Game of Thrones Premiere Roundtable: The Battle of Sansa & Daenerys

James: Well, I think it's not really a question of who is necessarily right between Sansa and Daenerys, although the general attitude of the latter towards discontent is not entirely favorable. They have different priorities, born of the respective routes that Sansa and Dany have crossed over the past seven seasons, which have turned them into very different people.

Daenerys is just waiting to show up with titles and dragons, to fight and get her kingdom as she wanted from the beginning. Sansa's quest for survival is … more practical. She has spent her life having enough people to give anyone confidence, but at the same time, as a Lady of Winterfell, she already has a taste of the practicalities of the rule – how to feed people, how to gather forces, the day- current management of the management of a kingdom. Perhaps not up to Daenerys' efforts through Essos, but Dany had advisers and legions to deal with that. Sansa has acquired these end-to-end skills herself.

Beth: My personal opinion is that Daenerys does not behave well here. Certainly, she brought a group of soldiers with her to fight for the North, but her arrogance catches her. Sansa perfectly understands the claims and games of Daenerys and has become tolerant for a long time. For example, there was this moment when they met for the first time, when Daenerys commented on Sansa's beauty. It reminds you of another queen, yes?

James: There is so There are many parallels with this first episode here, but absolutely – and it's a great thematic link, since we've seen Daenerys and Cersei dance to each other last season. Daenerys is just baffled by the idea of ​​someone who does not immediately accept his greatness in a way at once obviously very dangerous – and something that Sansa can see through – but at the same time … she brought dragons. For example, are there any problems that are getting ready here and on which Sansa is right to be skeptical? Yes, and when we will see her later on Tyrion, we know she will be right about this practical skepticism. But dragons! That must count for something, right?

Beth: Two hungry dragons.

James: What I find most fascinating in this conflict, inside this episode, is how … it is indirect. They are really two powerful women who look at each other but who have not yet clashed over their division. This is revealed through looks here and there, in conversations with the people around them in everyone's circles.

Beth: Exactly. This conflict is most apparent in some scenes, but most of them involve different people. They go beyond the side eye Sansa gives Daenerys during their two group encounters (they seem to have at least one scene together the next episode). One of them is during her conversation with Tyrion, where she points out how stupid it is to trust Cersei after all she did. Was it just me, or did it come with a nuance of "You have become weak by putting all your trust in this person" – and by anybody, I mean Daenerys. Tyrion prospered when he did not trust anyone. Putting all his trust in Daenerys blinded him to the faults of other people, including that of his own sister.

James: The conversation between Jon and Sansa when she asks him if he did it out of love for the North is incredibly telling who Sansa has become forged by his experiences during the series. This atmosphere of not only the practical reality of the disastrous situation, but at the same time, an almost cold glaze – as you said, she asks Jon to compromise himself instead of negotiating a better deal with Dany.

Beth: At this point, she knows better than anyone how love can fail you.

James: And, frankly, it brought me back to another conflict of last season: the drama between Sansa and Arya. But it reminded me that this conflict did not feel like the discontent between Sansa and Daenerys here.

Beth: I remember that when the Arya and Sansa affair proceeded as a whole, there were legitimate criticisms that it seemed to turn two sisters against each other for no reason other than creating a drama. I've seen people say that here, the audience was continuing to create "catfights" because they did not know how to get women to work together. But in this case, I find that I do not agree. And you?

James: I think this conflict is very different from that of Arya and Sansa – and that it makes a lot more sense. Sansa and Arya experienced hellish trials in this series – different underworlds, yet hell – and it took them much longer to realize what they had learned from their experiences, made for a piece of the drama, which, as you said, felt manufactured. Here you will see two characters who made a difficult but incredibly contrasting journey and realize, almost immediately, how different their path is.

Beth: I think it's unfair to assume that the fact that women are in opposing camps is the result of sexist writing (though it can happen and happen). Women do not always hear. They can argue, they can fight, they can hate everything else that represents. This is what is called the human experience. What is sexist is not understanding your characters and their motives, and assuming that women with different opinions is the same as a cat fight.

James: D & # 39; agreement. There is still a lot of time to see how this particular conflict announces, but for the moment, I do not see it particularly as a "cat fight", although I will note that it was very interesting to see that it was a conflict, Dany and Sansa have both talked with men in their lives, more than women so far. Like, I would be very intrigued by the conversation that Sansa would have with Arya about what she thinks of Daenerys at the moment, and Daenerys with Missandei.

Beth: This is a very interesting point, especially because these women have been their confidants for so long.

James: As long as it does not end with a fight in the yard of Winterfell, that's it! Then we know that we have entered a terrible territory of cat fighting theater.

Beth: Although I do not agree with Daenerys, I'm afraid of not being fair to her. Can we see where she comes from, and do you think she can get along with Sansa without finally choosing to leave her the choice "I am the queen, do what I say"? Because for the moment I do not see it.

James: I think what Daenerys needs to understand is that she has to argue her case in front of Sansa in a practical way. She can not be suspended just by walking in Winterfell and controlling herself over people there – she has to approach Sansa as an equal, but also recognize that, frankly, as Bran said: This is n & rsquo; Is not the time to necessarily look for a gift -dragon in the mouth.

They will find common ground by realizing that they need reciprocal things – a person as weighted and experienced as Sansa has been matched with the power of the tremendous attraction that Daenerys has brought – to come out alive. Or at least you hope otherwise, it's probably icy-zombie stuff. And we know too well what Game of thrones it's like giving us hope, is not it?

Beth: It makes sense. I'm just afraid that Daenerys can not do it, but anyway, everything will happen anyway. Again, the revelations about kinship with the Jon will give a boost to the Daenerys rule, which could change their dynamics. Suddenly, Daenerys has a reason not to assume that she is the legitimate queen to whom everyone must obey. She could choose one of two ways: to recognize that she had to calm down a bit and listen to Sansa, or get in a hurry and disagree with everyone else.

James: And like that … madness is, I guess, the most direct way of saying that. But absolutely, it is a conflict that avoids less immediate sparks, but rather the fact that it is a powder barrel well placed. other sparks for the moment. Could it explode in Sansa, Dany and the faces of everyone else? Could sparks fly elsewhere? We will have to wait and see. But over the course of the season, I am very interested to see these two characters meet more directly.

Beth: We will have to wait until next week's battle to see how it will unfold. Could be the victory, could be death. Valar Morghulis … except that they are not men.

James: Yeah, they'll have to find the female pronoun version of it in the Upper Valkyrian dictionary by the end of the season, I think.

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