Outrage Over ‘Game of Thrones’ Treatment Of Sansa Stark Continues — Is Bad Writing To Blame? [Spoilers]

Game of Thrones fans are awash in outrage since Sunday night’s episode forced them to watch their new favorite character, Sansa Stark, get raped by her new husband Ramsay Snow — while her castrated older brother watched.

Even U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill got in on the action, the New York Times reported.

Ok, I'm done Game of Thrones.Water Garden, stupid.Gratuitous rape scene disgusting and unacceptable.It was a rocky ride that just ended.

— Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) May 19, 2015

For many people, the outrage is centered on Game of Thrones‘ continued use as rape as a plot device, and choosing to assault female characters who weren’t in the books on which the show is based.

Those books are part of the A Song of Ice and Fire series, written by George R.R. Martin. In the series, Sansa follows a completely different storyline, which means Game of Thrones‘ writers have rewritten Sansa’s character arc to force her into the hands of the sadistic Ramsay Snow — only to be victimized, Deadspin noted.

For this decision, Mary Sue editor Jill Pantozzi said her web site will never cover the HBO series again.

“(A)llow us to say something very important: rape is not a necessary plot device. Really think about that before shouting ‘creative freedom’ in our direction, please. The show has creators. They make the choices. They chose to use rape … Again.”

But why all the sudden outrage? What made this scene so different than all the others ones chock full of gore and sexual depravity? Critics have a strong answer — it simply wasn’t necessary and constitutes some pretty bad writing.

Really disappointed with #GameOfThrones. So unnecessary and deliberately written in – wasn't in the books. Didn't they learn from last time?

— Jenny (@jenventure) May 19, 2015

Rape is not entertainment. Rape is not the most interesting storyline you can give a woman. Learn how to storytell d&d… #GameOfThrones

— Rebekah ?? (@RebekahPeace) May 19, 2015

Good job ruining a perfectly good episode, #GameOfThrones. Like anybody ever needed another scene like that…

— Botic van de Zandschulp Ultra (@maxstilecht) May 19, 2015

For one thing, Deadspin wrote, her torturous scene didn’t add to the story. Everything it intended to illustrate had already been shown (her hubby-to-be is a sexual sadist paramount among them). And by panning the camera away from Sansa’s ordeal to focus on another character and torture victim of Snow, Theon, the writers made her trauma about him and his “emotional journey.”

To be fair, producer Bryan Cogman — who wrote the episode — told Entertainment Weekly that the scene was a “turning point” and not an inspiration for outrage.

“This isn’t a timid little girl walking into a wedding night. This is a hardened woman making a choice and she sees this as the way to get back her homeland.”

(For clarification, Cogman said that “choice” was getting married, not being raped.)

A critic over at Slate sees things differently, as well. The outrage over Sansa is misplaced, because her trauma does serve a purpose: to remind her what the “world does to its women.” And let’s not forget, Sansa is concocting a plan of her own, and likely wasn’t nearly as surprised as the fans were when Ramsay ripped her dress and victimized her on her wedding night.

Perhaps she has a sharp knife up her sleeve. Let’s all hope.

But Game of Thrones‘ creative choice is just one in a long line of missteps this season, Deadspin concluded. Simply put, the series has become dull.

“Large swaths of episode are eaten up by the infinitesimal advancement of various plot lines, many of which are deeply boring, and those scenes are then offset by the inclusion of some Cool Sh*t … This was an episode that said, ‘Sorry for making you sit through 55 minutes of nothing really happening, but here, enjoy this rape!’ “

What do you think? Has Game of Thrones gone off the rails?

[Photo Courtesy Twitter]