Vulture interview hints at "controversial" Sansa chapter in TWoW

[Sun]

Think of how controversial mercy killings are in real life. It being carried out by a 14 year old girl makes even more so

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Like I said, I accept that many would find Sansa killing Sweet Robin controversial, I just don't think I would. I think Sansa is fully capable of killing, and cruelty if pushed to it. She is first and foremost a survivor, imo, and I just wouldn't see it as necessarily out of the bounds of her character, and therefor not controversial to me.

Ofcourse in the end much depends on the context in which the murder takes place..

[total1402]

Think of how controversial mercy killings are in real life. It being carried out by a 14 year old girl makes even more so

Its not really a mercy killing. Drogo was an example of a mercy killing because he was completely locked inside his body unable to live at all. Sweetrobin is different because hes basiclly epileptic, sickly and has some mental condition as well given his behavior. In other words you could say killing Hodor because he has downs syndrome is a mercy killing if we're using that definition. Really, it would just be plain murder due to Sansa's disgust at Sweetrobin for being as he is and her being a poor carer. It would be like if a nurse in a mental institution was having a hard time dealing with the patients so came to the conclusion that it would be a mercy if she stopped their pain. When really she simply cannot meet the duty of care.

This is even worse when you consider that Sansa's motivation would be to empower her own family with a marriage to the new lord of the vale. Even worse when you realise she has ruled out alternatives like revealing herself to the Vale bannermen as Sansa even though she knows these people were close to her father from the rebellion.

Suffice to say that would be a very dark thing for your heroine to do to better her condition. On a level with Theon burning the farmers boys who are of an age with Sweetrobin, or Jamie pushing Bran out of a window.

[brashcandy]

Well, we can count Sansa's memories failing her exactly twice: 1) misremembering the Joffrey incident and the name of Joffrey's sword and 2) the non-kiss (and GRRM has indicated that the only reason he included #1 was to set the stage for #2). There's no reason that we've been given to question anything else.

Actually that was shown to be GRRM's own failing memory at work: it's Arya who misremembers the name of the sword, not Sansa. And on the Joffrey incident itself she was more in denial due to wanting Joff to be her ideal prince. Later on she admits what Joff did to Mycah.

[Joyful Union]

Its not really a mercy killing. Drogo was an example of a mercy killing because he was completely locked inside his body unable to live at all. Sweetrobin is different because hes basiclly epileptic, sickly and has some mental condition as well given his behavior. In other words you could say killing Hodor because he has downs syndrome is a mercy killing if we're using that definition. Really, it would just be plain murder due to Sansa's disgust at Sweetrobin for being as he is and her being a poor carer. It would be like if a nurse in a mental institution was having a hard time dealing with the patients so came to the conclusion that it would be a mercy if she stopped their pain. When really she simply cannot meet the duty of care.

This is even worse when you consider that Sansa's motivation would be to empower her own family with a marriage to the new lord of the vale. Even worse when you realise she has ruled out alternatives like revealing herself to the Vale bannermen as Sansa even though she knows these people were close to her father from the rebellion.

Suffice to say that would be a very dark thing for your heroine to do to better her condition. On a level with Theon burning the farmers boys who are of an age with Sweetrobin, or Jamie pushing Bran out of a window.

I was sort of imagining a scenario where Sweetrobin's condition took a turn for the worse, leaving him in a coma for instance. I agree that killing Sweetrobin in his current health wouldnt be a mercy killing (though it might be by westerosi standards). It would be a very dark turn for Sansa if she killed him just because he was annoying.

[Warsaw]

Maybe we're all just theorizing and reading way too much into it and it turns out to be something small and simple and not that relevant to the story.

Like maybe she just discovers masturbation or something like that.

[total1402]

Maybe we're all just theorizing and reading way too much into it and it turns out to be something small and simple and not that relevant to the story.

Like maybe she just discovers masturbation or something like that.

But how would that be controversial. We already had Dany do this in ASOS with Irri.

ps. You really wouldn't think it had been almost a year since I read these books. :D

[Warsaw]

It's SANSA.

