This past Sunday, the 70th British Academy Film Awards (the BAFTAs) were held at Royal Albert Hall in London, and Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark) walked the red carpet in a high-slit Louis Vuitton number.
LONDON, ENGLAND – FEBRUARY 12: Sophie Turner attends the 70th EE British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) at Royal Albert Hall on February 12, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
A few onlookers noticed that Turner was sporting a number of bruises on her legs. As Vanity Fair notes, some Game of Thrones fans took that as evidence that she’d been engaged in stunt work recently, possibly on the set of season 7. Will Sansa be getting into some scrapes in season 7?
very bruised legs. Lots of action scenes on the set?
— omri gel (@omriXL) February 12, 2017
Sansa has come a long way from her demure roots. She’s never been above shoving a bratty king off a catwalk to his death or feeding her abusive husband to his dogs. It’s not outside the realm of possibility that she could get more physical next season, if only occasionally. After all, with the battle against the White Walkers approaching, everyone needs to know how to protect themselves, even if they’re not on the front lines. Call it wish fulfillment, but there are few things I’d like to see more than these women training in the yard at Winterfell where Jon, Robb, and Bran once practiced their skills. I’m even willing to go less sentimental and imagine Turner’s bruises were sustained during a scene where Sansa high-kicks Littlefinger off the Winterfell ramparts.
Let’s also remember that, several months back, an actress thought at one time to be Turner’s stunt double—Megan Parkinson—was seen strapping on a sword belt on set. We’ve since come to believe that Parkinson is playing a new character, but if she is standing in for Turner—and the two of them definitely share some physical characteristics—the presence of a sword-belt suggests some fights in the future.
Judging by Turner’s schedule, it doesn’t look like she’s been near the Game of Thrones set in some time, and she could well have gotten bruises in other ways, like clubbing, boating, or traveling. When you’ve got legs like a gazelle, you’re just more accident-prone (all five-foot-eleven of me can attest to this).
So it may be stretch to suggest that Turner got the bruises pulling off crazy stunts for Game of Thrones season 7, but we’ve got little to do but speculate until the season 7 premiere, so have at it if it please you.