25 reasons we’re naming Sansa Stark the Queen in the North

6. She’s had to learn her lessons the hard way

To a child, the world can seem like a lovely, albeit scary place sometimes. To someone as hardened as Sansa Stark, the life lessons learned came at the expense of her sanity, her purity, and her very livelihood.

It’s easy to forget Sansa is only a teenager during the course of the show. By the time she reaches Winterfell again in Season 5, she’s already had to endure countless psychological abuse, imprisonment, and two marraiges she didn’t ask for. It’s not that we would wish any of these things on anyone, but there’s always two sides to every coin. Having to face some of the toughest battles out of any Thrones character has forced Sansa’s armor to become even sharper. Being able to survive what she has will only make her a better leader going forward.

Even when she found some sort of life back in Winterfell with Lord Bolton, she still had lessons to learn, as evidenced by this scene in “The Gift.” She found out that Theon/Reek betrayed her trust and ratted her out to Ramsay for wanting to escape. It was a vicious way for her to find out that just because you trusted someone at one point doesn’t mean they can’t turn on you. Lesson learned, hopefully.