5 Reasons why Sansa Stark should never rule the Seven Kingdoms

I’ve seen various brother/sister duos in my time. Luke and Leia. Ron and Ginny. Dexter and Debra. Wilykit and Wilykat.

The recent series of Game of Thrones saw a new sibling powerhouse form in the shape of Jon Snow and Sansa Stark. Or should that be Lady Baratheon? Lady Bolton? Hmm. I’ve lost count of her various titles.

But will this sibling duo stand the test of time? Or will their troubles go beyond sibling squabbles?  

Regardless of who wins or loses, there are five reasons why Sansa should NEVER rule the Seven Kingdoms.  

She lacks bravery

With its mountains of corpses and up-close garrottings and beheadings, the blood bath at the end of season six was epic. However if you compare Jon’s involvement with Sansa’s involvement, the difference couldn’t have been “starker”, sorry, more immense. Whereas Jon Snow led by example, getting stuck into the blood, thunder, mud and more blood, Sansa’s approach was very different. Instead of leading from the front, she watched smugly as her brother and his horse and his army were nearly crushed to death. Jon is clearly brave and these types of hands-on leaders can be very charismatic. A leader requires to be brave to lead. You know nothing, Sansa Stark, about bravery.   

She lacks compassion

Do you remember the night before the Battle for Winterfell? Jon and Sansa discussed their brother, Rickon, who was held hostage by their enemies. Whereas Jon was considering how best to save his brother, Sansa stated that trying to save Rickon was pointless: he was dead already! And remember that brutal moment when Rickon, the terrified teenager, was speared by his enemy- eeeuch. How could Sansa show no concern for her brother? Why did she not care about his cruel death? And why didn’t Rickon learn that, if he had just run in zig-zags, he could have avoided being speared. If Sansa can detach from the welfare of her own brother, how can she care for those whose interests she is supposed to have in mind as their leader? A good leader requires to show compassion where appropriate.

She does not trust her own sibling

So Sansa had a front row seat to everything which was discussed prior to the Battle for Winterfell. Jon told her to weigh in with her thoughts, making her part of a team. He actively encouraged her to voice her opinion and reminded her that they need to “trust each other”. When she gained intelligence from Lord Littlefinger (Petyr the Creeper… anyone?), she shared it with Jon but then lied about where it came from. OK. So I guess that, on one view, you could argue that Sansa ultimately saves House Stark and its hodge-podge army by recruiting Littlefinger’s troops to fight at their side. However she inconveniently didn’t tell Jon about Littlefinger or his army, costing House Stark thousands of lives and almost costing them their whole army. A good leader requires to place trust in his team.  

She never says sorry

Humble leaders make the best leaders because they know the importance of staying grounded. They admit when things go wrong and appreciate others. Being a leader is hard. They make mistakes too. The biggest mistake a leader can make is failing to admit these to their colleagues at the time. I note that Sansa has yet to thank Jon for what he did for the Stark family. However, more importantly, she has yet to apologise for the absolute damage which she caused to the troops. Bad move, Sansa. Bad move…

She disrespects her own leader

After Jon is crowned King of the North, we all knew that there would be tension between the siblings. However it was bad judgment of Sansa to challenge Jon before his own people. When Jon makes it clear that he does not want to punish the clans who betrayed the Starks, Sansa is quite vocal in her criticism of him, stating, “so there’s no punishment for treason and no reward for loyalty.” Lady Stark doesn’t seem to care whether Jon is a king or not. She will express her views (in front of all the Northern houses) whenever she sees fit.  

So in order to lead a team/army/the Seven Kingdoms, a leader requires to demonstrate that he or she has the correct composition of these traits. Sansa does not have the right disposition or attitude to be a successful leader.

Let’s face it. Sansa is channelling her inner Cersei.  

When Sansa speaks about Cersei who, let’s be honest, mass murdered all of her enemies at the end of season six, she says, “I learned a great deal from her”.  

Watch this space.

The Stark girl has ideas of greatness, much like Cersei. 

I give it a few more rounds with Jon before she is blowing up temples and guzzling Dornish wine.  

Leave one wolf alive and the sheep are never safe.

Winter is here…