Game of Thrones begins....

[grumbler]

Yeah, I think you guys are way jumping the gun by giving up on Sansa so soon.  I dare say she has a plan, but has to time it perfectly.  I'll also predict that it doesn't completely work, but that Brienne (and Reek?) jumps in to make it work well enough.  Sansa is new to the Game of Thrones, and so she doesn't know how to avoid all the bumps, but she's getting there.

It is Arya's plot I can't figure out.  Who or what is she being set up to kill?  Dragons?

[Grinning_Colossus]

Sansa's still going along with Littlefinger's plan--which is to wait for Stannis to take Winterfell and name her Lady of the North--right?

[crazy canuck]

Sansa's still going along with Littlefinger's plan--which is to wait for Stannis to take Winterfell and name her Lady of the North--right?

No need for Sansa to marry Bolton to wait for that to happen.

[Martinus]

Do you think Sansa has much choice in refusing to marry Ramsay? In times like this I wonder if we are even watching the same show...

[HVC]

We have benefit of knowing Ransay is sick, did either little finger or Sansa know? Sansa's problem, like her father before her, is that she trusts the wrong people.

[Eddie Teach]

Do you think Sansa has much choice in refusing to marry Ramsay? In times like this I wonder if we are even watching the same show...

She had the choice not to go to Winterfell.

[crazy canuck]

Do you think Sansa has much choice in refusing to marry Ramsay? In times like this I wonder if we are even watching the same show...

Yes, she had the choice whether to go down to meet with him in the first place.  I think we are watching the same show. Its just that your memory seems to fade with each episode.

[crazy canuck]

We have benefit of knowing Ransay is sick, did either little finger or Sansa know? Sansa's problem, like her father before her, is that she trusts the wrong people.

She knows that an army is coming south.  An army which would probably defeat the Boltons and be friendly to her.  Littlefinger is playing both ends.  There was no need to Sansa to do so as well. 

[HVC]

We have benefit of knowing Ransay is sick, did either little finger or Sansa know? Sansa's problem, like her father before her, is that she trusts the wrong people.

She knows that an army is coming south.  An army which would probably defeat the Boltons and be friendly to her.  Littlefinger is playing both ends.  There was no need to Sansa to do so as well. 

but why not marry Bolton and wait it out? By marrying him she secured her place. If stannis loses like he keeps doing (save versus the wildlings) she's still secure as wardeness of the north. If she made a run for it the Boltons or a bannerman could have captured her and brought her back and forced her to marry. She already has one unconsummated marriage, why not two? She makes bad decisions in the series, true, but marrying Ramsay with the knowledge she has wasnt a horrible decision.

[LaCroix]

Yes, she had the choice whether to go down to meet with him in the first place.  I think we are watching the same show. Its just that your memory seems to fade with each episode.

sansa is sixteen~ and basically had one person she thought she could trust, littlefinger. littlefinger gives her a spiel about how great an opportunity this is, etc. she's been in bad situations before and probably felt like she could handle ramsay. sansa straight up got played by littlefinger. this all makes sense from what we know about sansa.

now, what happens next is anyone's guess. sansa's years of experience with this kinda stuff could culminate in her achieving a victory on her own, or she could continue being a pawn. either way, you can dislike the plotline all you want, but to argue it makes little sense is silly. it makes sense, and we'll just have to see how it plays out.

[crazy canuck]

We have benefit of knowing Ransay is sick, did either little finger or Sansa know? Sansa's problem, like her father before her, is that she trusts the wrong people.

She knows that an army is coming south.  An army which would probably defeat the Boltons and be friendly to her.  Littlefinger is playing both ends.  There was no need to Sansa to do so as well. 

but why not marry Bolton and wait it out? By marrying him she secured her place. If stannis loses like he keeps doing (save versus the wildlings) she's still secure as wardeness of the north. If she made a run for it the Boltons or a bannerman could have captured her and brought her back and forced her to marry. She already has one unconsummated marriage, why not two? She makes bad decisions in the series, true, but marrying Ramsay with the knowledge she has wasnt a horrible decision.

Once she was in Winterfell she didn't have much of a choice.  She was already committed.  That goes to Berkut's point that it was a bad decision to put herself in that position.  But she had the option of not going down into Winterfell.  When she found out that the marriage Littlefinger had arranged was not his but hers, she could have decided to wait to see the outcome of the battle for the North.  If the Boltons win she still would still have options.  She could agree to the marriage or, a better option, would be for her to raise her own bannerman in revolt after the Boltons were weaked by the attack of Stannis.  If Stannis wins then she gets installed in Winterfell in her own right.

