It's possible that Cersei's letter (or a future letter) could mention something like "because of how instrumental you were in helping me against the Starks..." or something like that. And Sansa could find it while in his quarters. And then she could put two and two together.
Stannis was technically on Dragonstone at the time, but he's also fairly intelligent and well informed. He'd also been on the small council with Littlefinger for a few years. So he should be familiar with Littlefinger's behavior. He may have figured it out himself. In which case, he might approach Sansa and go "Who do you think REALLY killed your father?" In an effort to persuade her to become Lady of Winterfell and eliminate Baelish. But that's a stretch.
OOH, fun theory based on a book thing that was cut out of the show:
Spoiler
The Manderly subplot isn't happening on the show. You know. Lord Manderly feeding the Boltons pies filled with chopped up Freys, because he hates the Lannisters? And he's basically going to turn against them the moment Stannis attacks?
Factor in the show's imminent rebellion theme....
WHAT IF the Stark loyalists in Winterfell -- being the hosts of the Ramsay-Sansa wedding -- do something like that instead? Then they go Red Wedding on the Boltons before the marriage can be consummated? Revenge! THE WHITE WEDDING. All the Boltons are conveniently in one place. A place where everyone hates them. A place where everyone hates them and the true heir is sitting right there.
HEHE.
I doubt it'll happen, but if it does, I'll be SO EXCITED.
Lena plz go write for the show, I would like that to happen very much. But is it too happy and fun for GRRM to do? But do D&D even give a shit about keeping true to GRRM's style anymore? We just don't know.
It's probably way too happy a scenario. Stannis tends to have bad luck, but it's also about time for the Boltons to get a karmic asswhoopin', just as the Lannisters have. So it could go either way.
WELL. First non-leaked episode I've seen, so everything's new for me now too! There were some "leaks" that were posted around the internet that supposedly described the rest of the season. THANKFULLY, since they were kinda awful, this episode basically debunked all of them.
Shame about Ser Barristan "the Badass" Selmy. I really liked him. But I'm glad at least one of the two made it out alive. I love every scene with Maester Aemon, so it was nice to have a scene featuring him. Dany's being way too inconsistent for my taste. It's hard to win over the public when you feed a noble to your pet dragons, then turn around and decide to marry one and cave to his "polite" demands. I'm okay with most adaptation changes, but flipping on her policies that quickly was kind of a poor show of writing. Maybe they wanted her to seem more "in control" and assertive on the show, since she really wasn't keen about the marriage in the books. Which is a little understandable, I suppose. Dany's ADWD chapters are frustrating.
And oh, those Boltons. You know Ramsay's gonna try and kill his stepmom before the new little Bolton pops out.
For non-book readers, since it's helpful to know: The Stone Men who attacked Tyrion are what people turn into when you don't treat Greyscale (which is what disfigured Stannis' daughter).
Spoilers for book stuff below -- mostly about this episode's adaptation changes, and their implications about The Winds of Winter. Careful. I mention stuff that will likely be in the finale.
Spoiler
Well, Barristan is dead on the show. This might be a sign that he'll die in the upcoming Siege of Meereen, or perhaps a little later. Either way, if you get written off the show, that doesn't bode well for your future health in the books.
Jon's conversation with Olly is nice foreshadowing to the betrayal. I wonder if they'll have Olly stab first. Most likely, I think.
The biggest change, though, is Tyrion! Instead of sailing through the ruined Rhoynish cities with Jon Connington, he's sailing through Valyria with Jorah.... and that's where Drogon has been hanging out, apparently. If Drogon's lair is in Valyria, rather than in the Dothraki Sea, then the show might not have her reunite with the Dothraki at all. It could indicate that book!Dany will eventually visit Valyria on her way out west.
Since the Greyjoys aren't featured prominently on the show, it could also mean that tv!Dany will find the dragonhorn in Valyria. Euron and Victarion don't seem to exist on the show.
