Sophie Turner on why Sansa lied to Jon, Kristofer Hivju on the Tormund-Brienne match, and more
By Dan Selcke
Hodor’s death may have gotten the lion’s share of post-show coverage this week, but other things did happen in “The Door.” Here are a smattering of interviews that deal with them.
First up, Sophie Turner gave an interview to the Los Angeles Times and talked about Sansa Stark’s growing confidence. “Definitely this season she’s sick of being a pawn in everyone else’s game,” she said. “And finally she’s playing the game. Every time she goes somewhere with someone, it doesn’t work out. So just doing her own thing and trying to make people listen to her. It’s very much about her taking her own path.”
Sansa’s had a rough go of it since…well, the entire show. Now that she’s plotting to chase the Boltons out of Winterfell, she’s taking an active role in her own life for what might be the first time. Sansa was very much “taking her own path” near the beginning of “The Door,” when she met Littlefinger, her former mentor, and told him in no uncertain terms to buzz off.
"It was very empowering. It was a big moment for her. It was kind of a moment where she’s voicing what everyone else is wanting her to say. [It’s] finally happening for her. It was a big thing for me, I think, because it was the first time that she’s really stood on her own and been true to herself and been unafraid to say what she wants and say what she means. It was a very big moment; very, very emotional."
But Sansa’s newfound confidence is a double-edged sword. She chose to push Jon into taking on the Boltons, which I think most fans can get behind, but she also chose to lie to Jon about where she got the intel about the Blackfish’s reformed army, which makes me nervous. Turner talked about why Sansa lied to her half-brother:
"She doesn’t tell Jon because — it’s difficult because she doesn’t have that Stark way about her anymore. She’s been broken down; she no longer feels like she can be completely honest with anyone, even her own family. Also she doesn’t want to tell Jon, I think, because she wants all the information and all the power in her court when it comes to Littlefinger. Because [with] Littlefinger she can kind of do whatever she wants with him now. He owes her big time and she wants the ball in her court."
Will this turn out well for Sansa? Time will tell.
Next, ScreenCrush talked to Kristofer Hivju (Tormund Giantsbane) about the surprise hit of the season: Tormund’s ongoing attempt to woo Brienne of Tarth, mainly with goofy smiles and leering looks. “That was unexpected, huh?” Hivju said.
"We had a lot of fun with it. [Gwendoline Christie’s] a great actress and she’s a walking, laughing machine. It was a day of doing that. Some of the scenes are deleted. But we had a lot of fun and nobody saw that coming."
Unfortunately, Hivju wouldn’t reveal what happens in those deleted scenes (Christie was a little more forthcoming), so we’ll have to wait for the home video release. He did drop a few hints about what Tormund will be up to in the rest of the season, though.
"[T]he one thing I like this season is he suddenly gets involved in the political aspects of this world. Not only to save his people, but he has to muscle because he has his army."
But don’t worry: he’ll flex his actual muscle, too.
"[T]he trailer shows that as well so I can say that Tormund will fight this season. But I won’t say to whom I’m fighting. But it’s always interesting to see what kinds of fights there will be."
Overall, it sounds like, by the time it’s over, Season 6 will be the biggest year for Tormund yet, which will surely please all of his fans. And if that means that we’ll get more scenes between Tormund and Brienne (Hivju’s idea for a ship name: “Briemund the Tarth Bane”), all the better.
Before we leave Hivju, he also drops a little knowledge about Tormund’s daughters, whom he mentioned in “Hardhome” but whom we haven’t seen yet. Will they ever show up?
"It’s a good question because it’s not answered somehow. Probably. Well, it’s just a theory then because it hasn’t been defined yet. But I supposed when we’re at “Hardhome” he would have gotten [them] out into the ships. And there is a scene in [Season 5] Episode 9 I think where we stand in front of the Wall waiting for Ser Alliser to open the gates, and there’s a kid there that I embrace. But that’s not really defined yet. We’ll see!"
Moving on, Natalie Dormer talked to SheKnows about what Game of Thrones has done for women on TV. She doesn’t quite think the show has brought about a revolution, but she thinks it’s done some good.
"I think it’s part of the evolution, the natural evolution that is happening in entertainment, that finally we are catching up with gender equality in our three-dimensional roles. Yes, [the show] spearheaded it, along with a couple of other shows, and I do think credit has to be given to television. And cinema is finally catching up, knowing that audiences respond to those well-written, three-dimensional characters. I’d like to see it as a natural progression in evolution that is overdue, but it is happening."
SheKnows also asked her who she thought the best written character on the show is.
"That’s a really, really tough one, to be perfectly honest. I mean, the one thing I love about the show is, obviously, the POV characters are given their full rein… But then you have characters like Margaery, who are fleshed out in a way in the show that they’re just not in the books. That’s a real tough one. I couldn’t possibly cite best character, unless I was to say Margaery, but that would kind of be cheating."
Finally, let’s briefly touch on two of the new characters we met in “The Door”: Lady Crane, the actress Arya has been assigned to kill, and Kinvara, the new Red Woman Tyrion has summoned to Meereen.
Lady Crane is played by Australian actress Essie Davis, who you may remember from the horrifying The Babadook. She hadn’t watched Game of Thrones prior to nabbing the role, but after she got the call, she engaged in “a serious 50-hour catch up,” according to The Huffington Post Australia. “And yes, I understand now.”
As for Ania Bukstein, the Israeli actress who plays Kinvara, did you know that she has a pop music career in Israel? Well, she does.