‘Game Of Thrones’ Star Sophie Turner Talks Controversial Rape Scene, Claims Sansa Stark Is A ‘Strong’ Character

One of the most difficult scenes to watch on season 5 of Game of Thrones was the graphic rape of Sansa Stark, especially considering it wasn’t part of the original story. In fact, following the episode’s airing in May, many fans promised to quit the show altogether. With that in mind, Sophie Turner discussed the controversy surrounding the scene at Comic-Con in San Diego this past weekend.

“[If] there’s one thing that Sansa still is, despite what happened to her, [it’s] strong,” Turner explained when an audience member brought up her character’s rape scene. “She’s not to blame for any of that. I really don’t know why they… focused on Theon, because I was giving a great performance.”

Turner also explained Sansa’s rationale for not fighting back. “She thought it through in her head. She could have fought back if she wanted to, but she didn’t,” she told the audience. “And I think that’s, you know, it’s good for her character. She’s one of those characters that does her scheming in her mind, not outwardly.”

Meanwhile, Turner also recently sat down with Time and talked about Sansa’s future as the series heads into Season 6. In regards to her character’s escape with Theon at the end of Season 5, Turner stated that she isn’t sure if Sansa survived jumping off the wall at Winterfell.

“It’s difficult to say. I haven’t even gotten the scripts to tell me whether or not they did,” she revealed. “But it could just be another Hodor case. I could just turn into Bran and ride on someone’s back for awhile. I mean, listen, in Game of Thrones nothing is impossible.”

She went on to add that Littlefinger cares a lot for Sansa, and he probably had good reasons to drop her off at Winterfell.

“I think Littlefinger really cares about Sansa. He either really had no idea what the Boltons were like—though he’s Littlefinger, so I’m presuming he did know­—or he has a reason behind it,” she explained. “He wouldn’t just dump Sansa at Winterfell with these people who killed her family for nothing. I think he probably knows exactly what he’s doing. It’s a cruel thing to do, but I think he has reasons behind it.”

While Turner prepares to continue her role as Sansa in Game of Thrones, the actress is also set to appear in the upcoming X-Men movie as Jean Grey.

[Image Courtesy: Kevin Winter/Getty]