Throughout all eight seasons, Game of Thrones aired some of the most divisive and controversial scenes in television history. This ranges from unfiltered brutality and gore to the horrifically disturbing scene where Ramsay Bolton rapes Sansa Stark on their wedding night. The latter, which occurred in season 5 episode "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken," sparked enormous controversy around the industry.
The moment in question was an incredibly distressing and poignant moment in Sansa's arc, marking one of the most disturbing moments in the show's history. While HBO defended the scene, it provoked waves of outrage online. U.S. senators got involved, and many viewers stopped watching the series.
Looking back at filming the series, Sophie Turner recalled her thought process. “When I was younger, I think there was a scene in season one or two where my character narrowly escapes a rape. I didn’t fully understand it…I was trying to figure it out in my young little head,” she told Flaunt.
Sophie Turner defends sexual assault scene
When the scene where Sansa is raped by Ramsay was filmed, Turner was just 19 years old. At the time, the actress says she “had more of a grasp of what was happening,” and believes the series was right to bring such distressing scenes to the screen.
“I did feel—and still do—that Game of Thrones shone a light on things that many people were like ‘Oh god, you can’t show that kind of thing’—and I understand it can be triggering—I totally understand that point of view,” Turner shared. “But I did feel we were actually doing a lot of justice to women and the fight women have had to fight for hundreds of thousands of years—the patriarchy, being treated as objects, and being constantly sexually assaulted—I don’t think there’s one woman I know who hasn’t had a form of that.”
“And that’s because we don’t [talk about] it enough—we shy away from it," she added.
This specific assault scene was not included in the original novels; it was written in for the series. On the page, Ramsay never marries Sansa. Rather, he marries Jeyne Poole (who's posing as Arya Stark) and inflicts sexual abuse on her.
Game of Thrones would likely include trigger warnings today
In the years since Game of Thrones concluded, numerous series have been adding content warnings to the beginning of episodes featuring triggering scenes. Examples of such shows include Euphoria and 13 Reasons Why. If Game of Thrones were to be released today, Turner has no doubts that a content warning would be placed.
“I think if Game of Thrones came out today, we’d definitely put some trigger warnings on there,” she admitted.
Overall, Turner is pleased to have worked on a show that didn't avoid such scenes: “I’m really proud to have been a part of Game of Thrones where they didn’t shy away from showing atrocities that happened to women back then. I feel proud to have been part of the conversation.”
Turner is currently promoting her latest project, a thriller film called Trust, now playing in theaters.