SPOILERS for Game of Thrones.
Yesterday, we had a recap of the Game of Thrones Season 6 finale, “The Winds of Winter,” arguably one of the best hours of television in the history of television. Everything was pitch-perfect, storylines moved forward, and there is (as always) a great deal of anticipation for season seven. HBO also released some behind-the-scenes videos of the actors talking about the finale and what it means for Season 7. I found this video, below, very interesting. Kit Harington, Sophie Turner and Liam Cunningham (Jon Snow, Sansa and Davos) discuss their final scene, the “King In the North” scene where all of the Northern houses rally behind Jon Snow as Ned Stark’s heir, The White Wolf and true King In the North.
Kit’s interpretation of the scene is that there is a deep “dysfunction” between Sansa and Kit, and he thinks Jon is “oblivious” to what Sansa is feeling: “He hasn’t actually learned his lesson from actually trying to pay attention to what she’s feeling. He says he has, but he’s asking her to trust him. He’s not listening and watching and observing her. I think that could be a real problem for him.” Cunningham also thinks Sansa is going to have a problem with Jon running things at Winterfell, and Sophie points out: “He’s named King in the North and she gets no credit for it.”
What’s weird is that the actors’ interpretation of their own characters was not how it came across to me at all! When that amazing child Lady Lyanna Mormont shamed all of the grown-ass men into recognizing Jon Snow as King in the North, I thought Sansa looked proud. My interpretation of Sansa throughout Season 6 is that she’s come into her own as behind-the-scenes power player, but what she wants more than anything is to be home at Winterfell and to get revenge on her enemies. Which is different than wanting to be declared queen of the North, or Queen of Westeros or whatever. Sansa wants security, and if she stays next to Jon, she’ll have it. And honestly, if you put Jon and Sansa together, between them they make a reasonably effective leader. But yes, Jon does need to work on listening to her. So what was the look between Sansa and Littlefinger at the end? I’m still trying to figure it out.
Also, Kit did a video interview with W Magazine which… I know Kit Harington Says Words and I know we’re always supposed to roll our eyes at him, but I found him sort of charming and sexy here.
Photos courtesy of WENN, HBO.
LADY F***ING MORMONT!!!
She is absolutely the best, hope they don’t kill her anytime soon.
I adore her, but I am worried about what will happen to her if her uncle returns arguing Daenerys is the true queen of Westeros.
She won’t take any shit from Jorah.
I’d like to think that Dany would appreciate the kid’s spunk and exceptional ability to lead – especially at such a young age – but, of course, I’m blinded by my own adoration of Lady Mormont
I actually find him quite adorable in that interview.
Ditto.
me too. he is a touch of dumb but he is so damn cute doing it.
He looks like Leonard from the Big Bang theory
LOL. My exact thought.
You know, this was an excellent episode but… what about Lady Stoneheart??
Arya is the “new” Lady Stoneheart?
Never going to happen and it never was going to happen. D&D said so years ago.
Arya took part of her story line.
What about Gendry?
And Nymeria?
And Pod?
And Brienne?
And the Hound?
And Hot Pie?
All lost in the Riverlands
We saw the Hound just a few episodes ago. He is alive and well.
All the other characters mentioned either served their purpose and are no longer needed or not as central to the show. If Gendry were to show up what would they do with him? He is a bastard of Robert Baratheon and even he doesn’t know who his real father is (though apparently Melisandre tells him this on the show when she captures him so she can burn him as an offering to the Lord of Light for Stannis). Plus Robert fathered a lot of bastards so it’s not like Gendry would be alone in trying to claim the Iron Throne which he can’t becaus he is low born anyways.
Brienne and Pod are still around. And TV Brienne has WAY more to do than book Brienne who goes on a wild goose chase for Sansa in some remote part of Westeros and never actually finds her.
I think Gendry is the last Baratheon. All Robert’s other bastards (including an infant) were murdered on Joffrey’s (?) orders. Gendry managed to barely escape. I’d like to see him again but with just 13 more episodes, I don’t know if they’ll tie that up or not.
What about Ser Pounce? What’s going to happen to the cat???
(Also yes, I think Arya’s storyline is sort of the show’s version of Lady Stoneheart. I’d be very surprised if we see LS in the show itself).
I absolutely think Sansa was mad Jon got all the credit and will team up with Lord Baelish to get Jon to resign and be Queen herself (maybe by telling Jon about his parentage so he’ll realize he doesn’t have a claim to Winterfell anymore).