And since Jorah has absorbed Jon Connington's role.... looks like his days are probably numbered, huh? It's also more evidence that the Aegon plot has been fully axed, but we'll have to wait a little while to dis/prove the Trystane theory.
From what I've seen in the show and compared with the books, it seems that the tv show has a nasty habit of cutting out the magic of this world and sticking strictly to the politics of the world instead. Lots of side characters in the books that I've only heard of sort of being sidestepped altogether, which is a shame since this IS a fantasy story. It doesn't hurt for things to be, well, fantastic. Still, props to the stone men. Creepy, I figured they'd be much more docile.
As for Ser Jorah:
Spoiler
Which New York landmark do we name him after he turns full gargoyle?
This season is aaaaaaaaaawesooooome. I'm on the edge of my seat with Sansa's storyline. EEK.
Dany's being way too inconsistent for my taste. It's hard to win over the public when you feed a noble to your pet dragons, then turn around and decide to marry one and cave to his "polite" demands. I'm okay with most adaptation changes, but flipping on her policies that quickly was kind of a poor show of writing. Maybe they wanted her to seem more "in control" and assertive on the show, since she really wasn't keen about the marriage in the books. Which is a little understandable, I suppose. Dany's ADWD chapters are frustrating.
Maybe I'm just misunderstanding you, but I don't see a quick flip. Feeding the noble to the dragons was punishment for the actions of the Sons of the Harpy, wasn't it? Not the fighting pits. She's just trying to reassert her control through fear over the populace after they got one up on her. She changed her mind this episode from the past four, so that's not really that quick. idk. I see the fighting pits as a pick-your-battles kind of concession, and she picked the Sons of the Harpy as the bigger problem—i.e., "Fine, you can have your games, but don't forget which one of us has the dragons," which is a pretty stock gesture for a ruler.
She's just taking a bath, it's okay. Probably getting ready for the wedding. Theon looked like he was in another scene -- probably about to escort her to the wedding.
From the "next episode" teaser, it definitely looks like the Sansa/Ramsay wedding is happening next episode. I went frame-by-frame through it.
Jasi:
Maybe it's meant to be like that. It might just be me. The Meereen arc has felt like sloppy writing to me -- dragon funtimes excused, because it's always fun to bring the dragons out. It's frustrating in the books, too, so I grant that it's hard to execute this part of the story in a good way. Dany's a policy-making trainwreck in either version, though the plot points feel a little jarring on the show.
She executes one of her favored ministers to (effectively) appease the nobles and show fairness to them. They immediately go back to murdering Unsullied. Barristan dies too. She understandably feeds one to a dragon and tries to scare them into submission. Then, by the end of the same episode, she grants the nobles their persistent request (fighting pits) and decides to marry one of them -- raising him to an even more powerful political position. The fighting pits might not directly tie in with Barristan's death, but it's the same people who killed him who want the pits opened.
Scale it down to a parenting level and,
child: *THROWING GIANT TANTRUM AND BREAKING SHIT*
parent: I am very scary and I can punish you -- DO NOT DEFY MEEEEEE
parent: Now here's one of the things you've been begging for this whole time. It was my idea. Remember that I'm scary.
She's just taking a bath, it's okay. Probably getting ready for the wedding. Theon looked like he was in another scene -- probably about to escort her to the wedding.
From the "next episode" teaser, it definitely looks like the Sansa/Ramsay wedding is happening next episode. I went frame-by-frame through it.
Spoiler
Yeah he's all cleaned up so it's definitely the wedding night. I just can't see why he'd be making that face if he wasn't looking at something awful. T____T
Ok I finally watched it but I have nothing special to add yet HOWEVER this concerns book spoilers and probably this season spoilers so yeah:
Spoiler
I asked Ben what he thought about Jon's parents. I was curious what his theory was since he's not a book reader.
