It’s time for another edition of “You Win or You Die” and this time, I’m going to be talking about the Lady of Winterfell, Sansa Stark. Sansa has been through hell in this show. She’s easily had the worst treatment, from being tormented by Joffrey, to being forced to marry Tyrion, then being raped and abused by Ramsay. Ultimately, Sansa is freed by Brienne and returns home to Winterfell, after the Stark army defeats the Bolton, with the help of Sansa and Littlefinger bringing the Army of the Vale. The way Season 7 leaves Sansa, she’s in charge of Winterfell, with an expert assassin in Arya at her side. However, Jon and Daenerys are coming…with dragons, Dothraki, and more men to help fight the Army of the Dead, and if the recent footage from season 8 is any sign of things to come, Sansa will be none too happy to see them. But let’s discuss Sansa’s end game, and the big question: will she live or die?
Why Sansa will live: Well, she’s a Stark. And you might be thinking “dude, there’s only 3 true Stark’s left” and you’re right; however, the 3 Stark’s left have clearly been left for a reason. Arya to finish her kill list, Bran to help defeat the Night King, and Sansa to ultimately rule. It’s what she’s always wanted. Think back to Season 1 and Sansa begging Catelyn to let them go to King’s Landing so she could one day rule alongside Joffrey. Now, thankfully, Joffrey is gone, but Sansa’s dream to rule still lives on. There’s also the rumors and theories shipping Sansa and Gnedry to be left to rule the North. Also, think about this: Sansa is a fighter. She’s survived the Lannister’s, the Bolton’s, and even Littlefinger. She’s not one to easily die. Plus, you’ve got to think, if Sansa was going to die, wouldn’t she have done it in Season 7 to make Jon’s claim easier? Now, granted, I’m completely playing devil’s advocate here. But at least I’ve got you thinking that Sansa may live!
Why Sansa will die: Let’s be real here for a minute…there is no way in hell Sansa is surviving Game of Thrones. None. Not a bit. I believe there will only be one Stark left standing, and it will NOT be Sansa (excluding Jon as a Stark). There’s literally so many reasons Sansa WON’T live: she’s an idiot, she has trust issues, she can’t fight, nobody is loyal to her, SHE CAN’T FIGHT, she’s not a great ruler, SHE CAN NOT FIGHT. I mean, all reports have said this is the bloodies season of Thrones, even Sophie Turner said it, and you all really expect someone who has NEVER wielded a weapon of any sort to live through it? No chance. Sansa is great with words and great with convincing people to give her what she wants; HOWEVER, the Army of the Dead is dead. They don’t listen to words, and the only thing they want is to kill, so Sansa is in deep trouble once they attack. You could say the North is loyal to her, but when Jon comes back, we all know who the North will really be loyal to. And if they aren’t loyal to Jon, they’ll sure as heck be loyal to 2 gigantic dragons and a Dothraki army. You could say that Brienne of Tarth will protect her, but Brienne is sworn to protect both Arya and Sansa, not just Sansa. Who’s to say that while Brienne is occupied with Arya, Sansa gets killed. Who’s to say Brienne doesn’t die in battle before Sansa gets killed. But most importantly, Sansa can not rule. If the show finished with Sansa on the Iron Throne or even Sansa ruling the North, it would be such a disappointment. Not that Sansa doesn’t deserve to rule, because she’s been through so much, but honestly, there’s so many better characters that could rule. All of you Sansa lovers out there, I hope you have your tissues handy, because this could be a rough season for you.
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Sansa’s Survival Chances: Okay, so I don’t think it’s a 100% chance that she dies, but I don’t think she has a good chance of surviving either. Because of the points I’ve made already, I’m giving Sansa a 15% chance of surviving Season 8. I’ll even go as far as to say that I don’t see Sansa surviving past the first half of Season 8. Essentially, I see her dying whenever the Army of the Dead marches on Winterfell, whether it be Episode 1 or Episode 3, I think that’s when Sansa Stark ultimately meets her end on the show.
A few of my favorite things include my pet dragon (Drogon), Game of Thrones, Disney movies and theme parks, the MCU, DC movies, Star Wars, sports, and my rather large Funko Pop collection. Daenerys Targaryen is my queen, Robert Downey Jr is my man crush, and Simba is my spirit animal.
