With the release of the Game of Thrones Season 5 DVD, it was inevitable that the events of episode 6, “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken,” would be dredged back up. The episode that caused a huge outcry when it aired has already been a flashpoint of the series, as critics asked if all this violence against women was really necessary. At the time the episode aired, those involved wisely stayed mum, lest they find themselves the focus of an internet hate mob. But in the last few months we’ve heard first from the director, and then recently from writer Bryan Cogman that the both the scene itself and the outcry that followed affected those involved with the show deeply.
Now finally, some of the actors are beginning to have their say as well. Natalie Dormer recently stated that the show isn’t for those looking for escapism through television, but about working through social issues through the medium of fantasy. Now Iwan Rheon, who plays the character of Ramsay Snow, and the perpetrator in the scene in question, is also speaking out.
According to The Telegraph, when asked about it, Rheon was blunt: “I think if more people put their effort into the charities that help women in the world today deal with the horror of rape, and less effort in social media about a fantasy show, then maybe things could change.”
“They didn’t oversexualise it or make it too gratuitous. They didn’t trivialise it and I thought it moved the characters forward. I think it could have been done in a much more brutal way.”
So why the outcry with this scene, and not say, another far more horrific one, like, say, when we discover Ros has been murdered by a crossbow at point blank range by Joffrey after she was sent to his room with one of her prostitutes to let him “do what he liked” with them. One reason, Rheon believes is because it was Sansa, who has been viewed by many as the innocent ingenue type.
“She’s a character that everyone loves and, apart from Theon Greyjoy, has had the worst time of it on the show. If it had been someone else, there would have been no mention of it. There are so many rapes on the show. A lot of people do get raped and nobody bats an eyelid.”
To be fair, I think there are a few other characters for whom this sort of thing might have caused an outcry–Arya comes immediately to mind, for instance. But I have to take his point that the show could have been far more brutal to Sansa in this scenario–especially if they had followed the events of the books with what happened to the character whose place she took, Jeyne Poole.
Not that Rheon enjoyed doing the scene at all. He admits it was one of the worst moments he’s had. “I was dreading it,” he said, “I couldn’t sleep.” He also praised his co-star Turner, “That particular scene, for such a young actress, she dealt with incredibly well.”
Via http://winteriscoming.net/2016/02/25/iwan-rheon-hits-back-at-critics-of-season-5-sansa-storyline/
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