Is ‘Game of Thrones’ Setting up a Sansa Stark/Theon Greyjoy Romance?

Did Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 2, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” introduce a surprising new couple? Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) basically melted into Theon Greyjoy’s (Alfie Allen) arms, unsettling Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), who had hitherto only seen the steely side of the Lady of Winterfell. Later in the episode, the two make what my mother would call “goo-goo eyes” at each other while they eat their stew. So does this mean Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy a thing?

Well…maybe? Let’s look at the evidence and try to figure out what’s going on with the Lady of Winterfell and the artist formerly known as “Reek.”

Why Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy are Now a “Thing”

First of all, as the end is nigh and death approaches, it is ironically “cuffing season” in Westeros. Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) are hooking up, as are Arya (Maisie William) and Gendry (Joe Dempsie). Even Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) is flirting with the idea of taking a new consort. So it would track that Sansa Stark, the Lady of Winterfell, needs a beau. If not for whatever comes after the end, at least for companionship before the nightmare they’re about to endure. And it looks like she’s picked her father’s ward, and Prince of the Iron Islands, Theon Greyjoy. (Though coupling with him would do little to secure the family line, but hey, there’s more to life than starting a family.)

The main reason we think there might be something brewing between the two is how Sansa basically collapses into Theon’s arms. The usually steady Stark lady became mush when she saw him return. Emotional reunion aside, the show makes a point to show them together later enjoying their stew in the moonlight. A flicker of a smile dances on both of their faces and they look deep in each other’s eyes. The other scenes in this montage include Arya in bed with Gendry, and Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) kissing Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) before battle. So there’s a romantic tinge to what’s going on.

There’s also a hint in the books that Theon Greyjoy might have a thing for Sansa. In A Dance with Dragons, George RR Martin writes (from the POV of Theon/Reek): “He remembered a time when he had thought that Lord Eddard Stark might marry him to Sansa and claim him for a son, but that had only been a child’s fancy.” Taking this into account, his anguish over Sansa’s treatment at Ramsay’s hands might have more poignancy. Then again, that quote is more about Theon’s desperation to feel like part of the Stark family…

Why Sansa Stark and Theon Greyjoy are NOT a “Thing”

Sansa’s emotional reaction to Theon’s return could be interpreted at strictly platonic when you consider how they parted. The last time Sansa saw Theon was in in Game of Thrones Season 6, Episode 2, “Home.” Theon leaves Sansa in the care of Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) and Podrick Payne (Daniel Portman) so he can return to the Iron Islands.

Sansa is devastated that Theon is leaving her. He explains that if he goes to the Wall, Jon will have him executed for how he betrayed Robb, Bran, and Rickon. Sansa pleads with him and says that she’ll speak on his behalf, but Theon is resolute in his own shame. They tearfully embrace in a way that echoes their reunion and Theon says he would have taken her all the way to the Wall, dying in the process, if he had to.

Sign up for Decider’s Game Of Thrones newsletter — it’s everything you need to get you prepared for the final season! Delivered weekly.

So when Theon does appear (and he’s there to serve Lady Sansa), she sees the fulfillment of his pledge as well as the return of a trusted friend. Indeed, Theon Greyjoy may be the only person save for Brienne and the Starks that Sansa now trusts.

The look they give each other later over stew may be interpreted as love, but it could also be shared peace. They have returned to Winterfell to defend her, and together they have survived the brutality of Ramsay’s torture. In fact, it could be that they are the only two people on Westeros who can relate to one another…so…er…maybe they’re a thing?

Our Verdict on Sansa Stark/Theon Greyjoy’s “Romance”

It’s honestly going to come down to whether or not they both survive the next four episodes. If they do indeed live to the end of Game of Thrones, it makes sense that the show is positioning them as a couple who will live out the rest of their days in peace. Sansa can be the Warden of the North, and Theon her adoring consort. There will be no children, but, uh, maybe Jon and Arya are already taking care of keeping the Stark line alive?

However, both Theon and Sansa’s fates are in jeopardy, with Theon looking less likely to survive than Sansa. So while there’s potential for a happily ever after, we think their reunion scenes are more about closure on the traumas of the Bolton era.

Where to stream Game of Thrones