Game of Thrones is finally acknowledging Sansa Stark's quiet brilliance

Variety

"Not even Bran’s stare full of secrets could beat the (Season 8 premiere's) most satisfying emotional payoff of all: the explicit acknowledgment that Sansa Stark is one of Westeros’ most impressive politicians and survivors, period," says Caroline Framke. "An unfortunate, time-honored truism is that no character can ignite a fandom’s ugliest instincts more than a flawed teen girl doing her best, and so Sansa has been a controversial character since the very start." Framke adds: "While adversaries like Cersei, Ramsay Bolton, and even Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish wrote her off as the silly teen that came to King’s Landing with stars in her eyes, Sansa withstood horrific abuse and learned how to evade their most nefarious plans by reflecting what they wanted to see, all while strengthening her own resolve to beat them when the time came. She came, she saw — and eventually, finally, she conquered."

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