For me, the reason why Sansa’s rape storyline was so disheartening was because it came of as inevitable. Look, she’s been threatened with rape and abuse since season 1. To some extent everyone wanted ‘that’ from her: Jofferey, Littlefinger, Tyrion, Sandor (tho these two respected her enough not to try to force her), even an angry mob. It did not help that for a time she was left with only one older female mentor, Cersei, who too viewed her as useful only to do one thing - bear children. But for seasons Sansa was either lucky, rescued, or through her wits and diplomation able to avoid this fate. Season 4 ended with ‘promise’ that she was out of the harms way.. I expected her to subvert the trope of “pretty girly girl interested in girly things that older men lust after and take advantage of” and develop more of those diplomatic skills and gain power under Littlefinger’s tutelage, and eventualy become a force to be reconned with without loosing her gentle nature. I mean by that, there are some characters who were in similiar situations (for example Cirilla of Cintra from the Witcher saga) but they subvert it by developing fighting skills or superpowers. It would be interesting to see a girl avoid such fate without restoring to violence. A girl who is pretty, gentle, kind, intelligent, but can’t fight - and is not punished by the universe for that by being raped.
This turn at the begining of season 5 was nonsensical and barely explained and what followed was horrible and as I said, disheartening. Sansa is now the lady of Winterfell, the queen, the force I wished her to become, but she’s also colder, guarded and cynical, and I wish she didn’t have to be like this, with just a bit of better storytelling.
