Of all the characters on Game of Thrones, Sansa Stark has seen some of the most character growth. But everything Sansa experienced prepared her for the end of her character arc—as the Queen in the North.
The characters on Game of Thrones have all come a long way since the show’s first season, but Sansa Stark in particular has seen some serious growth over the past eight years. When fans meet Sansa, she’s a naive young girl who dreams of becoming the queen—even if it means marrying the likes of Joffrey to do so.
Over the course of the series, though, Sansa’s placed in some incredibly difficult and traumatic situations. Not only is she held captive by the Lannisters for seasons on end, but she’s tormented by Joffrey and Cersei, both of whom seem to enjoy demonstrating their power over her.
But even if Sansa’s forced to do as the Lannisters say for the first several seasons of the show, it’s clear that she absorbs a lot from being in the presence of Cersei and the others. She admits as much during season 7, when she tells Jon that she learned a lot from the queen. While Sansa can never be accused of being as cruel as Cersei, she certainly picks up on the queen’s ability to be constantly underestimated to her advantage.
Cersei isn’t the only person whose behavior Sansa picks up on during her journey. The time she spends with Littlefinger teaches Sansa not to trust so easily, and it’s also what truly prepares her to play the game of thrones. With Littlefinger constantly attempting to manipulate her and everyone else around him, Sansa is forced to give more thought to the motivations behind his actions—a skill that she seems to have mastered by the time we reach season 8.
Being around the most skilled and manipulative players in the fight for the throne brings out her clever side, but the cruelty she experiences at the hands of these same players also leads her to be a just leader. She openly acknowledges that Joffrey is just about the worst sort of monarch one can be, and she knows that there’s as much to be gained through mercy as there is through ruthlessness.
And all of these lessons she is forced to learn prepare her for the end of the series. It’s obvious that she’s gained the respect of the Northerners since retaking Winterfell, and Sansa finally reaps the rewards of that during the finale. She’s crowned Queen in the North—which is now independent of the Seven Kingdoms, thanks to her—and it’s a moment the show has been leading up to since the very beginning.
Sansa’s been through more than almost any other character, but she’s taken knowledge from every situation she’s found herself in and used it to her advantage. That’s what makes her so well suited for the Northern throne, and fans can count on the fact that she’ll be a better leader than Joffrey, Cersei, or Littlefinger ever were.
What did you think of the Game of Thrones series finale? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.