Photo: Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty; Helen Sloan/HBO
WARNING: The following contains spoilers from season 8 ofGame of Thrones.
Jessica Chastainis not happy withGame of Thrones’use of rape as a plot device.
Specifically, the actress spoke out in reference to Sansa Stark’s sexual assault, which occurred in season 5, and is now once again part of the storyline in the show’s eighth and final season.
The latest episode ofGame of Thrones, “The Last of the Starks,” featured a reunion between Sansa Stark and The Hound during the drink-fest that was the Winterfell banquet.
To which, Sansa wryly replies, “Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would’ve stayed a little bird all my life.”
In response to this line, in particular, Sophie Turner’s co-star inDark Phoenix, Chastain, 42, voiced her concerns about the message behind this dialogue.
“Rape is not a tool to make a character stronger,” Chastain wrote on Twitter on Monday, in addition to sharing a GIF of Turner, 23, on the Iron Throne. “A woman doesn’t need to be victimized in order to become a butterfly. The #littlebird was always a Phoenix. Her prevailing strength is solely because of her. And her alone.”
Jessica Chastain Sophie Turner.Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/Getty
“Initially, I didn’t feel there was anything that stayed with me from all the things Sansa went through,” she told the publication. “But though I think it hasn’t affected me emotionally, I did start thinking about the domestic abuse and rape, and it spurred this little part of me that might be an activist.”
RELATED VIDEO: Game of Thrones’ Director Defends ‘Too Dark’ Battle of Winterfell Episode Against Complaints
Turner previously opened up about Sansa’s controversial rape scene and defended the plot choice against criticism.
“I think the backlash was wrong because those things did happen,” Turner toldRolling Stone, referencing the show’s medieval setting.
“Killing him with the dogs, that was the most satisfying scene,” she admitted. “It made me so emotional because I’ve been waiting so long for her to stand up to the people who have done her wrong.”
Read PEOPLE’s fullrecap of “The Last of the Starks” here.
source: people.com
