According to Sophie Turner, Sansa Stark’s reign as Queen in the North is long and happy

Sophie Turner shares her predictions for Sansa Stark’s reign in the North and discusses how she and her character both grew and changed over the course of her time on Game of Thrones

People have a lot of divided opinions about the end of Game of Thrones, but one thing almost all of us can agree on is that Sansa Stark becoming Queen in the North is perfect.

Few other characters have earned a glow-up quite so thoroughly, and the final moments in which she is crowned feel both emotional and earned. Despite everything else that happened along the way, the last words we hear spoken in Westeros are “The queen in the North!” and that seems both appropriate and like something worth celebrating.

Actress Sophie Turner, who played Sansa was recently nominated for her first Emmy Award this year, alongside several of her co-stars such as Emilia Clarke, Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey and Maisie Williams. She has long been an outspoken advocate for her character throughout the series run, even when some in the fandom weren’t exactly Sansa’s biggest fans.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Los Angeles Times, Turner discusses her experience growing up on Thrones and Sansa’s journey over the series’ eight season run.

“I started when I was 13 and Sansa was 11, I think. She’s been my whole life,” Turner said.

During her time on Game of Thrones, Turner played one of the series’ most complex, compelling characters, with an arc that resonated with viewers everywhere as she grew from naive girl to master strategist and manipulator in her own right.

But Turner also found herself going through a similar evolution – though perhaps without all the zombies and sword fighting.

"Honestly, I was going through the same thing, but that “momentous relationship” was between myself and the television and film industry. Sansa’s being thrown in the deep end in this world she doesn’t understand. She doesn’t have any perspective other than a [kid] looking through rose-tinted glasses. That was kind of me."

But, much like Sansa, she learned and grew from the people around her.

"Then, being around Peter Dinklage and Lena Headey and all these incredible actors — Charles Dance — I started to find my footing. Sansa did the same thing, learning these politics and how to fit in, absorbing all this information from all these great manipulators. Sansa learns to hide her feelings, to absorb all this information from them but keep it hidden while they still think she’s innocent."

Turner identifies Sansa’s treatment at the hands of the monstrous Ramsay Bolton as a turning point for her character, one which reminded her of her own strength.

"I think she always had that strength, always, but [that’s] where she either decides to give up or get away. The moment she does that, the resilience that has always been in her is kind of ignited again. It’s the first time the audience can really taste that. I don’t think she can hide it at this point."

HBO – for the moment at least – is not planning on any sort of Thrones sequel series, no matter how much any of us might want to see one. (Several prequels are currently in various stages of development, however.) So we’ll likely never see the next stage of Sansa Stark’s journey onscreen.

But Turner has some definite ideas about how the new Queen in the North’s reign will turn out.

"I see her leading until she’s very old. I don’t see her getting married or having children. I think it would be a democratic kind of kingdom. She’d die of old age, very happy."

The idea of Sansa as a sort of Westerosi take on Elizabeth I of England is not a new one, and is something that the show played up deliberately. Turner has spoken before about the restrictions surrounding her look and the very specific choices that go into Sansa’s on-screen hairstyles and style of dress.

The series finale is probably the only time we’ve ever really seen her with her hair fully down – and without any of the complicated braids and plaits Sansa generally preferred. It looks amazing, obviously, but it also signals a new start for her – as both a woman and a leader.

It’s just a shame we can’t actually watch her grow into a queen for the history books.

Turner is up for Best Supporting Actress – Drama at this year’s Television Academy of Arts and Sciences Emmy Awards, airing on September 22.