Why Jon and Sansa Should Get Married on Game of Thrones

If you are a human being with eyes and a heart who watches Game of Thrones, you were probably emotionally destroyed by Jon Snow and Sansa Stark’s reunion in Winterfell. It’s the first time the two have seen each other since they both left home at the beginning of season one. And sure, you could take their tearful reunion as simply two young family members relieved to see a reminder of their innocent childhood — or you could see it as the start of something much more.

While we’ve already explored how a romantic relationship between Jon and Sansa is a possibility, here’s why it would actually make a lot of sense.

At the end of season six, it’s clear that a stronger North is rising again under a good ruler. The only problem is, that ruler isn’t technically a legitimate Stark (as far as anyone knows right now). And while Jon clearly has plenty of support among the Northern houses anyway (looking at you, Lyanna Mormont), he could still meet resistance later on because of his status as a bastard. This is Game of Thrones, after all.

Enter Sansa, the eldest daughter of Ned and Catelyn Stark and a pretty badass figure all on her own. A marriage between Snow and Stark would add more legitimacy to Jon’s rule, give Sansa a bigger opportunity to affect how things play out, and even head off the danger of Jon and Sansa developing a rivalry.

At face value, this relationship might seem creepier to the characters than to the audience, since Jon doesn’t actually know yet that he’s Sansa’s cousin and not her half-brother — but he might be finding out very soon if his BFF Sam has anything to say about it. Jon and Sansa weren’t super close before their family split up, and Game of Thrones doesn’t exactly shy away from romantic relationships between family members who are close.

Sansa has endured the constant emotional abuse of Joffrey and the constant physical abuse of Ramsay, but through all of that one thing has always been clear: Littlefinger using her as a pawn in his Machiavellian game and pretending it’s all for her own good. Add in his creepy crush that’s really just a projection of his hopeless longing for Catelyn, and you’ve got a very dangerous potential problem.

As if that’s not enough, Sansa and Jon technically owe Littlefinger one for bringing in the Knights of the Vale at the last second to win the Battle of the Bastards, and it’s a safe bet that he’s going to call in that favor in the form of getting closer to Sansa and trying to stir up trouble between her and Jon. Ugh. Sansa marrying Jon nips that potential problem in the bud, and having her completely off the market would keep Littlefinger further away from the seat of power in Winterfell — maybe even get him to go back to the Vale with his weird stepson.

For all of you reading this article while screaming internally (or externally) that Jon is destined to marry Daenerys Targaryen and bring the Song of Ice and Fire thing to fruition, that is still entirely possible. We know from set photos that they’re going to meet this season, and Dany might take one look at Jon’s majestic man bun and swoon. But consider this: Daenerys seems pretty set in her belief that she won’t (or possibly can’t) have any more children of her own, after the dark magic performed by Mirri Maz Duur in season one kills her unborn son and leaves her husband catatonic. She even brought this up as recently as last season.

Since at this point Daenerys and Jon are the only Targaryens left (well, barring any more revelations), if the two of them get together and Daenerys can’t have children, there won’t be anyone to continue the Targaryen line. However, if Jon marries someone who can bear children, Daenerys can be confident that her family will live on. Who better to marry her nephew off to than someone he already knows and cares about, who would also give her an even stronger alliance with the family who rules the North?

In case you forgot, Jon and Sansa haven’t exactly had a very good run of it in Game of Thrones. Sansa watches her father beheaded at the order of her then-fiancé, Joffrey. Then she’s forced to marry Tyrion against her will, and she has to flee King’s Landing after Joffrey is killed just to escape being executed. And after all that, she’s married off again to Ramsay Bolton, the worst excuse for a human being ever.

Meanwhile, Jon is perpetually freezing at the Wall because he doesn’t believe he has any brighter future than the Night’s Watch. He holds Ygritte in his arms as she dies, barely survives a terrifying attack by White Walkers and wights at Hardhome, and is stabbed to death by his own men.

Conclusion: it’s high time these two had something good happen to them. They’ve both had to grow up very quickly in a cruel world and have realized the value of having someone by their side with no ulterior motives who they can trust without being scared for their lives. Jon and Sansa both love their country and their people, and it just makes sense for them to bring both back to glory (and take down some enemies) together.