Going along with Littlefinger's plan was her worst play and one she did not have to make. 

@LaCroix, I am not sure what age she is in the show.  But her character has certainly lived through enough now to know not to be so trusting - especially of Littlefinger.

[LaCroix]

@LaCroix, I am not sure what age she is in the show.  But her character has certainly lived through enough now to know not to be so trusting - especially of Littlefinger.

a person can go through hell and back yet still trust someone, even if it's one person. happens all the time. we've seen that sansa doesn't trust many people. littlefinger, the person who saved her, doted on her, told his secrets to, etc., gained her trust. then he fucked her over.

[crazy canuck]

@LaCroix, I am not sure what age she is in the show.  But her character has certainly lived through enough now to know not to be so trusting - especially of Littlefinger.

a person can go through hell and back yet still trust someone, even if it's one person. happens all the time. we've seen that sansa doesn't trust many people. littlefinger, the person who saved her, doted on her, told his secrets to, etc., gained her trust. then he fucked her over.

You are talking about the Sansa pre-Vale.  The events in the Vale showed she had matured.  Then the show forgot about that part of the story and made her out again to be the helpless waif you describe.

[The Larch]

So, casting calls for characters for season 6 have started out, and apparently they're looking for the following:

Pirate,  man in his 40's to late 50's. He's "an infamous pirate who has terrorized seas all around the world. Cunning, ruthless, with a touch of madness."
He's a dangerous-looking man. A very good part this season.

[spoiler]Obviously Euron Greyjoy[/spoiler]

Father. Aged 50's to 60's, he's one of the greatest soldiers in Westeros- a humorless martinet, severe and intimidating. He demands martial discipline in the field and in his home. It's described as "a very good part" for next year and that he's "centrally involved" in a protagonist's storyline.

[spoiler]Obviously Randyll Tarly[/spoiler]

Mother, in her 50's. She's a sweet, plump, and adoring mother, and has a soft spot for one of her children who benefits from her decency.

Sister, in her early 20s. She's a kind, friendly and unpretentious woman.

Brother, in his early to mid-20's . Athletic, a good hunter, an excellent swordsman, manly, not particularly bright but the favourite child of the father.

[spoiler]The rest of the Tarly family?[/spoiler]

Priest, in his 40's or 50's. A gruff ex-soldier who found religion. Now a no-nonsense rural priest who ministers to the poor of the countryside. He's salt-of-the-earth man who has weathered many battles.

[spoiler]The septon at the Isle of Faces, I guess.[/spoiler]

Leading Actress, in her early 40's, she's an elegant actress with a traveling theatre company. Fun, charismatic, rum-drinking actress in the troupe.

Priestess. Mid-20's to early 30's. Any ethnicity- she's beautiful, intense, and magnetic.

Fierce Warrior, a tall man in 30's or 40's with a powerful physique. They're looking for someone with "mixed ethnicity" for the role.

No idea about these, might be characters not from the books. [spoiler]Unless the last one is Strong Belwas...[/spoiler]

A large boy, with an actor who is 10-12 but playing 7 or 8. He's described as "a clever boy" who seems too large for his age. He's big and tall but not fat. "Characterful squat features" are a plus for this part. it's specified that this is a one-time appearance.

12 year old boy, with brown hair and blue eyes. He needs to use a Northern accent. He has scenes where he has to spar with a wooden sword.
The length of the role isn't specified.

7 year old boy with dark brown hair, a narrow face and green eyes. He also has a Northern accent. He also spars with the wooden sword, so it's safe to assume it's the same scene. This role is similarly open-ended, the description only stating that the character is being 'introduced.'

[spoiler]These seem to be from some kind of flashback, maybe something Bran sees through the weirwoods, so they're possibly young Brandon and Eddard Stark, plus a young Robert Baratheon.[/spoiler]

[LaCroix]

You are talking about the Sansa pre-Vale.  The events in the Vale showed she had matured.  Then the show forgot about that part of the story and made her out again to be the helpless waif you describe.

sansa has matured. she (unsuccessfully) fought back re: reek and the candle, something (iirc) she never really tried pre-vale. like grumbler said, i'm not convinced she's the same helpless waif she was before. her falling into this situation doesn't make her a helpless waif. it's how she gets out and what happens in the next episodes that will decide that question.