Jessica Chastain, Ava DuVernay call out 'Game of Thrones' for portrayal of women in season 8 episode 4
In 'Game of Thrones' season 8 episode 4, one of the scenes that had many fans rooting for Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) was when the Hound (Rory McCann) tells Sansa that if she had left with him there would have been no Littlefinger or Ramsay Bolton. The two men over the last seasons have physically, sexually and mentally assaulted Sansa at different instances.
To this, she says, "Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would’ve stayed a little bird all my life." Jessica Chastain feels that this scene carried a wrong message and that women do not need to be abused to gain strength.
Chastain tweeted about the scene, "Rape is not a tool to make a character stronger. A woman doesn’t need to be victimized in order to become a butterfly. The #littlebird was always a Phoenix. Her prevailing strength is solely because of her. And her alone. #GameOfThrones."
Ana DuVernay, meanwhile, said, "So... the one and only sister on the whole epic, years-long series? That’s what you wanna do? Okay. #GOT." DuVernay was referring to Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) who was slayed at the end of the episode by The Mountain (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson).
Some fans have also called out the show for a lack of female writers especially this season. Gabrielle Alexa Noel tweeted, "Women were shut out of writing/directing jobs for EVERY EPISODE of this season of #GameOfThrones. So while I love that we feel empowered by certain female characters, women should've written them. Particularly for characters who were sexually abused."
To this Clarkisha Kent replied, "It shows," and added, "I would have rather Sansa been like 'it is what it is' to the events that lead her to this season versus basically implying getting assaulted and s**t made her 'stronger'. Just....pitiful. And [definitely] written by a cishet man."
Sansa is currently a favorite character among fans and after what happened in recent episodes, fans also have theorized about how she is one of the most capable players to sit on the Iron Throne. The fifth episode of the show is expected to feature a war between Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) and Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).