His response was that he's pretty sure he's not half Stark but that it seems they've been playing up the bastard theme a lot so that must mean he's a bastard of some other family. He said he also seems 'special' and the most 'special' family is the Targaryens but he doesn't have any clue how Ned would have got hold of him. He was pretty on the ball about Ned being far too honorable to cheat on his wife and that he'd rather lie about Jon than expose him.
UGH I WANT TO TELL HIM SO BAD I just want to prod him in the right direction, like ask him WHY Ned would have to hide and protect Jon's identity if he's a Targ, WHO is he protecting him from?? xD HE'S SO CLOSE YOU GUYS
I've also started wondering how they're even going to reveal it. Supposedly the only person in the books who knows is Howland, right? But it feels like Littlefield knows because of that conversation he had with Sansa. So is he just going to randomly tell Sansa about it later? If so, why? Why didn't he just tell her down in the crypt? I don't see LF getting anywhere near Jon to tell him. So all that makes me doubt whether or not they'll actually reveal it or hold it off til next season and all this hinting at it is early foreshadowing. I dunno.
Ok I lied about having nothing to add. I kinda feel like Myranda is gonna pull some shit on Sansa. She's acting all friendly and nice towards her, I can't help but feel she's gonna use that to lure Sansa in and hurt her somehow. Then Ramsay's gonna find out and go ballistic to play on that whole "you know jealousy bores me" thing they touched on. They also made a point to show off his dogs too...
Oh and he's for sure gonna hurt Walda. I like her I don't want anything to happen to her either lol. Poor Fat Walda
I've also started wondering how they're even going to reveal it. Supposedly the only person in the books who knows is Howland, right? But it feels like Littlefield knows because of that conversation he had with Sansa. So is he just going to randomly tell Sansa about it later? If so, why? Why didn't he just tell her down in the crypt? I don't see LF getting anywhere near Jon to tell him. So all that makes me doubt whether or not they'll actually reveal it or hold it off til next season and all this hinting at it is early foreshadowing. I dunno.
Another answer is Bran. His powers include visions of the past.
Oh right, I totally forgot about him. If that's how they're gonna do it though then that means it'll definitely be next season since Brian's not in this one. POO.
Also lol @ Jon worrying about wildling women/children being able to fight. He of all people should know that they would WANT to fight. Come oooon.
Usually when they do a "setup" scene like the one in the crypts, they make good on it by the end of the season. They don't expect viewers to remember stuff. The crypt scene was just about lore, more or less. Littlefinger could have told Sansa he was leaving anywhere else, but the writers chose to explore a lot of backstory beforehand.
That said, I have no idea how they'll reveal it (either on the show or in the books). Howland should be the only one who knows, and we haven't seen him around -- unless you subscribe to the "High Sparrow is Howland Reed" theory. So... Bran, I suppose. Though most of his visions are linked to the WeirNet, and I don't know if there were any weirwoods around during the main parts of the Rhaegar/Lyanna drama. Maybe Ned told Benjen in front of a weirwood after coming home with Jon. Who knows.
Always blame Benjen.
Not really a spoiler, per say, but mentions a book thing that was possibly cut from the show:
Spoiler
The show's never mentioned Roose's dead legitimate son (Domeric), have they? They probably cut that backstory out. Though it would certainly help frame Ramsay's character and cement that YEP RAMSAY GONNA KILL WALDA. Poor Domeric. He actually sounded like a halfway decent dude. Probably why he didn't survive his relatives.
Oh, yeah. Myranda's toast. She's gonna go homicidal Mean Girls on Sansa, then she'll meet her untimely end once Ramsay finds out she's defied him. And c'mon, Walda was doomed the moment she married a Bolton.
And I was very surprised by Jorah's fate. Another "this does not bode well for his book health" situation. But I never figured that Jorah would make it to the end of the series. I just hope they don't do some gushy romance subplot where Dany realizes her deep passionate love for him right before he croaks. Because ugggh, I hate Dany/Jorah. I hate Dany paired with anyone at this stage, really. At least the Daario romance is better handled on the show -- it irritated the hell out of me in ADWD.
