If you didn't catch Game of Thrones Season 5 Episode 3 last night, then read no further, as spoilers lie ahead.
You might be thinking to yourself, "Whatevs, I read the books. I already know what's gonna happen," to which we say:
You, sir or madam, should stop using the word 'whatevs,' even in your own thoughts. Also, we don't care if the Song of Ice and Fire series is your own personal bajillion-page bible, there's no way you saw this one coming:
Okay, now that we're perfectly clear on the fact that we're about to hit you with more spoilers than a suped-up Honda Civic convention, let's proceed:
On last night's episode, Littlefinger and Roose Bolton arranged a political marriage between Sansa Stark and Ramsay Bolton.
This is a shocking turn of events for a number of reasons:
- Ramsay is a sadistic psychopath.
- We already know that Ramsay will torture someone this season, and now it looks like it'll be Sansa.
- For as much as they've strayed from their source material in the past, the GoT showrunners have never before so thoroughly abandoned the main action of the books for a twist with such far-reaching consequences.
In George R.R.Martin's version of events, Ramsay marries Jeyne Pool (a friend of Sansa's who never appears on GoT) believing her to be Arya Stark.
The goal is the same (Ramsay desires a permanent connection to the Stark family in order to secure his position as Warden of the North), but the stakes are now much higher, as it's a major (and majorly long-suffering) character who will experience Ramsay's wrath.
Producers David Benioff and D.B. Weiss explained that the decision made more sense from a storytelling perspective (Would viewers really want to sit through a lengthy subplot involving an evil lunatic and an unknown nobody?) and gives actress Sophie Turner a chance to show off her acting chops.
So good news for Sophie...very, very bad news for Sansa.
