Last season, “Game of Thrones” fans went into an uproar over an agonizing scene in which Sansa Stark was raped by her new husband, Ramsay Bolton. The scene was criticized for playing sexual assault for shock value and for undermining Sansa’s attempts to evade perpetual victimhood.
This season, Sansa has been slowly reclaiming her independence and strength as she prepares to fight her abuser for control of Winterfell. In episode 5 of this season, she called out Petyr Baelish, the man who handed her over to Ramsay. “I can still feel it,” she hisses at Baelish. “I don’t mean ‘in my tender heart it still pains me so’ — I can still feel what he did in my body standing here right now.”
It’s a powerful scene, as Sansa takes ownership over both her pain and her destiny by ordering Baelish out of her sight. But some “Game of Thrones” fans are worried that what she feels may be more than physical pain. As one fan on “GoT” subreddit Free Folk suggests, Sansa may be in the early stages of pregnancy with Ramsay Bolton’s child.
The possibility of pregnancy first came up with the release of promo pictures before season 6 began. One of these pictures depicted Sansa in a large cloak covering what could be a bump. Fans also note that Sansa has struggled to eat the food at Castle Black, which could be an indicator of pregnancy sickness.
Of course, this could all just be circumstantial evidence. Her speech to Littlefinger could simply be what it is at face value: a means of driving home just how badly he betrayed her by having her marry a monster as part of his plot for power. As for her appetite? Well, George R.R. Martin has spilled a fair amount of ink in his books over how unpleasant the hard biscuits and thin porridge eaten by The Night’s Watch can be.
Still, this is a member of House Stark we are talking about, and “Game of Thrones” has been nothing but a parade of misfortune for that ill-fated family. Ramsay’s core motive has been gaining power and becoming the most feared man in the North, and shedding his status as Roose Bolton’s bastard son has been key to that goal. He’s already killed his father to take control of his house, so having an heir would be the next step in solidifying his rule over Winterfell. How humiliating would it be for Sansa and the Starks as a whole if she were to carry a child that would give the biggest monster in Westeros complete control over their ancestral home?