Game of Thrones: Sansa Stark's Close Call—A Look at George R.R. Martin's Almost-Catastrophic Plan!
Sansa Stark's Journey: From Near-Disaster to Queen in the North
Let's be real: Sansa Stark had it rough in Game of Thrones and A Song of Ice and Fire! Brutal marriages, family loss, the works. Her rise to Queen in the North is a serious triumph. But what if things had gone differently? It turns out, author George R.R. Martin’s original outline (from way back in 1993) was far worse. It shows a profoundly different version of Sansa – and it is much less appealing. This is truly an article exploring a pivotal decision and emphasizing the sheer difference between what transpired and how much worse things could have become.
That initial Game of Thrones plot deviated from those books. The HBO show sent Sansa to Winterfell to marry the truly horrible Ramsay Bolton in season 5, creating one of the most debated storyline points for viewers. But that original plan? It could have been far more catastrophic. That early idea for this story presents major changes– including an initial idea concerning how it could be delivered through a much smaller volume (a trilogy only!) with changes which involve even Sansa’s core character and relationships.
Sansa's Almost-Horrific Fate: Joffrey's Child and a Lifetime of Regret
Martin's initial plan included Sansa marrying Joffrey Baratheon; a terrifying prospect on many levels for Sansa, given her naive and largely unsophisticated approach toward understanding various key relationships, social concepts and various elements surrounding this specific historical plot within Game of Thrones. And the added cruelty here? Sansa would have Joffrey's son, a son that inherits the Iron Throne. This also involves one key change: Sansa would side with Joffrey over her family. She'd regret that enormously.
That's not what transpired in those Game of Thrones novels! And that also didn't involve Sansa's marriage with Joffrey, despite her early betrothal, or her marrying Tyrion, instead focusing on many other things including relationships involving several other characters with varied importance across those initial ASOIAF books and which were ultimately given further complexity in those later works. That storyline demonstrates the kinds of differences and how profound they are; showing those potential differences which might exist; even within the very same narratives. It could even imply those stories aren’t set in stone and these writers did make decisions which mattered tremendously in this context.
Why Martin's Original Plan Was Utterly Disastrous for Sansa's Character Arc
Imagine how terribly things might have been! This plan would not have benefited the existing Sansa. The forced bond, giving her a child from this cruel man who abuses her regularly makes Sansa into a prisoner of her marriage and those bonds of maternal instinct are what makes that relationship potentially irreversible and the path she might eventually take becomes less about developing her as a well-thought-out and strong woman; and makes this instead the typical and clichéd ‘trapped wife’ trope with far fewer agency!
Even more brutality might exist, a twist hinted toward but never made explicit here! Jaime Lannister might easily eliminate that whole succession line; therefore this creates one serious risk involving Sansa's child: being eliminated; thereby completely obliterating everything Sansa tried to build up around those fragile bonds surrounding family relationships.
Martin’s original outline has other pivotal changes too: It makes those core characters only those 5 names – and completely omitted Sansa. Those survivors were meant to only be: Jon, Daenerys, Bran, Arya, and Tyrion; thus the role intended for Sansa becomes even worse and implied death during those plots. She could even become some entirely insignificant minor role instead of what Sansa became in those existing ASOIAF books: this is quite a difference for Sansa’s overall characterization.
The HBO Show’s Changes and That Horrific Sansa Storyline
Even Game of Thrones had its faults, and one particular incident demonstrates one extremely questionable decision for Sansa’s character. The notorious Ramsay story (a deeply controversial incident for many viewers that impacted how audiences perceive Sansa) makes one terrible point: that initial incident which created many conflicts was never actually a part of Martin’s initial storyline. It happened only to develop her differently – an arguably worse storyline than was eventually conveyed. This created very difficult and controversial aspects later in the Game of Thrones series and demonstrates those difficulties which come about from significantly impacting existing characterizations.
Conclusion: A Lucky Escape—Sansa’s Powerful Transformation
Martin himself mentioned he doesn't meticulously plan and instead allows the stories themselves dictate those events that later happen within this ongoing narrative. The sheer divergence is what emphasizes that creativity and a key takeaway from all of those key changes, creating those completely new ways to write, creating powerful story arcs from potentially very simple concepts and emphasizing those various decisions made at different periods! The choice to remove that extremely toxic original Sansa plotline clearly shows its effectiveness: It made her character's entire journey towards this powerful moment involving her crowning to Queen in the North possible. The resulting positive change emphasizes this importance. Even despite the errors in Game of Thrones, her storyline remains compelling– and the alternative would have been far, far less effective.
