7 Reasons Why Sansa Stark Is, In Fact, The Smartest Person On Game Of Thrones

By Valerie Tejeda

Before Sunday night’s (April 14) Season 8 premiere, I went into my rewatch of Game of Thrones as I typically do, a hardcore Daenerys Targaryen fan and true believer that the Mother of Dragons should be the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. Don’t get me wrong — I love Dany and she is still arguably my main go to character (she walks through fire and has dragons, how can I not love her?) — Yet immediately after watching every season of GoT again, and the starting of this final season, a new front-runner came to mind who could be better-suited to sit on the Iron Throne than anyone in Westeros: Sansa Stark.

When we first met Sansa, she was a young, highborn Westerosi with a love for decorative things as well as a longing to be queen. Then, well, more than a few shit happened. She became the intent of constant abuse by her once-betrothed King Joffrey (who cut off her father’s head, mind you), a chess piece to be manipulated by Cersei and Lord Baelish, and was tortured and abused by Lord Ramsay Bolton.

Yet through it all she’s had a quiet, enduring strength. She’s smart, she’s resilient, she’s a survivor, and she’s the sort of hero who should make a fantastic queen. Several underestimated you. The majority are dead right now Tyrion Lannister mentioned to Sansa in the Season 8 premiere of Game of Thrones. And he’s right.

Here are seven reasons why Sansa Stark should sit on the Iron Throne — if there even is a Iron Throne soon following the Night King and his undead army invade the Seven Kingdoms.

She has the Stark name

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The North remembers, and so they seem to remember a lot. The Northerners are also especially loyal and, among the people of this kingdom, the Stark name holds a lot of weight. While Jon, who was named King of the North, is still referred to as Ned Stark’s bastard (even though we know the truth about his Targaryen and Stark blood), Sansa is the daughter of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully, giving her more claim to the North than even her half-brother. If she were queen, her lineage would give her a level of loyalty and support that the North hasn’t given a king or queen since her dearly departed brother Robb. Plus it could be the opening time someone from the North (and a Stark) has sat on the Iron Throne, which, considering all that the Stark family member has been through, could be pretty epic.

She’s learned from the ideal, and the worst

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Being the daughter of Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully meant Sansa grew up with two fantastic examples of strong and honorable leaders. Although apart from what she gleaned as a child at residence, Sansa has also been around some people on her journey — Cersei, Lord Baelish, King Joffrey, Margaery Tyrell, Lord Bolton — who have shown her what to do and what not to do. One of Sansa’s greatest strengths is learning from those around her — and she definitely paid attention to Cersei, especially in regards to keeping your enemies close, trusting no one, and observing each person. (In fact, Sansa usually be the only one in Winterfell who is aware Cersei shouldn’t be trusted — once did they all become so trusting anyway?) Arya mentioned it best to Jon in the Season 8 premiere, "[Sansa]’s the smartest person I’ve ever met."

She slayed because the Lady of Winterfell

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one of the biggest things that resulted from Jon leaving Sansa in charge of the North as soon as he ventured to Dragonstone was seeing Sansa’s abilities as a leader. Not only did calling all of the shots come of course to her, Sansa also showed wisdom behind her years by not falling for Lord Baelish’s scheme to put a wedge between her and her sister, Arya. She sentenced Little Finger to death (by Arya’s hand), showing him that messing with a “wolf” is never a good idea.

She won the Battle of the Bastards

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Remember the Battle of the Bastards between Jon Snow and Ramsay in Season 6? Well, if it wasn’t for Sansa, Jon would have never been able to take Winterfell back and he may even be dead. Immediately after realizing Jon didn’t have enough males for the battle, Sansa sent a raven to Lord Baelish, and the knights of the Vale showed up to lead Jon to victory. This decision showed Sansa’s keen ability to advise throughout wartime, an obvious asset for any queen.

She’s already lived in King’s Landing

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Unlike Jon and Daenerys, Sansa has already lived in King’s Landing and in the royal castle, the Red Keep. She’s already familiar with the people and the politics, and not having to be spend time learning about a new city would give her more time to do the things that she does best — like ruling. (Of course, this is assuming King's Landing is even still standing soon following the Night King is done with it.)

She has the respect of almost everyone

While Cersei certainly has it out for Sansa however come on, she has it out for each person) it appears that almost all people in Westeros wish her well. She has the respect of Lord Tyrion Lannister (her former spouse, and Brienne of Tarth and her sister Arya are both by her side. The Tyrells admired her if they were around. Daenerys, in spite of a salty look or two, usually have nothing against her nevertheless. The Boltons, who'd it out for her family member, are dead. Lord Frey is gone. The Vale supports her, as do Jon, his boys, and the North. That sort of likability could help to bring some much-needed peace to the Seven Kingdoms.

She’s tough however also kind

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Sansa has shown time and time again that she’s much stronger than she gets credit for. She’s not a victim, she’s a survivor, and that strength has been made all of the more evident these last two seasons. Nevertheless although she’s been forced to prepare tough decisions (as any leader would), she remains kind — unlike, mention, Cersei. The ideal leaders are those who can be strong while they must, yet kind any time while they can; Sansa embodies both of these attributes. She isn't the queen that Westeros deserves, although the queen they so desperately need.