I honestly like Jorah, although his unrequited love to Dany is a little odd. Ultimately, he just keeps getting kicked around from one bad scene to another and never quite reaches that redemption he's always going after. I hope they loop-hole a way to keep him around longer in the show, I'd rather like to see him fight on since
Basically, stop watching after the wedding. They don't show anything explicit, but it's still awful and uncomfortable and completely unnecessary.
Everything before the last five minutes was okay.
"We're gonna deviate from the source material, but despite changing 80% of the storyline, we'll be sure to leave Jeyne Poole's arc intact so that we can have Sansa raped on the TV show. Because shock value!"
Right? I get that they want to show how monstrous Ramsay is but what happened to Jeyne does not make sense for Sansa's character development. I haven't even watched it yet and I'm fucking furious. But I guess I shouldn't expect any better after they botched up Jaime's arc and then tried to claim that that scene actually wasn't rape. :|
Doing stuff for shock value is fine. But when that's a scene's ONLY asset and is detrimental to your character's development... Uh. What the fuck are you doing. -.-
Sorry but as usual, I don't really see the issue that you guys are protesting—or at least not yet. Obviously the scene is traumatic and deeply disturbing. But how can you guys know if it's awful for Sansa's character development or terrible writing or whatever until we see the repercussions in the following episodes? There are reasons for including that scene, as I see it.
Firstly and probably most importantly, that's obviously where everything was leading; i.e., it's what I expected to happen. Sansa is obviously not going to want to bang him. But it's his wedding night and Ramsay's gonna get what he wants one way or another, and since he gets off on hurting people, it was thoroughly unsurprising that he didn't give Sansa a chance to consent. Yes Sansa has become more savvy and strong, but she still hates these people, and she's still young. Not many people would have so much power over their emotions that they'd waltz into that bedroom and enthusiastically get down to business with Ramsay. In that way I didn't find it shocking, at least not in the "wait WHAAAT?" sense. It was depressing and sad but I dunno about shocking.
Secondly, Ramsay had not yet been violent toward Sansa, so that's a turning point in his relationship with her. (Maybe some other violence would have been better?) I don't see why this is guaranteed to be detrimental to Sansa's character development, because it's entirely possible that she now truly has a fire lit in her to seek out revenge. And I've been wanting Sansa to go nuts and go on a revenge rampage for a while now. Furthermore it was probably a turning point for Reek/Theon as well: Ramsay seems to have pushed him too far with this, so this might spark a revolt from Theon. The preview for the next episode showed Sansa talking with Theon about revolt, right? So this is going to change their relationship as well.
I swear I don't just try to antagonize you guys all the time. I don't have your guys's perspective on it as a non-book reader and I am curious about what exactly guarantees this to be a bad move.
As for other things that happened this episode....
Littlefinger tells Cersei where Sansa is. It's an obvious attempt to goad Cersei into sending royal troops North. To what end? He likely assumes that Cersei will lose whatever force she sends up there -- either to cold, or to whichever faction wins the Battle of Winterfell. A distraction tactic so that he can accomplish something in the capital. Generating chaos seems to be his primary goal right now.
Good to see Olenna "the Sassmaster" Tyrell again. Although she really didn't alter the plot very much. Still, the banter is fun. Cersei appears way more competent on the show than she does in the books. As much fun as the book trainwreck is, Lena Headey's performance always makes the back-and-forth entertaining. Still surprised they didn't include the Taena subplot. I guess raping Sansa draws in more viewers than Lena Headey doin' it with a girl?
