Game of Thrones, Sansa Stark and the book vs TV show experience

I read all five books in the Song of Ice and Fire series, and yes, I am guilty of offering deals to the devil in exchange for Book 6. I am a fan. I haven’t been one for as long as other people, but I am a fan. A dedicated one. I’ve discussed theories much more complicated than R+L=J and have spent countless hours trying to figure out what the future holds for my favorite characters.

Surprisingly enough, that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy the TV show.

I say surprising, because if there is one thing I can admit about myself, it’s that I AM a snob. I have had a problem with almost every literary adaptation of a book I have loved, and the few exceptions to the rule (Lord of the Rings comes to mind) are usually reserved for the books I didn’t love so much. If I love the book, I must certainly won’t love the movie/show. Especially if they change things.

Enter Game of Thrones.

I’ve got no explanation for you. I really don’t. The TV show has done some things that have made me throw the appropriate book at the screen. (The Jamie/Cersei “rape” ….UGH), but, in general, they’ve done right by the characters I like, and have actually made me enjoy characters I despised or were bored by.

DANERYS, I’M LOOKING AT YOU.

That is, until the whole Sansa thing.

I couldn’t even watch. It wasn’t a shocking development. We all figured it was coming. But I swear, in a TV show where violence and nudity are a common thing, this time, I couldn’t even watch. I was horrified. Disgusted.

AND I DON’T EVEN LIKE SANSA.

Violence for the sake of violence is not my cup of tea. Violence against females for the sake of making them stronger is abhorrent.

And yet…I can’t stop watching. I won’t stop watching.

You have every right to do so, if you want. I won’t begrudge you your right. (I repeat, it WAS awful). But…as much as we may pretend to understand the reasons …we have only read the books. The TV show is clearly a different beast. And  no, they don’t always make the right choices. But, this is another one of my flaws, one I recognize, and have discussed a length.

I’m a writer, you see. I like to give other writers the benefit of the doubt. I like to think that there’s a reason for whatever is going on. I usually finish every book I read, even if I want to rip the pages out, because…well, because I never feel like I can properly criticize if I don’t have the full story.

So, yes, I will watch. Maybe they’ll convince me this wasn’t just raping a woman for the shock value. Maybe it wasn’t more violence in an already violent show just because violence sells. Maybe there’s a reason that serves the story.

I hope so. And it’s okay if you’re not a masochist as I am. What happened to Sansa wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t fun. IT WASN’T EVEN IN THE BOOK.

But, hey, it could still make for a damn good story.