Not that I care about any other Queen than CERSEI LANNISTER FIRST OF HER NAME FIRST FEMALE RULER OF WESTEROS EVER!!!
Gosh that’s not how I interpreted it at all. I thought she looked worried/defiant when she saw Littlefinger’s look, realizing that John put a dent in his plans to be king and that maybe he would attack John.
That’s how I took it as well.
And Jon did acknowledge Sansa’s role in the BOTB victory. But, she was pushed aside in the hall with all the northern houses. No one mentioned her once, which was a bit disappointing. I feel like Jon should’ve acknowledged her role in them taking back Winterfell.
I generally don’t pay attention to what the actors or showrunners/writers say about the episodes for 2 reasons: 1) the actors rarely know what’s going to happen in the next season (befoire season 5 the showrunners told Sophie Turner that Sansa would get a “love interest” in season 5 – and she took them seriously, then she got the script) and 2) for some reason what the showrunners say about the episodes/characters rarely corresponds with with what is actually show on the screen, which is something that I find so weird. In season 5 they said that Arya hiding Needle was about her revenge but it actually came across that Needle represented her identity as a Styark. In season 4 there was the whole controversy about Jaime raping Cersei but the director thought he filmed a scene of consensual sex. I also think they tend to exaggerate things to create a hype to sustain interest between seasons.
In the end it is what’s on the screen that matters.
I saw it this way too…..but the comments on the recap post seemed to have just as many who saw it “our” way as those who saw it as Sansa possibly siding with LF against Jon. Makes me want to go back and watch it and see how what they saw.
She was definitely not siding with him. He told her that Jon’s a bastard and that they won’t follow him because of that. She’s glad and proud that they all want him as the king of the north. And then she sees Littlefinger, who’s the only one not cheering up and she knows that he means trouble.
I think especially her history as a young girl who sheepishly thought her only purpose would be to marry a knight or the king himself and who then got tortured and raped does make her not want to be in the spotlight. She doesn’t want to be queen or something like that. At least not now.
I interpreted her looks with Littlefinger to mean “we’ll see…”. While proud of Jon, she does not necessarily want to relinquish control now that she’s had a true taste of it. Ultimately I can see her betraying him and he will miss the clues because he is blinded by loyalty (now reading Kit’s comments I am sure of this).
But Jon does have a claim to Winterfall on his mother’s side.
OMG!!!!!!!!!! THE W Magazine video!!!!!!!!!!!
Try watching that interview without falling in love with him.
I loved Kit’s acting this season (The battle of the bastards!!!!!) and his man-bun!
Well, Kit’s a terrible actor so I could see where the audience might not have gotten that impression. Also, he has access to scripts, meetings, other actors in the show that could be talking about their theories on where each character will go. Or… He reads message boards
Honestly, I read that scene the way he describes it. Sansa looked like she had mixed emotions-part happy because the Northern Lords were finally rallying around them but they (not Jon) overlooked her. D&D also mentioned it in their post episode video as well. As did Sophie Turner. There a lot of people who seem to ship Jon and Sansa (ewww) and are denying that these two are not going to have some conflict when we now have Kit, Sophie, D&D, and Liam Cunningham…all the people involved in that story line saying there’s some conflict coming between Jon and Sansa.
Kit’s not the best actor, I agree, but it’s Sansa’s reaction we should be looking at. He’s right that Jon is misreading Sansa.
@mom2two yes, I agree with you. I get the impression that the look between Sansa & LF was misinterpreted mainly by people who either ship Jon/Sansa or who are just Stark loyalists and want them to be a not-so-big-anymore but happy family.
I interpreted Sansa’s demeanour as being both proud of her brother, but also disappointed that she didn’t get any acknowledgement. I think she expected to be named the Stark heir, maybe without even realising it before this scene. And LF knows. And when she realised that LF knows how she feels (even knew so back in the Godswood), she got that worried mixed-feeling look. Because honestly, if you are in a position where only one person in the whole room gets you, who wants that person to be LF?
I think the problem a lot of people have is that despite the fact that LF is a horrible person, he and Sansa have a connection. It’s not a good, sound, healthy connection, but it’s there even though Sansa wants get rid of it time and again and can’t (yet).
