Jessica Chastain Calls Out Game Of Thrones Dialogue: ‘Rape Is Not A Tool To Make A Character Stronger'

Jessica was not impressed with an exchange between The Hound and Sansa Stark.

Like most of us, Jessica Chastain is currently tuning in to the final series of Game Of Thrones, and while there’s been plenty to cheer, some storylines, scenes and lines have missed the mark with fans.

There was lots to talk about following Monday’s episode, but posting on Twitter after it aired Jessica called out one potentially problematic section of dialogue, stating: “Rape is not a tool to make a character stronger.”

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Jessica with Sansa actress Sophie at a recent X Men photocall
Bertrand Rindoff Petroff via Getty Images

Her comment referred to a conversation which saw Sansa Stark – who was raped by Ramsay Bolton in season five – say she would still be a “little bird” without men, including her abuser.

The scene saw the Hound tell Sansa she’s “changed”, calling her a “little bird” and adding: “None of it would have happened if you’d left Kings Landing with me, no Littlefinger, no Ramsay, none of it.”

Sansa replied: “Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would’ve stayed a little bird all my life.”

Addressing the exchange, Jessica (who stars alongside Sansa actor Sophie Turner in X Men: Dark Phoenix) tweeted: “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.”

Her comments sparked debate on the social networking site:

The final series of Game Of Thrones has, so far, seen Sansa prove herself to be a strong strategist, correctly predicting that Cersei Lannister had no intention to help fight the Army of the Dead while those around her believed the queen.

When the Battle of Winterfell took place, she took refuge in the crypt and ensured her own survival when the wights burst through the walls.  

Episode four (spoilers incoming, obviously) concluded with the death of Missandei, as Cersei made her thoughts on the offer of a truce very clear.