[Oddwater]

I say Blackfish is going to show up at the Eyrie expecting to find Lysa only to find Sansa and Littlefinger. Surely he will suspect Littlefinger in Lysa's murder, which will outrage him. Sansa will refuse to aid Blackfish and choose to protect Littlefinger out of Stockholme Syndrome.

Perhaps she will indirectly cause Blackfish's death!

[HouseLark]

I would put my money on Sansa killing Robin, making her a kinslayer.

I honestly would struggle to read anymore Sansa chapters if Martin set up a Littlefinger sexual abuse storyline. At this stage it wouldn't even be surprising given the level of sexual assault that takes place in the series anyway, to put another kid into one of those storylines, and a kid that gets POV chapters would be too much. Not to mention that in the context of ASoIaF that storyline would be devoid of artistic merit since it has always been a kind of lingering threat in Sansa's arc anyway and the real surprise was that she got out of King's Landing before anything like that happened to her. Killing Robin would be a step-change in Sansa's character, it would move her on and also be very controversial.

[The Others Take Ya]

To me something controversial would be that Sansa's ends up being groomed enough by Littlefinger where it gets to the point where she starts to think of the rape and molestation he does to her as being somewhat consensual in her own POV, even though from what readers see it obviously isn't. Although considering the "unreliable narrator" problem, maybe it won't seem obvious to readers because its hard to put yourself in the shoes of a life-threatened, on-your-own, 13 year old in the hands of a charismatic pimp. :/

Maybe she starts to see it as just "another tool" she uses on him to find a way to save SweetRobin.

[NotSoSilentSister]

My wild ass guess is "Alayne" and Mya hook up.

Sadly, that would be way too awesome for Martin. (If we talk about "hook-up" as in legit romance, not just some gratituous repeat of the Dany-Handmaiden-weaksauce):

I'm hoping that it means Sansa and LF will legitimately fall in love. I'm not sure why this would be so hard for people to take. It would make perfect sense for both their characters.

Also when you look at everything LF has done for her, she owes him a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Hilarious.

[Stallion That Mounts Texas]

To me something controversial would be that Sansa's ends up being groomed enough by Littlefinger where it gets to the point where she starts to think of the rape and molestation he does to her as being somewhat consensual in her own POV, even though from what readers see it obviously isn't. Although considering the "unreliable narrator" problem, maybe it won't seem obvious to readers because its hard to put yourself in the shoes of a life-threatened, on-your-own, 13 year old in the hands of a charismatic pimp. :/

Maybe she starts to see it as just "another tool" she uses on him to find a way to save SweetRobin.

I don't think LF will do the deed himself, as he sees her as a daughter and does not want the emotional damage it will do to Sansa. However, he will have her trained sexually by another woman/women like Jeyne Poole. Harry "the Heir" will need an experienced Sansa to be brought to heel.

The controversy is a sexually awakened Sansa, who knows how to play the game and how to bend men to her will. She will destroy LF and come into her own.

[brashcandy]

I don't think LF will do the deed himself, as he sees her as a daughter and does not want the emotional damage it will do to Sansa. However, he will have her trained sexually by another woman/women like Jeyne Poole. Harry "the Heir" will need an experienced Sansa to be brought to heel.

The controversy is a sexually awakened Sansa, who knows how to play the game and how to bend men to her will. She will destroy LF and come into her own.

I'm all for healthy speculation, but some of this stuff is just way out there. LF isn't likely to subject Sansa to any training; when he proposed the match in Sansa's final AFFC chapter, he tells her that she'll easily win over Harry's boyish heart, as in there's not much that will be necessary to get Harry to agree to the marriage considering Sansa's beauty and poise. Even if LF wanted to have her trained, he can't exactly do it at the Gates of the Moon, and having his supposedly pious and beloved daughter heading to a whorehouse in Gulltown isn't going to go unnoticed.

If the controversy was going to be connected to a sexually awakened Sansa then readers are about 2 books too late, considering that Sansa's sexual awakening started in the latter half of ASOS. As for bending men to her will, is this the only way a woman can play the game? Is Sansa taking lessons from Cersei? Sure, I suppose Myranda Royce could teach her a thing or two about that, but she seems to admire Mya Stone a great deal more, someone who advises independence from men.

