Sansa has grown from a once-helpless princess
with dreams of lemon cakes into a wily
strategist. She has endured marriages that
were degrading and abusive, finding ways to
adapt and survive that her late father could
never manage.
“She’s had probably the closest involvement
with the widest array of different leaders,”
said Craven, who has written a new business
book, ”Win or Die: Leadership Secrets from
Game of Thrones .”
Sansa has learned from Littlefinger’s
manipulations. She’s seen the pitfalls from what
Craven calls Cersei’s “transactional” approach
to leadership. And she’s seen her kinsman Jon
Snow’s idealism transform him from a brooding
teenager into a military commander capable of
challenging the zombie army of the Night King.
This education might be the ultimate advantage,
even if she lacks the firepower of Daenerys
Targaryen’s dragons or the Valyrian steel sword
wielded by Jon Snow.
“She doesn’t have dragons. She didn’t learn to
become an assassin,” added Craven, who admits
his prediction is just a hunch. “Everything she’s
gone through, part of me wants to see her
leverage that in some unpredictable way.”
Sansa does enjoy a major edge in terms of
resources, said Mark Wright, research director
at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
From the U.S. Civil War to World War II, victorious
armies have often gained a decisive edge by
having the best equipment, stable supply
lines and multitudes of soldiers. Her perceived
rivals for the throne are running close to empty
militarily and economically.