Razor’s Rant: A Look inside the mind of a book purist: Sansa’s journey

Warning: This is an article from the perspective of a book reader. Unsullied, you have been warned.

Game of Thrones fans fall into two distinct factions: those who have read A Song of Ice and Fire, the books on which the show is based, and those who have not. The back-and-forth between these two groups may never be resolved, and has been a source of tension since Game of Thrones first came on the air way back in 2011.

Can a person be a fan of both the show and the books? Of course! For years now, I have planted myself firmly in that middle ground, enjoying Game of Thrones even as I endured what I considered to be heinous alterations from the books.

However, after four seasons of unnecessary character name changes (Osha/Asha/Yara), exclusions of characters (Lady Stoneheart, Wyman Manderly, Victarion, Euron, and Aeron Greyjoy), and what I like to call the dumbing down of the show so television viewers can better enjoy it (Where’s the Tysha storyline? Where is Illyrio? Why no Griffs?), I’ve become jaded. Although I love to watch Game of Thrones (and always will), I can no longer remain silent over the way the show is diverging from the books, and it’s time to share my angst with all of you.

To go back all the way to Season 1 would be counter-productive, so I’ve decided to start my rant with Season 5, Episodes 1 and 2. With that in mind, let’s start with Sansa’s story. In the books, Sansa is just now coming down from the Eyrie disguised as Alayne Stone, the bastard daughter of Lord Petyr Baelish (Littlefinger). Sansa never reveals her true identity to the Lords of the Vale, because Littlefinger trusts NO ONE, and that is something he is trying to impart to Sansa.

It’s quite clear in the books that Sansa does not reveal her true identity to the Lords of the Vale because she is starting to believe that Littlefinger has her best interests at heart and that he’s protecting her because of his love of her mother, Catelyn. Whether or not that is Littlefinger’s true motive, Sansa definitely believes it.

During Season 4 of the show, however, Sansa reveals her true identity to the Lords of the Vale despite having Alayne available as a cover. For Sansa to reveal herself so haphazardly goes against everything we’ve been led to believe about Baelish and his affect on Sansa as painstakingly established by George R.R. Martin. This atrocious oversight continues into Episode 2, “The House of Black and White,” when Brienne of Tarth loudly proclaims that she knows that Sansa is there at the Inn, in front of everyone.

These things would never have happened in the books, because Littlefinger is nothing if not subversive and conniving. He would never have allowed Sansa’s true identity to get back to Cersei in King’s Landing, where the Queen Regent has placed a bounty on the eldest Stark girl’s head.

Warning show spoilers ahead

Now, because of all the spoilers floating around out there, we know that Littlefinger has offered Sansa’s hand in marriage to Ramsay Bolton. Presumably, he’s done this in hopes of once again consolidating the North, which is absolutely ridiculous.

First off, Sansa is still technically (and legally) married to Tyrion Lannister. Also, the Boltons are currently in an alliance with the Lannisters. If Ramsay Bolton married Sansa Stark, it would be a crime against the Crown and would incur the Lannisters’ wrath. This makes zero sense to me, and it opens massive plot holes in the show.

Many fans think that Sansa will fills the roles of both Lady Stoneheart and Wyman Manderly, aka Lord Too-fat-to-sit-a-horse. In the books, Martin gives both of these characters satisfying revenge arcs. After much soul-searching, I’ve forgiven the producers for excluding Lady Stoneheart, simply because too much time has passed to keep whining about her absence. But to not have Lord Wyman at Winterfell baking up some Frey pies is a slap in the face of every person who has read A Dance with Dragons.

If Sansa, on the show, takes on the roles filled by Stoneheart and Manderly in the books, I could see myself being happy about her place in the season. However, there are just too many hurdles to get past in order for that to happen. Ramsay and Roose Bolton have taken control of the North, much to the chagrin of every other person living in the North.

And, what’s worse, they’ve allied with the Freys and Lannisters, the two noble Houses that betrayed Robb Stark, the King in the North, by breaking the law of Guest Right and murdering him at his uncle’s wedding. At this point, for Sansa to simply kill Ramsay and bake a few Freys into pies would be extremely unsatisfying.

I guess I should be used to this kind of stuff by now, but I can no longer abide the atrocious and deliberate misinterpretation of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Will I still watch Game of Thrones? Yes, and I will enjoy it, because on it’s own, it’s a fantastic show. Can I ever forgive the absence of important characters and plots from the books? No–at my core, I am a believer in bringing the truest version of the books to the screen as possible, and although I think Benioff and Weiss have created a great show, they have not done this.

Hi, my name is Razor, and I’m a book purist.

Join me next week, as I rant about Jon Snow, Samwell Tarly, and the garbled story at The Wall.

• Published on 04/23/2015 at 4:17 PM CDT
• Last updated on 04/23/2015 at 5:35 PM CDT