Sansa could not have been more clear that she sees Jon as Ned’s heir. Jon pushed for Sansa to step up as queen and she -rightfully- said it should be him. Which doesn’t mean she won’t change her mind, but let’s not get carried away with how much credit she deserves. She played the damsel card yet again in going to Little finger, who now clearly feels threatened by Jon. There’s trouble brewing there, and I hope when the moment comes Sansa kills LF all on her own.
That pervy Littlefinger needs to suffer. Hopefully Cersei will get him and hand it to the Mountain.
Yes. I’m not sure how or why anyone could interpret Sansa’s looks or behavior as anything remotely near jealousy or anger that she didn’t get a position she’s made clear she doesn’t want. That may all change over the next two seasons, but for now, I’m going with she’s relieved to be home, free of terrible husbands (for the moment, anyway), and with at least one family member.
But I’m also bad at subtleties, so yeah 😉
I think Sansa stating that she feels Jon is a Stark is not meaning that she felt he should be named Lord of Winterfell over her (or King in the North). Her saying that she prepared the Lords quarters for him (Ned and Cat’s room), I took it as, her verifying he’s much of a Stark as her. I think she expected him to publicly (as he did acknowledge her contributions to her privately and stated she was the Lady of Winterfell) name her contributions and say she’s rightfully the Lady of Winterfell/Queen of the North. But we really have not had a follow up scene to that yet…so that might just happen at some point.
Truth be told, Sansa is the one who started the rally for Winterfell. Jon was not convinced until the letter came from Ramsey that he had Rickon and threatened Jon and the Wildings. I can see why she might be feeling overlooked, though, her being overlooked is not being done out of malice. And Littlefinger needs to get his, hopefully next season.
Mom, that’s a good distinction, but if he’s a legitimate Stark (and I believe Sansa feels he is) than he’s the heir simply by being older. As for who did more to win back Winterfell, it’s true that Sansa talked Jon into it, but Jon has given much more of himself -very literally- defending the North, so of the two why shouldn’t he be king of the north? I don’t think Sansa, at least not yet, is angling for power. She’s only just graduated from survival mode to revenge mode. Time will tell if she’s a smarter, savvier leader than Jon.
And LF was insistent that the northerners would not follow Jon because he was a southern bastard. That meeting proved him wrong.
I think the showrunners and actors are trying to set up in our (the viewers’) minds that the big conflict will be between Jon and Sansa, but really it will be Sansa pretending to have conflict with Jon so as to placate Littlefinger, or buy some time with him b/c she knows he’s dangerous. Littlefinger wants to sow the seeds of discontent in Sansa against Jon, and maybe she will play along for a while b/c she has to figure out how to outsmart LF (which no one on this show has done so far — no one! And now the little dove has to find a way!!!).
I am curious to see to what level of evilness Cersei will get to now that she has no one alive to humanize her. Jaime will undoubtedly be the valonqar and he will meet Tyrion again.
All I want is for Arya and Jon to meet again and also i can’t wait for Bran to tell him what he knows.
I think I’m most anxious for Arya and Jon to meet again too. They were close—he gave her Needle before they parted. And they’ve both been through so much, and came out of it in very different ways. Arya is a cold-blooded assassin and Jon is the noble warrior. I wonder if he’ll be able to bring back her humanity, because as much as I love Arya, she’s lost that.
Love the interview with Kit! He’s grown a lot as an actor this season.
Maybe Arya will reunite with Nymeria, too, and that will help with the humanity.
Arya absolutely has not lost her humanity – she refused to kill the actress when she learned it was just a paid killing. She has killed evil people who have wronged her. She couldn’t even kill Sandor in the end. She is full of empathy and compassion and also revenge. They aren’t mutually exclusive.
The showrunners emphasize that we should be scared for Arya losing her humanity but I don’t interpret Arya’s arc that way at all. I guess I feel like she has been 1000% justified in every single kill she’s made!!!!! (Wait…am I discovering something about *my* lack of humanity…??? Hmmm…..)
Jon has acknowledged Sansa’s role and to his mind Sansa should be the Lady of Winterfell. He has mentioned it time and time again he’s just a “bastard”. It was the other northern houses who rallied for Jon. Jon Snow has always been a reluctant leader like the time he was named Lord Commander.
Watching the last episode yesterday I kept thinking that Jon’s new hairdo and overall expressions remind me of someone else and now I know – he is styled exactly like Lagertha’s latest husband Kalf was in the last season of History’s Vikings.
I think Sansa is now worried that Littlefinger will be after Jon, and pressuring her to unseat him somehow. In her universe, death is pretty much how that gets done. There’s no peace in her world. Sansa is uneasy about how Littlefinger is going to proceed with his plans to take the Iron Throne and how she and Jon play into those.
Sansa will do whatever it takes to protect her family, Winterfell and the North. Littlefinger will underestimate her and she will be the one that takes him down but not before turning the tables on him and using him to further her plans, like he used her.
Like Arya, she wants revenge on those who hurt her and her family.
Will there be a season 8?
I thought Sansa looked happy during the scene until she saw Littlefinger when her expression changes and she visibly braces herself. I took it to mean that she suddenly realizes that Littlefinger lost and she knows how dangerous he can be. She is afraid of him. I also think Sansa understand the price you have to pay to rule – i.e. sacrifice everything and everyone – and I doubt she is prepared to pursue it. She also believes the White Walkers are coming, and Jon has proven to be a great fighter. BUT, she has also made it clear she is done not being acknowledged and listened to. If Jon has a tough time with that, there will definitely be some tension between them, although I don’t think she will actively try to undermine or replace him as ruler in the North.
Co-sign all of this. The siblings will have some rough spots but that will not be the main conflict. I think the look on Sansa’s face shows that she understands the main conflict is Littlefinger vs. anyone who stands in Littlefinger’s way. And she is nervous that that means her (b/c she won’t marry Littlefinger, and that was part of his plan) and Jon (b/c now Jon holds one of the kingdoms that Littlefinger wants to rule).
This! Also, she’s never had an active role as far as her own destiny. She’s either been a pawn or a victim, and Little finger has always stepped in to save her when things get scary. I’m excited to see where the next season takes her.
I’ve seen Kit in person a few times around Soho in central London, he is very recognisable. He’s shorter (and slender) than i thought he was and with regards to GoT he’s starting to come into his own with the character and his acting.
Am a bit sad to see Marg go as watching her and Cersi battle it out was fun but now that Dany is on her way – i can’t wait to see her and Cersi go at it.
I wonder what new characters we’ll see, maybe we’ll get to see Willas, the new Lord of Highgarden turn up to back his Grandmother.
I think Sansa doesn’t know what she wants. She’s just spent how many years just trying to survive? She wanted revenge and she got it and now Jon’s the King In The North and Littlefinger is planting thought seeds in her head. It’s a bit of a whirlwind and I think she has the potential to betray Jon but also the potential to kill Littlefinger. I think that’s how they wanted to leave off the season regarding Sansa… which way will she go?
I think they’ll make it look like she’s going to betray Jon but it’s really a plot to kill Littlefinger and she’ll die because of it. No one out manoeuvres Littlefinger. I adore Sansa though and always have so I hope I’m wrong.
My interpretation of the scene was she looked really proud and pleased until she noticed Littlefinger’s death stare and to me she looks frightened of him, of what he might be plotting against Jon now that what he said would happen did not happen and everyone is behind the bastard and not who he thought he could control which is Sansa. I don’t understand what the actors are talking about, really.
Have Sansa and Littlefinger ever had sexy time together? Was she a virgin until Ramsey?
No, Not that I remember. Baelish wanted/wants to (because of his obsession with her mom), but it was never going to happen. Sansa is also really super pissed about him marrying her off to Bolton Ramsay
No. The whole reason for her marriage to Tyrion being declared void was the fact that is was unconsummated. She went to Ramsay a virgin.
That video is dangerous, I dont want to stan for him.
I hope there isn’t dissension between the siblings. A–the show is coming to a conclusion and I don’t want to waste time with that and B–I think it would be a regression for Sansa especially as she was the Stark child who wasn’t close to Jon to begin with. I like their bond now. I hope it means she was suspicious/wary of LF. (She looked proud when Lyanna Mormont was rallying the families–maybe it was edited differently from when the actors filmed it?) Jon may be the King and have the ability to inspire and rally people but he’s still naive in ways Sansa isn’t. She did her time in King’s Landing, with Littlefinger and with Ramsay–she’s wise(r) to the political maneuvering and the lies people will tell–Jon still has too much of Ned’s honor and that could be a significant weakness. I’d like to see her protect her brother’s flank and somehow use LF’s infatuation with her (his blindspot) and what she knows about him (getting Lyssa to poison Jon Arran, poisoning Joffrey–Cersei’d love that tidbit! and shoving Lyssa out the Moon Door–the Vale may find that interesting) to get even with him for giving her to Ramsay and basically being a creeper for years.