Now, I'm not saying some manipulation and charm might not prove worthwhile on some people, but right now Sansa's best bet in defeating LF may be to try to co-opt men like Lothor Brune and Bronze Yohn, and neither is likely to be interested in her as a bed-mate.

[Black Wolf Smith]

I was drinking with my buddies last night and somehow Sansa came up and someone mentioned the "Unkiss" theory which I have never heard before... But it's basically that the Hound never actually kissed Sansa and she made it up in her POV.

http://awoiaf.wester...ndex.php/UnKiss

And apparently GRRM said that Sansa may be an "unreliable storyteller..."

He did not kiss her. She later dreamed that he did.

Oh, no, I just thought of something.

We know Lysa Tully went a little insane because of all the stress in her life.

And now we're told Sansa may be an unreliable storyteller.

What if Sansa actually has the same genetic vulnerability as Lysa, and she actually has a full-blown psychotic break?

Don't forget that Cat was a hair or 2 from being bat-shit herself.

[Fred Stark]

I think it will be quite controversial to some readers if Blackfish finally arrives to the Vale with or without Jeyne Stark(pregnant or not)

[moonjump05]

Kinda going with a couple of the other posts above, the controversy may have to do with the Blackfish who has been widely speculated to show up in the Vale. This event would certainly set up a new storyline for Sansa.

What if the Blackfish shows up, and declares Sansa Lady of Winterfell/Queen in the North or even really just supports her? Instead of following Robb's will to legitimize Jon? This would really create some controversy in certain areas of fandom.

[Tall Tyrion Lannister!]

Littlefinger coming onto her might be a little too predictable. it was the first thing i thought of, since we already know that littlefinger is a creep when it comes to sansa.

[jons nissa]

What if the Blackfish shows up, and declares Sansa Lady of Winterfell/Queen in the North or even really just supports her? Instead of following Robb's will to legitimize Jon? This would really create some controversy in certain areas of fandom.

but why would blackfish ever do that? sansa is still married to tyrion and until his dead body is brought back to westeros, connecting sansa to winterfell is too dangerous. blackfish, of all people, will realize that. also, the rumor is blackfish has jeyne with him so it is very unlikely that he will choose to forget robb's wishes.

[jons nissa]

Newstar posted a great prediction in another thread discussing sansa being more at ease with littlefinger's advances. after going back to read the last alayne pov, i have to agree, there is little protest from sansa in her thoughts when he kisses her for a long time. i don't think it means she likes what he is doing and is falling in love with her but she appears to be falling in line with him more than ever and even goes so far as to think:

Maester Colemon cares only for the boy, though. Father and I have larger concerns.

she seems to be thinking of things a bit differently in her later chapters. btw, maester colemon is very explicit to sansa about sweet robin not having anymore sweetmilk for several months. we'll see who suggests he have some next and when.

all this supports the theory that the controversy regarding sansa will be about her and littlefinger. she may do something he asks of her or he may move things to a more intimate nature. i don't think there will be all out sex between the two but things do seem to point to littlefinger getting closer to alayane.

[Ser Pounce FTW]

Newstar posted a great prediction in another thread discussing sansa being more at ease with littlefinger's advances. after going back to read the last alayne pov, i have to agree, there is little protest from sansa in her thoughts when he kisses her for a long time. i don't think it means she likes what he is doing and is falling in love with her but she appears to be falling in line with him more than ever and even goes so far as to think:

Maester Colemon cares only for the boy, though. Father and I have larger concerns.

she seems to be thinking of things a bit differently in her later chapters. btw, maester colemon is very explicit to sansa about sweet robin not having anymore sweetmilk for several months. we'll see who suggests he have some next and when.

all this supports the theory that the controversy regarding sansa will be about her and littlefinger. she may do something he asks of her or he may move things to a more intimate nature. i don't think there will be all out sex between the two but things do seem to point to littlefinger getting closer to alayane.

This quote is troubling. I wonder if there will be a greater divide between Sansa and Alayne in the next book.