> well, it's not like the writers had no choice about when the wedding had to happen. but they decided to do it now, so whatever.

Not sure if you're a book reader or not, but we all know the show's on a timetable. Seven massive books, only five have been written, and HBO will only produce at most 8 seasons. It's not like Ramsay and Sansa were in a developing romance (a la Robb and Talisa), so there's no reason the Boltons would want to delay the pairing. What other time could this wedding have happened?

> ramsey close their bedroom door with his creepy smirk and her with a look of disgust and ultimately resignation on her face. or have miranda tell her more about the things ramsey likes to do in the bedroom to try and scare here.

Definitely reasonable, but I don't think those scenes would have worked; reasons below.

> we all know that consummating the marriage is part of the deal, but this went the extra mile to be unnecessarily graphic.

I respectfully disagree. We see Sansa reluctant to undress, Ramsay rip off her dress (from the back), a quick shot of Sansa's face, then the lingering shot on Theon. I don't feel this was graphic; "unnecessarily graphic" to me were the long shots of abuse and actual rape at Craster's keep. We've seen this show do those kinds of shots many times prior; we did not see it with Sansa.

> it felt, to me, like a lazy, cheap and deliberate attempt to provoke without really advancing anything for any of the characters involved. except maybe theon.

This is what everyone's glossing over. Like I alluded in post #387, this scene was just as much about Theon as it was Sansa. That long shot on Theon's face confirms it for me. Theon's torture has always been physical, and Sansa's has always been emotional... Ramsay has ensured that both characters felt the pain of the other side.

We haven't yet seen the repercussions of that night, or their wedding. We can't claim that the scene didn't advance their characters when we haven't seen the next episode.

And we feel for Sansa because she's been battered from so many angles... Joffrey, Cersei, Littlefinger, and now Ramsay. But have we actually seen her hit rockbottom? When her abuser was Joffrey, The Hound protected her. While Cersei was tormenting her, Tyrion showed her mercy. And while Littlefinger was manipulating her, he was also her savior from Lysa.

Sansa first learned agency for her fate during Littlefinger's interrogation. She first owned that agency when she dyed her hair and started dressing in black. And now, when her body as well as her spirit has almost been broken... she'll discover the heights of where her agency will take her.