It Sure Looks Like Game of Thrones Is Setting Sansa Stark Up to Kill Cersei Lannister
This post contains spoilers for the final season of Game of Thrones. Consider yourself warned.
Last night's episode of Game of Thrones may not have been as stressful as the Battle of Winterfell, but it was still filled with tension. More important, it included some major plot developments that might have revealed who will eventually end up on the Iron Throne. Over the course of the past few seasons, and this latest episode in particular, Sansa Stark has emerged as a major political player in Westeros. Now a new theory outlined by the NY Post suggests she will be the person who will ultimately kill Cersei.
The episode last night picked up with the aftermath of the fight with the Night King, and we got a better idea of just how decimated the armies of Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen really are. The team in the north must now figure out how to proceed in their next fight against Cersei Lannister and her troops in King's Landing.
They'd be wise to listen to Sansa, who has been a voice of reason in Winterfell this season. For example, she's been the one to question how they are going to feed all the troops and suggest they need time to rest before heading to King's Landing to face Cersei. She also has a lot of questions about the kind of ruler Dany will be. When she (and Arya) learn the truth about Jon's parentage—and his claim for the Iron Throne—Sansa passes that information on, even though she swore she wouldn't. Could this all be a part of her larger plan?
Sansa, of course, has a history with Cersei from the time they spent together in King's Landing in the early seasons of GoT. Back in season five, we saw a flashback where a witch told Cersei that "another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.” Over the years, many viewers thought that woman might be Margaery Tyrell or Dany. But Sansa is the Lady of Winterfell, and basically the unofficial queen in the North, so perhaps it's her. And we know she now has a weapon given to her by Arya—she could stick Cersei with the "pointy end." Sansa even pointed out herself that she's no longer a "little bird"; after all, she has learned from the most manipulative of masterminds like Littlefinger, Ramsay Bolton, and Cersei herself.
Dany is still the obvious choice for the Iron Throne right now, given the look we see in her eyes after Cersei has the Mother of Dragon's closest friend, Missadei, beheaded. Cersei is also responsible for Euron Greyjoy's troops killing one of Dany's remaining dragons (RIP, Rhaegal!). That said, Sansa would be a more unexpected foe, both to Cersei and fans. I, for one, am rooting for the Stark sister all the way.
Abby Gardner is a contributing writer at Glamour. You can follow her pop culture musings on Twitter @abbygardner or in her weekly newsletter, We Have Notes.
