felt Sansa's build up towards saying never was important.

Yet, the perspective of the application is to deny all of this and return the power of the moment over to Tyrion. That description, if not factually incorrect, is very misleading. It's what we see happen so very often when it comes to an interpretation of this scene.

Now, are we denying that Tyrion chose not to rape her? No

Are we denying that he refused to follow his father's orders? No

Are we denying that he recognized she was unhappy? No

However, Sansa had power here too. Martin certainly seemed aware of it. He also has turned that wedding night in to a transformative moment for Sansa. Based upon all this, I think our frustration over the portrayal within the app makes sense.

And sorry this turned out to be so gosh-darned long.

I certainly understand your what you are getting at. Sansa deserves some credit for her subtle defiance. But it seems to me you are over estimating the power she had in that situation. A lesser man, would not have cared what she thought or felt, in essence leaving her without power. As harsh as it sounds Tyrion allowed her a voice in a way many people with political ambitions would not have.

[Le Cygne]

I understand you all are disappointed with the app. Sansa story and inner workings are more subtle. It's a brief note that's just not meant to include the type of detail you all seem to be looking for.

Oh, please. Now you are speaking for the app?

My criticism of the app is that plot points are missing throughout. When "subtle" "inner workings" of characters are included, and they are throughout, it's helpful. So the app as a reference is somewhat limited with these inconsistencies.

I used Jaime's dream as an example on another thread. In his section, that he had a dream, a plot point, is left out. The app takes him from returning to Kings Landing to turning around and jumping into a bear pit to rescue Brienne, but we never know why.

In the book, Brienne thanked him for saving her and clearly asked, why and he said "I dreamed of you". It's an iconic line, for sure, but it also very clearly explains the plot. He had a dream about her and instantly told Steelshanks, we're going back, I left something behind.

Again, this is not even an example of an "inner working" but a clear plot point. But it wasn't in the app.

My criticsim of Sansa's section in particular is that the tone and focus in Sansa's section is clearly off. Events are told through the perspectives of Tyrion and Littlefinger. We see their "inner workings" but not Sansa's. There's even a section about Renly and Stannis and a couple of other characters that should be in their sections.

And similarly to Jaime's dream, plot points are left out of Sansa's section. Sansa cupping Sandor's cheek is not "inner workings". If it had been added, she'd have looked like a participant in her own life, and it would have also given some sense to the many interactions between the two of them in her story, just like an "inner working" line in Sandor's section was helpful.

In Sandor's section, the app said Sandor was "infatuated" with her (and yes, he most certainly is, according to the text, and the author bringing up himself that fans want them to get together, said "I've played with it in the books, there's something there"). So this one sentence helps us understand some of his actions. That line was very welcome.

"Infatuated" is about "inner workings". And in Sansa's section, we got Lothar Brune's "inner workings", too, he is "infatuated" with Mya Stone. We know how Tyrion feels about the wedding night (his "inner workings"). We know Littlefinger's motivations (his "inner workings"). Are Sansa's "inner workings" any less important in Sansa's section?

The show gets Sansa better than Sansa's section of the app. And the show leaves a lot of things out. I'm actually appreciating the show more after reading the app, and that's not what I expected. Book Sansa > Show Sansa > App Sansa.

[Le Cygne]

So going back a bit to just before the bedding, to the wedding itself:

"[Tywin] decides to wed her to Tyrion instead. At her wedding feast, Joffrey says that his uncle should let him bed Sansa if he wishes it, which leads Tyrion to threaten him in public."

That's it. Seriously. Tywin. Joffrey. Tyrion (the hero). Not a word about Sansa, from the time a Lannister decides she should marry a Lannister to the bedding. She has no response to any of it. Apparently the only notable thing is Joffrey and Tyrion have words.

Then right from that to the "once alone in her chambers" line, where we never learn that she has to take off her clothes before the hero decides to let her off the hook. Or how she feels about the whole thing. But Tyrion is "solicitous" and "kindly" and "grim" and "resigned".

The lack of response to some pretty big things that happen to her is really striking. Also, Sandor.

We never hear that she comforted him after the Hand's tourney, when she realized she was afraid for him, not herself. Apparently more important is that Sandor "threatens to kill her" if she tells anyone he poured his heart out to a girl.

There is never a response to him in her whole section other than she "fears he might kiss her" (which happened right before she cupped his cheek, but that wasn't included).

Also, she "helped doom her father". But at least she seems somewhat present in AGOT. From ACOK on, she really doesn't. She is "disturbed" at one point, but only because Marillion is keeping her up with his singing.

If I didn't know the story, I wouldn't even know that she minded Littlefinger's kiss (the only one that was mentioned).

The night of the battle, she "joins the people in prayer", that's it. No she sang. No gentle the rage Hound prayer (and no I would be gladder if it were the Hound, and no thinking of Sandor another time after that, too, she was clearly at it well before the 13 times she thinks of him in the next two books that we never hear about). And no indication of this lovely Joffrey prayer:

Let his sword break and his shield shatter, Sansa thought coldly as she shoved out through the doors, let his courage fail him and every man desert him.

One more thing, it would be helpful if they had some breaks within the sections, for example, the title of the books. The sections are really long for the main characters.