I can’t believe that GoT has ended. I’m still reeling and trying to understand the last episode… actually, this whole season! One thing that I want to talk about is the conversation between Sansa and the Hound.

“I heard you were broken in. Broken in rough.”

“Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would have stayed a little bird all my life.”

My initial reaction to this statement was, “you know, I agree, you can take a traumatic event and turn it into something powerful. Everything ends up coming full circle.” However, it’s been on my mind since the end of the show. To me, this conversation showed Sansa’s rape and abuse as the only reason her character had grown. It’s as if her being sexually abused is the only reason she has power. Also, what was the point of the hound, suggesting he could’ve saved her? Was it to say that she should’ve listened to him, or was this his way of saying he wished she hadn’t experienced this? I’m not sure what the point of Sansa’s response to Clegane was either… is Sansa showing gratitude towards the abusers, is she brushing him off, or did she mean what she said? Aren’t there other events that could’ve lead to her character arc? What about seeing her father beheaded? Being separated from her family? Having her siblings killed off? Or even being forced into a marriage? This moment needed more clarification, as did the entire season.

This isn’t the first time the show had this sort of storyline. Anyone remember when GoT had Dany fall in love with Khal Drogo after the rape scene? I mean, it’s difficult, because this is a fantasy TV show and there are so many ways the storyline can be interpreted. I’ve heard of it being seen as Dany asserting her dominance or how some in an abusive relationship continue being in that relationship. I haven’t read the book, but I was told it doesn’t happen… so, why is it in the show? The women in this season seemed to have their character reduced in some sort of way. I’ve heard of the male-dominated creative team that Game of Thrones had, and I wonder if that contributes to this issue? I mean, it’s hard to add what we know about sexual assault to a fantasy television series, but isn’t connecting with the characters the whole point?

This season seemed rushed and incomplete. I was hoping that the conversation between Sansa and the Hound would have been expanded upon. It seems like such a missed opportunity. These characters have had such depth and movement, but in this season, they were given surface-level endings.

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