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thelawyerthatwaspromised · 3 years

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I’m currently going through some of my Jonsa writing from 2 years ago and I’m trying to get back into it to finish it so I started rewatching some of these scenes and I decided to go through my takes on each as I come across them (really for myself). Because I just love their pure dynamic.

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Ah, the reunion scene. How it warms my heart each and every time I watch it. I remember watching it live and being so happy that Sansa was finally safe from Ramsay, and that FINALLY two Starks had reunited (especially after that near miss with Bran!). I just knew that Jon would keep her safe, no matter what he had gone through. And Jon may have felt betrayed by his brothers, but when he feels like he loses that family, here comes back a part of the family he thought lost to him, right at a crucial moment. There is just so many good things about this scene for the two of them, separately and together.

To me, I have to be honest, this scene as sweet as it was, didn’t read romantic to me. Not in an overt way. I think the focus was more that both of them were shocked to see each other and then were happy to see another person from their family again. I think that’s why Sansa throws herself into his arms, he holds her up, she nuzzles him, and he has his eyes closed, both of them soaking up the embrace. (Kit and Sophie crushed this btw) So sweet and so endearing and just so pure. As we know, the Starks didn’t get a lot of warm moments in this series, especially the last few seasons, so this was nice to see for a change.

I believe this is also why Jon is staring at her the way he is while she drinks the soup. He just can’t believe she’s there. I love the lighting in this scene, it’s so muted, so soft. To me, this scene is exactly where both of them want to be. Not at a court, not in a battle, not ruling as King or Queen, just together, with family. Sansa has her soup, Jon has his ale, and they’re both sitting in front of a fire, talking of times past (indulging in a little bit of nostalgia), and just taking a moment.

These are the things I love about this dialogue:

Jon pretty much speaks for them both, what’s on both of their minds after mentioning Nan’s kidney pies: “We never should’ve left Winterfell.”

This prompts Sansa to mention how she feels about leaving: “Don’t you wish we could go back to the day we left? I want to scream at myself ‘Don’t go, you idiot.’”

To which Jon responds “How could we know?” Neither of them are looking at one another, just staring into the fire, both lost in their own memories most likely

This all encapsulates the one thing I failed to notice upon first watch: this scene with the two of them, this dialogue makes perfect sense. This is one of their parallels being brought to the forefront: both of them were the two Starks who wanted to leave Winterfell for their own reasons in the beginning of the show, one went South, the other North. It makes so much sense now that they are the first two Starks to reunite on screen since the Red Wedding. Not to mention that this also reflects their positions at the end of the series geographically (though they wouldn’t know, even if looking at a map, yes D&D I will never forgive you for that ridiculous line). Sansa was at Winterfell the same time Jon was at the Wall (except when he got the Wildlings at Hardhome), but both the only two Starks close to one another in the North.

This opens up a conversation between Sansa and Jon about their difficult relationship while growing up. Sansa immediately launches into it, head first. She not only says she’s spent a lot of time thinking about it (we know she has as she tells Tyrion after Robb and Cat are killed, we know she most likely has thought about every single person in her family over the years and about what she heavily regrets and wishes she could undo or take back) and she says she wishes she could change everything, including how much of an “ass” she was to him when they were children

This makes Jon uncomfortable for a second, I don’t think he was prepared for her to speak of that (plus I don’t think he particularly likes to think back to that time since it was closely related to Cat and how he was made to feel different from the other children, and treated as a bastard), plus I think it catches him off guard because that was the last thing he expected of the Sansa he knows to say, but then a minute later, he kindly dismisses it: “We were children.”

Sansa’s not having it: “I was awful, just admit it.”

Jon laughs slightly and gives in: “You were occasionally awful.” But then he meets her halfway: “I’m sure I couldn’t have been great fun, always sulking in the corner while the rest of you played.”

This is light-hearted but it covers an important subject: her treatment of him when they were children. If it weren’t for Jon’s discomfort or tensing for a moment right in the beginning, it might almost seem a teasing bit between siblings. But the truth is, it’s not really a light-hearted subject. Cat’s treatment of Jon was horrid when he was a child and not just what we saw on screen. It truly affected him, to the point where Cat admits to Talisa it’s one of the worst things she’s ever done (it’s implied with the line “All because I couldn’t love a motherless child” and she feels this is why her family is suffering), to where Jon wants to leave Winterfell. He also wanted to join the Night’s Watch and be a ranger like his Uncle Benjen but the effects of Cat’s treatment of him and his low self-esteem, his treatment as a bastard, were just as much of a contributing factor as to why he wants to leave home. I think this moment between Jon and Sansa show how much they’ve grown as people. Sansa immediately apologizes and asks for his forgiveness because too much has been lost and petty things like Jon’s being a bastard and Cat’s opinion of him truly don’t matter in the scheme of life. And Jon lets it go because he knows the threat they’re facing, he saw it and fought with it, he’s lost a lot too (including his own life), and petty things like grudges or refusing to move on over Sansa’s treatment of him (not to say that his feelings on it are petty, I don’t mean it that way) also don’t matter in the scheme of life. I think that’s why he says the line “We were children.” Because they no longer are children, and they have been through so much in their short lives. “Can you forgive me?” “There’s nothing to forgive.” “Forgive me!” “Alright, alright, I forgive you.” I think that look Jon has after that last line says a lot. He’s not saying it for himself, he sees that Sansa needs it. Again, it’s all said in a teasing manner but this is truly an important moment between them. This is something that needed to be addressed between them before they continue in their journey to the next chapter of their lives.