The Dorne plot is laughably awful. Not only did they change it to a petty revenge plot -- rather than having the Sand Snakes try to crown Myrcella. The Dornish plot in the books was kind of a trainwreck too, and Arianne's conspiracy was more or less pointless in the long run, but the show is making them even less competent. The hyped up Sand Snakes turned out to be poor fighters, so that was a let down. And I guess Bronn's not gonna be with us for much longer, 'cause I'm sure Obara's spear was poison-tipped. Myrcella's portrayal was "meh" so far.
As for the Adventures of Jorah and Tyrion, well... it's fairly straightforward. Jorah's gonna go fight in the arena, and Dany will be in attendance. But there's no doubt more traveling in store, since I'm pretty sure the fighting pits will be the season finale (or the penultimate episode, since those tend to be the biggest ones).
Spoiler stuff, concerning book changes and predictions:
Spoiler
My girlfriend suggested that Littlefinger -- rather than Varys -- will be the one to assassinate Pycelle and Kevan. Since he's apparently trying to create chaos, and since he's back in King's Landing, it would make sense. I don't know what they're gonna have Varys do from now on. He took the place of Illyrio in the adaptation, but Illyrio doesn't have any more story for Varys to steal. The likelihood of Varys returning to assassinate Kevan/Pycelle dwindles every episode. But the show had better find a way to put Varys to good use, since he's one of the best characters on the show. Conleth's acting is amazing.
Watching the hammer drop on Cersei will be fun, though I'm not sure how they'll execute it. Margaery will no doubt accuse Cersei of incest and adultery, and have Lancel testify. He'll confess everything due to his newfound faith. I'm pretty sure they'll end Cersei's arc this season with the walk of shame, since it was foreshadowed with the High Septon.
I don't even know what to expect from the Dornish from now on. With the Myrcella plot foiled, and with Quentyn non-existent, I'm not sure how they're going to move forward. Unless the Trystane=Aegon theory proves true, then they don't have much to work with. Doran might break the betrothal because of Jaime, and send Trystane to seduce and marry Daenerys. Dragon shenanigans to follow. I just hope they don't turn Trystane and Myrcella into some melodramatic Romeo and Juliet story.
So much for the Northerners rebelling against the Boltons during the wedding. Sigh. That would have been so cool. Especially since Northern lords were meant to be in attendance.
I don't know. I'm still very disappointed. I was more upset by Sansa than I was by the Red Wedding, just because I know they didn't have to take her story that direction.
Disclaimer: I haven't seen the episode yet (stupid cable company hand offs makes HBO temporarily unavailable...) but here's my weigh in.
Rape is a hot button no matter what, as you're aware. That it's happening to a character that is kind of the underdog and finally had a glimmer of hope makes it that much worse.
I'll do a bit of character analysis, especially with Cersei in why the added rape weakens the writing instead of strengthening it.
Myself, when I write or when the RP section was busier and I did character approval, I find Rape as Drama and Rape as Back story to be difficult to pull off without it being as the tropes say, just for drama or back story. It's off putting to take this heinous act and just use it as a check mark on the List of Tragic Back Story For Easy Sympathy.
As amature writers, a lot of us make/made the mistake that drama always equals character development. Especially for female characters this leads to rape as it's a mental, physical, and emotional assault. However, often times it just feels like clumsy writing. I don't know if you read fan fiction but it feels like a fourteen year old trying to make their writing edgy with what they did with Jamie and Cersei and sounds like what happened with Sansa. Rape for no other reason than rape is bad writing if you haven't set the scene. Yes, rape happens without the lead up in real life, but the trope Real Life is Unrealistic exists for a reason. Writers don't really have the mercy of random chance unless they really make it pay off later.
Bolton I could give a "pass" to because we know he's a monster and expect it. It still needs to be handled with care as having him rape every person in sight just has you throw your hands up and go "Oh for fuck's sake!" because there are other ways to break people. He doesn't fall into that because we know what he did to Theon as well as others. He's established not just as a rapist but a sadist all around.
