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Why Sansa May Kill Theon On 'Game of Thrones'

I know the Game of Thrones Season 5 finale makes it difficult to focus on anything other than Jon Snow. However, there are plenty of other characters in varying predicaments all over Westeros. Here's a Season 6 theory mulling around in my brain — will Sansa kill Theon Greyjoy on Game of Thrones ? He just helped her out, so I don't think she'll kill him out of revenge or a crime of passion. However, people die for many reasons in Westeros, and Sansa could live up to her Stark name in a big way. I have an idea based on the books that's so crazy, it just might work.

Last season, Theon and Sansa escaped Winterfell by jumping off of a wall while the Boltons were fighting Stannis' army. We assume, by the laws of Frozen, that there was enough powdery snow on the ground to break their fall and both Sansa and Theon are alive. However, there aren't too many places they can go without getting caught.

Why do I think Theon could meet his end at "sweet" Sansa Stark's hand? Caution! There are book spoilers ahead for The Winds of Winter, George R. R. Martin's as yet unreleased novel in the A Song of Ice And Fire series. If you don't want to know, get back to the Iron Islands!

In the books, Jeyne Poole, Theon Greyjoy, and his sister Asha are captured by Stannis Baratheon. Jeyne, who is posing as Arya, is sent to the wall to be reunited with Jon Snow. Meanwhile, Stannis believes that he needs to execute Theon Greyjoy for the murder of Bran and Rickon. Asha requests that if he must, that he behead him under a tree as House Stark would have done, rather than burn him at the stake in sacrifice.

We know that Asha (called Yara on HBO) and the Greyjoys will be in Season 6. However, there are a few things that have already happened on Game of Thrones that prevent Martin's version of events from happening:

  1. Stannis is dead.
  2. Balon Greyjoy is not dead.
  3. Theon is with Sansa, not Jeyne.
  4. Sansa knows that Bran and Rickon are alive.

First of all, the Wall is the last place that Sansa Stark needs to be after what happened to Jon, but I don't think we have to worry about that. I think her days of "being" Jeyne Poole are coming to a close. Instead, I predict that Sansa will take the place of Theon's pirate sister in this version of events, and maybe even go so far as to "swing the sword" herself. We haven't seen the Greyjoys in a while, and Balon Greyjoy still needs to die per Melisandre's blood spell. Therefore, I think that Yara will be with her family in the Iron Islands for a good portion of Season 6.

So, if this were to happen, who captures Theon and Sansa? It's possible that they'll get taken back by the Boltons. It's also possible that whatever's left of Stannis' army finds a new leader and decides to use Theon and Sansa as pawns. However a third, and most intriguing possibility, is that the Knights of the Vale capture the runaways. If you remember, Littlefinger obtained Cersei's permission to send this army to Winterfell and "pick up the pieces" after the battle between the Boltons and Stannis Baratheon.

While it would be devastating to see Sansa kill her new ally, I love the idea of her taking up Ned Stark's mantle. If Sansa's going to kill anyone, she's going to do it right. It would also be a necessary evil if she wants to keep secret that her brothers are alive — which she absolutely has to do for their safety and her own power. That would mean Sansa has to lie directly to Petyr Baelish and sacrifice Theon in the process. Game of Thrones Season 6 may be bleak in many areas, but if that happened, it would be positively delicious.

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