Game of Thrones fans will agree that with its great plot comes violence, bloodshed and the explicit sex scenes associated with the series.
The latest episode “Unbent, Unbowed, Unbroken” took the narrative of “the night is dark and full of terrors” a bit too far for its audience. The episode concluded with Sansa Stark getting raped by her husband on her wedding night and losing her virginity.
To add to the trauma the directors – David Benioff and D. B. Weiss scripted Theon Greyjoy, Sana’s childhood friend to watch this gruesome act. The rape has left many fans up in arms about the show’s violent content gone too far and crossing the line.
There have been protests from every corner with even the US senator Claire McCaskill stating that she is no longer willing to watch the show.
Ok, I'm done Game of Thrones.Water Garden, stupid.Gratuitous rape scene disgusting and unacceptable.It was a rocky ride that just ended.
What has got most fans whirled up is that this scene has been deemed unnecessary and not even part of the book. Although, the series is drawing lots of criticism, writer George R.R Martin is fine with the show’s writers departing from his original text, A dance with dragons.
He states that ‘The show is the show, the books are the books; two different tellings of the same story.
Sophie Turner, the actress who plays Sansa, has also come out in defence of the episode by stating that “she secretly loved it”.
Courtesy: slumz.boxden.com
But let’s face it, Rape is Rape, and its horrors are profound and unbearable. The fans have earlier encountered Khal Drogo raping Daenerys Targaryen and Jamie Lannister’s rape of Cersei right next to the corpse of Joffrey, But this scene takes it too far.
Why the rape? Sansa has already been through hell and bulled all her life ever since her father was beheaded. As her character sees some light back at Winterfell and she says bravely to the conniving Miranda that she cannot be frightened, the writers of the show could only get her raped to bring her spirits down. That’s a bit over the edge.
On the other side maybe, this is the final nail in the coffin for “Reek” that will bring out the castrated Theon Greyjoy out of his misery.
One might also argue that knowing what the Bolton bastard Ramsey is capable of, you could not have not seen this coming. Nevertheless, the rape of Sansa Stark could probably be a major plot twister or perhaps just another moment that leaves you cringing in your seats.
Will this affect the viewership of the show? Perhaps not. But as the producers will be well aware now, people are watching their every move.
