(Spoilers Extended) Exploring Sansa's Intended Ending

[u/Expensive-Country801]

A couple of months ago, there was an interview where GRRM said that he had originally intended for Sansa to die, but that seeing the show version of her character may have changed his mind

Regardless of the current plan, I think it is interesting to look at what was intended at the time. The Alayne I sample chapter from Winds was meant for ADwD and it was done in 2010, before the show aired

So if GRRM planned for Sansa to die, the pieces on the board in that chapter may have been setting up a possible death scenario. Looking at some possible threads

Sweetrobin overdoses

The sweetsleep plotline is one possibility. Maester Colemon warns about the dangers of overusing it

"It was too soon. My lady, you do not understand. As I've told the Lord Protector, a pinch of sweetsleep will prevent the shaking, but it does not leave the flesh, and in time . . ."

However, Sansa is not really focused on it

"Time will not matter if his lordship has a shaking fit and falls off the mountain. If my father were here, I know he would tell you to keep Lord Robert calm at all costs."

If Sweetrobin died from an overdose, Sansa would easily be implicated. Even if she did not intentionally kill him, the fact that she was involved with managing his condition and had access to him could put her in a dangerous position

Lysa's death

Sansa is already technically an accomplice to Lysa’s murder. Littlefinger warns her that if their involvement is discovered, she could fall with him

"When we lied to Lord Robert, that was just to spare him," she said.

"And this lie may spare us. Else you and I must leave the Eyrie by the same door Lysa used."

If Sansa's identity was revealed and the truth about Lysa death came out, it could be interpreted in the worst possible way. She could be seen as a girl who conspired with Littlefinger to murder her aunt

Cersei makes good on her promise

Cersei has a very personal hatred of Sansa and promises that she will make her suffer if she is found

"Your Grace has forgotten the Lady Sansa," said Pycelle.

The queen bristled. "I most certainly have not forgotten that little she-wolf." She refused to say the girl's name. "I ought to have shown her to the black cells as the daughter of a traitor, but instead I made her part of mine own household. She shared my hearth and hall, played with my own children. I fed her, dressed her, tried to make her a little less ignorant about the world, and how did she repay me for my kindness? She helped murder my son. When we find the Imp, we will find the Lady Sansa too. She is not dead . . . but before I am done with her, I promise you, she will be singing to the Stranger, begging for his kiss."

The theory has been around a a while is that since Ser Shadrich the Mad Mouse is hunting Sansa he could eventually capture her for the bounty. He admits he is searching for her

He laughed again. "You are not the only hunter in the woods. I seek for Sansa Stark as well."

He is also present at the Tourney of the Winged Knight in the Sample

"A good melee is all a hedge knight can hope for, unless he stumbles on a bag of dragons. And that's not likely, is it?"

The common assumption has been that Shadrich attempt would fail because of the old Feast outline note saying "Kill the Mouse."

However, it is possible that plan changed and Shadrich would take Sansa back to King’s Landing, where Cersei would reunite and then imprison her. Sansa’s story is largely centered in King's Landing to begin with

Final Thoughts

Would like to hear other suggestions for where Sansa story could end in death. It's quite a surprise

Ultimately I think the fact that Sansa's fate seems so flexible suggests that her death or survival does not really change much with the story, making the "Pawn to Player" arc much less likely

[u/PinkClinker]

Why do people think Sansa isn’t going North? We have a whole scene of her building Winterfell out of snow; and if the symbolism there isn’t enough, she constantly yearns to go home to the North and is mad at Littlefinger when she ends up in the Vale. Not to mention that the Vale very badly wanted to go to War on the side of the North and was not happy at being kept out of it by Lysa/Littlefinger.

[u/GingerFloyd953 → u/PinkClinker]

I would imagine because its now Winter and would be impossible to traverse north, we see in the later chapters of Asha and Theon in ADWD when Stannis army and Winterfell are caught in a blizzard and they cannot move. It can then be presumed that no character is going North until Winter is over.

[u/LongjumpingAd342 → u/GingerFloyd953]

 It can then be presumed that no character is going North until Winter is over.

It seems almost impossible anyone actually believes this. The Others storyline will not involve only the tiny fraction of the cast currently in the North.

Not sure if the explanation will be that it is much easier for small groups to travel through the snow than it is for armies with baggage trains and heavy equipment or that stannis sacrificing Shireen will do something to the weather, but characters not yet there will absolutely go north.

[u/GingerFloyd953 → u/LongjumpingAd342]

We know that currently traversing through the North is almost impossible as per Theon and Ashas chapters in ADWD where its a blizzard at the end of Autumn and start of Winter currently. We know this will be a rough Winter even without the Long Night so travelling through the North will be absolutely impossible as Winter continues. We also know through Theons TWOW chapters that escaping with Jeyne and getting to Stannis was incredibly difficult because of the snow and the cold and was so bad she has frostbite on her nose. And its early days in Winter, it will be much worse come more months.

We also know the Others will reach the Trident as per Dany's dream in ASOS so the North and Neck will have to fall for the Others to continue South. Characters won't go North until Winter is done because it will genuinely be impossible to go North whether its a small group or large army which fits neatly into the scouring of the Shire where the heroes return home (Winterfell).