Jaime on the other hand, always felt like he was under Cersei's thumb, almost subservient to her. Fitting for a house that has the lion as its heraldic animal. The male looks more ferocious and may be the physically stronger one but the female is the one that gets things done. Jaime's not stupid but Cercei is the more dangerous of the two as she has to use more than a sword to get her way. The change in consent in the show alters their power dynamic and was thrown in for what feels like cheap drama. It was a moment in the book that shows that Cersei is really not an emotionally healthy woman. We knew this but that scene just drives it home. The TV show turns her into a victim.
Cersei doesn't do "victim" in her own mind, in my reading of her character. She may play the victim to get what she wants or garner sympathy, but it's almost like she feels she's above such a thing. Again, symbolism with the lion, she never thinks of herself as prey. Always the predator. She will strike first and devour those that threaten her. At least in her mind. In practice, we know she overestimates herself.
Maybe I'm reading too deep but that's my interpretation of what I know about her character. She's complex enough and causes enough drama for herself that we don't need to throw an outside insult, like rape, at her. Without blabbing book spoilers, Cersei is an excellent example of a self destructive character. She, and her arrogance, are her own worst enemy. Throwing rape in there now gives an "excuse" for her implosion when before it was just a character trait inherent to her. Which I think makes her more interesting.
Anyhow, tl;dr rape for rape's sake is lazy writing that can unintentionally change character motivations and power dynamics.
I can buy that with Cersei it was inconsistent and abrupt. But I don't see Sansa's scene that way. Like I said it felt very inevitable, and not rape for rape's sake.
I'm trying to conceive of alternative plots for Sansa and Ramsey after the wedding—Sansa goes full seductress? imo I don't think she's there yet (maybe in the future). Rescue squad of some kind comes in and saves the day? That's lazy writing. Sansa tries to get violent? I can't see that ending any better than what we got.
Sansa being an underdog makes it worse in terms of the emotions we feel as a viewer, for sure. Strong feelings of discomfort/sadness/etc. in reaction to media doesn't mean the media is bad, though, obviously...
It feels to me more that they wrote themselves into a corner with it. If they don't have her raped, then Bolton loses some of his development as a villain as is the type to do that. On the other hand, as you said, having someone march in and save the day is just lazy writing.
They could have her try to run away, as she's tried before, but in previous attempts she had help and she is likely to have more eyes on her since Littlefinger knows she may try to flee.
Just kind of meh on the whole thing really. Not like outraged but kind of like "Oh goody, let's put another character in an unneeded dramatic situation for...profit?" I know Sansa is a fan favorite but they may have wanted to do with her what they did with Bran if possible and wait for more.
It feels to me more that they wrote themselves into a corner with it.
Yeah that's probably the biggest reason for the scene. There isn't really another way this could have gone after they changed the plot to marry her to Ramsay.
Book readers admittedly have more context to work with, but I assure you -- that scene could have been completely avoided. They wrote themselves into that "corner" on purpose. They painted the illusion of a corner, when in reality they had so many writing paths open to them. The illusion of being written into a corner is what gives them the greenlight in the eyes of viewers, because it makes it seem like there was no choice. But at the end of the day, it was completely avoidable. It also comes on the heels of other "rape a character that was never raped in the source material" alterations, so that makes it doubly upsetting.
I've heard so many arguments for why it "had" to happen, but none of them hold any real literary weight.
1) They didn't have to give Sophie Turner that plot, because book!Sansa is happily and sassily seducing hot knights in the Vale right now. Sansa had her own unique plot going on, and in spite of what the show writers say, it could have been enough to fill out a whole season. Jeyne Poole basically has no impact on the overall story, so they knew exactly what they were doing when they structured the show this way.
2) In fact, given Sansa's independence and newfound confidence in the books, doing this really does a disservice to her character development. As Delphi said, drama isn't character development. Sansa is still a victim, regardless of whatever she told Myranda. In fact, I don't think the writers understand what independence and agency mean, because in an interview, one of them said "Sansa chose to marry Ramsay on her own. She's an independent character now!" The hell she did????
