As many things as Game of Thrones got wrong by the end of the show, they got a lot of things right too, one involving the fate of a well-liked character. It’s a bit unusual for actors to ask for their characters to die, but it does happen. Whether because they want off the show, they know it’s coming anyway and want to have control, or because they legitimately think it’s in the best interest of the character, actors can occasionally come to the creative team with ideas about their characters’ demise.
Naturally, when an actor announces they want their character to die, they’re probably going to want it to happen in a memorable way. When it comes to Game of Thrones, that death would need to be very memorable indeed to stand out among the show’s notorious and grizzly kills. The shocking end of season 1, the bloody Red Wedding, and the satisfying Purple Wedding were just a few moments where beloved or hated main characters met their ends. One actor wanted to join the ranks of the Game of Thrones dearly departed. Thankfully, she was denied.
Sophie Turner Wanted Sansa Stark To Have A “Cool Death Scene” In Game Of Thrones
Turner’s Character Could Have Died At The Start Of Season 6
Sophie Turner was one of these actors who wanted her character killed off by the end of Game of Thrones. Turner told The Wall Street Journal in March 2016, just before season 6 aired, that she wanted Sansa to die, “If you’re on Game of Thrones and you don’t have a cool death scene, then what’s the point?“. That’s a fair point from Turner, particularly considering all the cool deaths the other members of the Stark family received over the seasons. It makes sense that she would want to join her on-screen family with a memorable departure.
Related
George R.R. Martin’s Original Game Of Thrones Plan From 31 Years Ago Was Much Worse For Sansa Stark
The original outline for A Song of Ice and Fire, from 1993, featured a different story for Sansa Stark, and it’s a good thing it was changed.
At the end of Game of Thrones season 5, Sansa and Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) make the dangerous decision to flee from Winterfell and Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon), and together, they jump from the castle’s high ramparts. Before they jump, they give one another a look that implies they both know the fall could kill them, and the scene cuts just after they leap, leaving their fates open for season 6. Some fans believed that season 6 would begin with them dead, killed by the jump. It would be an appropriately shocking twist for Game of Thrones.
Turner’s comments about wanting to die could have been a cheeky nod to the season 5 cliffhanger. By that point, it was clear that Sansa and Theon would survive at least one episode, as their actors were announced as returning, but her comments in the WSJ may have been her trying to blow smoke over her character’s eventual fate.
Sophie Turner’s Performance Would Have Been The Only Highlight Of Her Character Dying
Turner Had Improved More Than Any Other Actor In Game Of Thrones
If the showrunners, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, had decided to kill off Turner’s character like she wanted, the only good thing to come out of it would be getting to watch the talented Turner act out what would no doubt be a tragic death sequence. Over the 8 seasons of Game of Thrones, Turner possibly improved more than any other actor. She started off the series as a young 16-year-old actress. While she certainly had skill and presence, she was also clearly new to playing such a big role in such a big project.
Every year, though, Turner gained more and more confidence in the part until she ended up being one of the more dependable actors in the series. Tasked with some of the heaviest storylines on the show, Turner handled herself in any situation the character faced. If she were to die in Game of Thrones, it would no doubt be one of the most shocking moments of the season and would require a skilled actor to pull off correctly. Turner would be able to do so, and it would be an impressive capstone to her career on the show.
After Everything Sansa Endured, I’m Glad She Survived HBO’s Fantasy Series
Sansa Dying Would Have Ruined Her Character Arc
Watching Sophie Turner act out Sansa’s death would be just about the only good thing to come out of her death, because if there’s any character in Game of Thrones who deserved to live, it was Sansa Stark. Sansa goes through arguably the most trials of any character, save for someone like Jon Snow (Kit Harington), who literally dies and is resurrected. Sansa is forced to marry a cruel king, she becomes a prisoner in her own home, she watches her father get his head cut off, and she’s married to Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) as a humiliation.
That’s all before she even leaves King’s Landing. Later, in Game of Thrones, she’s mortally threated by her aunt, she’s married off again to a psychopathic lord who stole her family’s ancestral home and killed her kin, she’s raped by the same man violently and often, and she is forced to accept her death many times over.
In A Song of Ice and Fire, Sansa Stark is still alive as of A Dance with Dragons, though she is not in Winterfell, and is still in the Vale.
If Sansa went through that crucible, basically from season 1 through season 6, and all she received in turn was death, that would be a completely wasted character arc. To bring her character so very low, and then kill her when she’s at her lowest, without giving her character arc the chance to rise, would just be bad storytelling. Sansa earned her power and strength, showcased in the last three seasons of the show. It would be mean-spirited to reward Sana with death after forcing her through such a grim storyline.
Killing Sansa Would Have Ruined One Of The Best Parts Of Game Of Thrones’ Ending
Sansa Becoming Queen In The North Is Critical For The Stark Storyline
Killing off Sansa would also have ruined one of the few bright spots of the Game of Thrones ending. It’s no secret that the finale of Game of Thrones was considered a failure by a large portion of the fanbase, but not every decision was bad. One of the best was giving control of the North to Sansa. As the oldest living Stark, she has the greatest claim to it, and having a Stark in Winterfell fulfills a promise made in the first season of the show.
It’s a fitting and satisfying ending in an episode filled with unsatisfying ones.
Having the North become its own separate kingdom also makes Robb’s (Richard Madden) and Jon’s bids to be kings feel more important. Though they were never crowned King (at least for long), a Stark now rules the North, in no small part thanks to the efforts of her brothers. It’s a satisfying end for Sansa, who has proven to be a cunning but just ruler, and perhaps is the most like her father out of all her siblings. It’s a fitting and satisfying ending in an episode filled with unsatisfying ones.
Sansa did want power, at least for a little bit, but she learned to relinquish her desire and never put her allies in harm’s way because of her own goals. That’s an impressive thing, considering the power-hungry and conniving people she was surrounded by her whole life. Perhaps if she had gone down the same path as Cersei (Lena Headey) or Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen), then death may have been a fitting end.
However, she survived her trials, learned important lessons, did not give in to anger, and thus, gets a happy and deserved ending. It’s fortunate, then, that Sophie Turner didn’t get her way in Game of Thrones. If it were up to the actor, Sansa would have been dead long before she was asking Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) for Northern independence.
Game Of Thrones
10/10
- Release Date
-
2011 – 2019-00-00
- Showrunner
-
David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
- Directors
-
David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff