A certain character from George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is going to be having a shocking twist in his next book, The Winds of Winter. Yes, that sounds like every character in his books — but apparently, this one will be extra "controversial." Spoilers ahead...


Now that you've agreed to look at some spoilers, they're actually pretty vague — but there's plenty of speculation attached to them. A new Vulture article about encounters with George R.R. Martin includes a chat with superfan Elio Garcia (who's helped us with our speculation about the TV show) in which Garcia reveals that he's read portions of The Winds of Winter.

And that includes "a Sansa chapter that is sure to be controversial."

Immediately the fan community set to work speculating. Sansa Stark, though sometimes belittled, is one of our favorite characters. But what event involving her could be "controversial?" It's probably not just her being brutalized or molested, because she's been victimized so much over the years that people might be upset, but not surprised.


Readers of the books will know that Sansa is living at the Vale, where Littlefinger has passed her off as his bastard daughter Alayne Stone. Also living there is frail Robert Arryn, the heir to the Vale. The other heir to the Vale, Harold Hardyng, is now betrothed to Sansa, not realizing who she really is.

So chances are the "controversy" involves Sansa doing something unexpected. Maybe she kills Lord Robin, so that she'll be in a stronger position? Maybe Littlefinger pushes his luck with her and she kills him, or injures him severely? Maybe she marries Harold and then reveals her true identity? Or maybe something completely different happens, like she wargs into Arya's direwolf or something.

In any case, most fan speculation doesn't seem to involve Sansa getting killed — not after all the build-up she's had — or killing Littlefinger before he gets to play his final moves. But it seems somewhat likely she'll finally learn to start playing the game instead of being a pawn. [Vulture via Westeros.org]