One of the scenes that I disliked watching in “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken” is the rape of Sansa. Basically this is not something that happens in the books. The character who is raped is Jeyne Poole. I am not a book purist. In fact, I do like certain changes the producers have made to some book plot lines. However, rape has become a common occurrence in the TV show, especially for scenes in which sex is consensual in the books. Here are a few of these scenes:
- In the first season, there was the rape scene between Danaerys and Khal Drogo in their wedding night. In the books, these characters consummate their marriage in a consensual manner. In fact Khal Drogo is very gentle with Danaerys in A Game of Thrones (book).
Khal Drogo stared at her tears, his face strangely empty of expression. “No,” he said. He lifted his hand and rubbed away the tears roughly with a callused thumb (107).
Dany did not understand the words, yet there was warmth in the tone, a tenderness she had never expected from this man(107).
Here is the evidence of consensual sex:
He cupped her face in his huge hands and she looked into his eyes. “No?” he said, and she knew it was a question.
She took his hand and moved it down to the wetness between her thighs. “Yes,” she whispered as she put his finger inside her (108).
A year ago, an acquaintance watched the first season before reading the first book. She loved book Khal Drogo’s gentleness in this scene. In fact she preferred it over what was depicted on the show.
- In the fourth season, there was the scene at the sept in which Jamie rapes Cersei. In the books this event is consensual. I did not like this change since I never expected Jamie who “loves” his sister to do something like that. At the same time, Jamie was already on his way to become a reformed knight. Obviously, this deviation did not help at all in the development of his new image. However, I did not bother much to do an argument about it since I never liked Cersei.
When doing an adaptation, one aspect to consider is whether a particular change brings the plot line forward. Some of you probably watch Outlander. In episode 508, there is a rape attempt on the main female character. This scene leads to her to make certain decisions that would bring serious consequences afterwards.
When it comes to the changes that have been done concerning rape scenes in Game of Thrones, none of them advances the plot forward. They are not necessary. When it comes to Sansa, she has been through many bad experiences. She sees her father being beheaded, she suffers abuse from Joffrey, and she is forced to marry Tyrion because of her claim to Winterfell. In the books, Tyrion even gropes her in their wedding night. The Boltons are also responsible for killing her mother and brother. The TV show has opted to add rape as another of these misfortunes. Is rape a requirement? No. Furthermore, she does not deserve that, especially if it comes from somebody depraved like Ramsay Snow. I think the choice of merging book Fake Arya and Sansa was not a good one.
Somebody who watches the show but has not read the books recently mentioned to me that there is not much character development in TV Sansa – she is still a pawn. Based on this opinion, it seems that the TV show has done nothing to develop her character much. It seems that her experience in this rape scene would be the catalyst for her character development. However, there are several ways to induce character development, and rape unfortunately is a poor choice.
This rape scene is also a clear indicator of the lack of creativity in the production and writing team. Obviously rape is repetitive in Game of Thrones. I would like to know what was the purpose of adding a maid who informed Sansa to light the Broken Tower if she needed help. She has some form of agency. However, she prefers to go ahead with the marriage even though details about Ramsay’s nature are given to her. That takes a lot of courage and strength but what a way to take revenge. What I expect from Sansa now is to become ruthless with those that have ruined her life. Ramsay is cruel and depraved but not smart, a quality that would make him easier to be manipulated by Sansa. What I hope is for Sansa not to use her body in order to achieve that. Hopefully she will not follow Cersei’s advice that the best weapon a woman has is between her legs. At the same time, I do not expect her to escape from Winterfell. If she wants revenge, she has to stay there. Escaping could be seen as failure.
These changes ruin not only Sansa but also Theon Greyjoy. From Tumblr:
For those who have not read the books, Jeyne Poole is Fake Arya. Jeyne Westerling is Robb Stark’s wife in the books. House Westerling is sworn to House Lannister. Jeyne Westerling was replaced by Talissa in the TV show.
In the books Theon risks everything to rescue a “nobody”. In the TV show, he will be rescuing Sansa. As a result, an aspect of his character is ruined. However, I cannot wait to see Sansa’s interaction with him. She currently despises him. Would she be the one that will bring Theon back and get rid of Reek permanently? In the books, this task was given to Bran in a way (Theon praying at the weirwood). Theon is horrified at the closing scene which means that he could be convinced to take some actions, especially if motivated by somebody who decided to undergo a marriage to a depraved man in order to take revenge.
I will be writing more about this episode with the remaining events on Friday.