3) They could have had Stannis crash the wedding. In fact, numerous Stark loyalists are meant to be in attendance -- waiting to turn on the Boltons as soon as Stannis gets there. Stannis will make Sansa the Lady of Winterfell regardless of her marital situation, because he desperately wants a Stark to rule. Throw in a peasant revolt with Sansa as their figurehead, and you've got a strong, independent Sansa who don't need no political marriage. And a suitable counterpart to the Red Wedding. Peasants stabbing Boltons left and right, while Stannis starts to storm the walls? So great.
4) Alternatively, Theon could have hit Ramsay in the back of the head and rescued Sansa. Not only would Sansa manage to escape and find Stannis, but it also would have given Theon way more independence than he was given in the books. He's mostly forced to tag along in the books. It would have been less exciting than point #3, but it still would have been better.
But maybe you're right. Maybe the season will come to some brilliant conclusion that will justify their choices. But I really, really doubt it.
Because I can potentially piece together where they're going with the story, based on what happens to various characters in the books. If that happens, Sansa won't get any direct revenge. Brienne will potentially be captured. Podrick's risk of death shoots up to "probably very doomed." Sansa and Theon will likely end up Stannis' care, and he'll make her Lady of Winterfell if he wins the upcoming battle. Which makes her marriage and mistreatment utterly pointless in the long run. That's the most likely scenario for what will happen. But I may be surprised.
For book people -- what I meant by those predictions above. Everyone else read with caution. Predictions are based off book spoilers.
Spoiler
Brienne = Captured. Book!Brienne is nearly hanged by Stoneheart, and Mance is captured by the Boltons after he rescues Jeyne. So it is very likely that Brienne will be captured by the Boltons after she rescues Sansa. And possibly disfigured by Ramsay. Remember how she had part of her face bit off in the books? Yeaaah. Then she'll be saved by Stannis, putting her in an awkward position of "saved by her enemy," which will create drama.
Podrick = Probably dead. Book!Pod is nearly killed by Stoneheart, and Mance's spearwife commando team is captured and flayed by the Boltons. Here's hoping Brienne doesn't have to wear a Podrick-blanket for warmth, as Mance does with his spearwives' skins. But Pod's a clever boy. He might find some way to escape that fate.
Sansa = Escape to Stannis with Theon. After Stannis takes Winterfell, he will make Sansa the Warden of the North / Lady of Winterfell. This will make her marriage and rape utterly pointless. Stannis will allow Sansa to give the order to execute Roose and Ramsay. Upon learning of Theon's true identity, he will then allow Sansa to execute Theon if she so chooses -- and she'll be forced to decide his ultimate fate.
But yes. If Stannis makes her Lady of Winterfell after the Battle, then everything that just happened to her was unnecessary. Because the writers could have had Stannis show up earlier, if they so wanted. They didn't have to do the wedding this early. So whatever corner they wrote themselves into? They made the corner themselves.
Maybe they will throw in a curveball. But I doubt it. Most of the "unnecessary" rapes in this show are played off lightly. Usually to the point where characters act like it never happened.
But we don't actually know what's going to happen with Jeyne-turned-Sansa's plot after this. So we don't know if Jeyne-turned-Sansa's plot is purposeless yet. That's kind of what I'm getting at. If that's the main complaint, then I'd say although skepticism is warranted based on what you know, you're jumping the gun by saying it was a bad move. I don't personally find the idea of Theon or Stannis saving the day very convincing; that's exactly the kind of convenient out for Sansa that I would have found to be lazy writing. Theon is severely messed up in he head; why would he suddenly have a moment of lucidity and strength and cunning to knock Ramsay out? And the Stannis idea doesn't exactly add to Sansa's depth of character, either—hooray, the princess was rescued from imprisonment by the good prince.
I like her I don't want anything to happen to her either lol. Poor Fat Walda 
Why.