Sansa gestures for the mug of ale, and Jon after a moment of questioning, gives it to her. She coughs and Jon laughs. This has no words but it’s sweet and important all the same. We not only see Jon truly light for a moment, laughing like we have barely seen him do all series and haven’t seen him do once since he was resurrected, but this is a bonding moment. They decided to move past the past (pardon the unintended wordplay) a moment ago, and now they’re diving headfirst into bonding. “You figure after thousands of years the Night’s Watch would learn how to make a good ale.”

But of course, the merriment doesn’t last for long. Sansa worriedly asks “Where will you go?” and without hesitation, Jon turns to her and says “Where will we go?” They’re now a unit. It’s no question in Jon’s mind but you can see that Sansa is clearly surprised by this. Jon has no intention of letting her out of his sight again as he then tries to explain lightly: “If I don’t watch over you, Father’s ghost will come back and murder me.” Sansa (and we as the audience) know that’s obviously not what he’s thinking about but since he’s making light of it, she accepts it and repeats “Where will we go?”

And just like that, the burden is back for poor Jon. “Can’t stay here, not after what happened.”

“There’s only one place we can go. Home.”

Jon tries to make light of it again: “Should we tell the Boltons to pack up and leave?”

Sansa now strongly says “We’ll take it back from them.” This makes Jon sit up and take notice. No longer will this conversation be light. He immediately knows what she’s thinking and sets about to shoot down that idea. “I don’t have an army.” No problem, Sansa already has an idea about that. “How many wildlings did you save?” Jon disconnects if that makes sense and puts down the ale: fun time is over. “They didn’t come here to serve me.”

“They owe you their lives. You think they’ll be safe here if Roose Bolton remains Warden Of the North?” Sansa makes a good point about the Wildlings’ safety but Jon doesn’t want to hear it. He’s in no position or state to want to even think about this. “Sansa…”

And of course, Sansa doesn’t want to hear any refusals. “Winterfell is our home. It’s ours. And Arya’s, and Bran’s, and Rickon’s, wherever they are. It belongs to our family. We have to fight for it.”

Jon has had enough: “I’m tired of fighting. It’s all I’ve done since I left home. I’ve killed brothers of the Night’s Watch, I’ve killed Wildlings, I’ve killed men that I admire, I hanged a boy younger than Bran. I’ve fought and I lost.” We see the defeated look return to Jon that we saw in the end of the previous episode and why he was packing up to leave in the beginning of this one. This man is done. He’s tired (as he states) and he’s had enough.

Sansa sees this and lays it all on the line for him: “If we don’t take back the North, we’ll never be safe.” And this is what drives me up a wall when Sansa antis and Dany/Jonerys stans talk about Sansa’s supposed motivations in the series and how she’s a schemer. This line right here that she says? That’s Sansa’s ultimate motivation. This is why she does and says everything she does and says from this point on until the end of the series. She wants to be safe again, and she knows she never will be, that her family never will be, unless they take back Winterfell and take back power in the North. If the Starks are the ones in power, she believes they will be safe. It will be like it was, not completely since some of the Starks are gone and what they’ve been through up to this point, but they can stay safe at home and never leave again. There must always be a Stark in Winterfell and what did she tell Myranda back in season 5? “This is my home and you can’t frighten me.” She’s been through the worst of the worst within the walls of her own home but still she will feel safe there if they take it back rather than anywhere else. But as much as she wants Winterfell and that safety, she doesn’t want to do it alone. She wants her pack. As far as she knows, she only has Jon left (though obviously she implies she believes Rickon, Bran, and Arya are still alive out there somewhere and I almost wonder if she thinks once they have WF back, if they’ll finally come home), the only other Stark in the world she has available to her right now. And from this line we get Sansa’s objectives for the rest of the series: safety, home, pack, North. And not necessarily in that order; I would venture all four are at the very top of her list. She wasn’t power hungry as her haters believe, not in the way they thought. This is why later on, she tries to guide Jon in ruling the North, why she fights to keep his crown for him, why she’s angry when he bent the knee no matter the reason. She didn’t want the crown for herself, no matter how Arya might have suggested it in the beginning of their reconciling in season 7. She didn’t set out to be Queen when she and Jon began to round up Northmen for the battle with Ramsay. That was never her plan, regardless of how people like to think she’s another Littlefinger or Cersei. But I digress.

“I want you to help me. But I’ll do it myself if I have to.” - she wants Jon with her but if he won’t help her, then she’ll do what she has to without his support. Why? Because as I said above, safety is one of her main objectives. And as she said herself, if they don’t take back the North, they’ll never be safe.

This whole reunion scene I feel is a very important one and sets up a lot for their continuing dynamic. Right now, Jon is recovering from the trauma of being murdered and then resurrected. Sansa is dealing with the aftereffects of her traumatic abuse at Ramsay’s hands. As well as everything else they’ve dealt with separately, and the loss of their family. And right here is where, when we look back from the finale, we see the setting up of the pieces being moved into their final journey across the board. Sansa is always fighting, if you think about it, fighting for Jon and their family. Jon is tired and done, he wears a heavy burden, and we see that in the finale. Not only are the Longclaw shots from the beginning of 6x04 and the beginning of the Stark walking montage in 8x06 eerily alike, but Sansa’s arrival at the gates of Castle Black are somewhat similar to the same arrival shot of Jon at the gates in 8x06 (tbh idr the shot of Jon’s arrival in season 1 so this could have been similar as well). And it kills me that while Sansa dismounts and looks around, Jon coming to the top of the steps and seeing her before she sees him in 6x04, in 8x06 Jon sees Tormund watching him from the catwalk, another “kissed by fire”. The parallels, intentional and unintentional, are insane. But regardless, this sets it all up for the next two seasons and I think we as the audience already knew before D&D said anything, that this relationship “would be crucial to watch”.

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