Sophie Turner Wishes ‘Game of Thrones’ Would Have Ended This Way
We may be a few months removed from the divisive Game of Thrones series finale, but that doesn't mean we're not still talking about it.
During a recent interview with The Wrap's Emmy magazine, Sophie Turner, who played Sansa Stark in the series, divulged how she wished the show would have ended. And honestly, we couldn't agree more.
"I thought Arya would kill Cersei," she confessed (and really, who didn't think that?). "And I would like to have seen Sansa and Cersei reunited, or Arya and Cersei. But there were so many ways the story could have turned out. I felt very passionately about the ending for Sansa, and I was very happy with the ending that turned out for her."
Cersei ended up meeting her demise when the Red Keep crumbled on top of her and her brother/lover Jaime Lannister. Sansa, of course, made it out alive and became Queen of the North. Though the 23-year-old was surprised to see her character make it to the finale — a legitimate fear for any GoT star.
"I think everyone was terrified of being axed the whole time," she said. "Every single page, it was like, 'Oh, my God, is this it?' And then to find that I made it to the final episode and to the final scene was great."
She also addressed her frustration over the petition fans created to have the final season re-written. "The fans are incredible and so loyal, and we love them because of the fact that they're so, so passionate. I cannot fault them there. But when people were saying that there was no effort, that the writers were terrible …The most effort was put into this final season," she declared. "We were shooting for an incredibly long time, nearly 11 months. We did the most night shoots anyone has done ever, I think. I felt a little defensive, and I think I'm entitled to feel like that."
As for her fictional brother, Bran Stark, being named King, Turner doesn't think it could have ended with anyone else on the throne. "I think it's true what Tyrion was saying: Bran holds all of our stories, and we can't move on unless we remember our history," she explained. "Daenerys had to die. Cersei was a mad queen. Arya is too much of a free spirit. Sansa probably wouldn't want to rule the seven kingdoms anyway — she wanted to stay in the North and defend the North. I really think Bran might be the perfect person for the job."
The GoT cast will reunite one last time next month for the Emmys, where the show is up for a record-breaking 32 awards. It's at the ceremony that Turner thinks she'll experience her largest emotional breakdown.
"I think the biggest moment is yet to come, when I really break down," she confessed. "I think it might be at the Emmys, because the Emmys are going to be the last time that we’ll ever see each other, at least as a cast. Or maybe I’ll never really say goodbye. It’s really my family, and because we love each other so much, it’ll be goodbye to the characters but not to each other."
The Emmys are set to air September 22 on FOX.