Actress Jessica Chastain slams Sansa's rape storyline in Game of Thrones

SPOILER AHEAD FOR SEASON EIGHT, EPISODE FOUR

Of all the Game of Thrones characters, no-one has gone through more of a transformation than Sansa Stark.

Long gone is the teenager obedient to Cersei, who was smitten with Joffrey in season one, with the final episodes setting Sansa up as one of Game of Thrones' most formidable — and scheming — characters.

She has successfully safeguarded her family home of Winterfell and it now looks like she is possibly plotting to see her brother/cousin Jon Snow land on the Iron Throne.

As fans of Game of Thrones know Sansa has definitely copped some of the worst treatment of all the main characters.

She had to watch her father Ned Stark be murdered and then was beaten at the orders of Joffrey while a prisoner of the Lannisters in King's Landing.

When she finally escaped, Littlefinger arranged for her to marry Ramsay Bolton who brutally raped her in season five.

No-one has gone through more of a transformation than Sansa Stark. Photo / HBO

But in this week's episode of Game of Thrones, Sansa credited her brutal treatment as making her into the person she is today.

Speaking to Sandor Clegane at a feast celebrating Winterfell's victory, The Hound remarked that "little bird" Sansa could have avoided much of her suffering if she had escaped with him in season two.

"Without Littlefinger and Ramsay and the rest, I would've stayed a little bird all my life," Sansa replied.

But not everyone was happy with the exchange, with some viewers claiming it was problematic and made it seem like Sansa's rape was "necessary" for her character development.

Leading the criticism was actress and #MeToo campaigner Jessica Chastain who tweeted that "rape is not a tool to make a character stronger".

Rape is not a tool to make a character stronger. 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.#GameOfThrones pic.twitter.com/TVIyt8LYxI

— Jessica Chastain (@jes_chastain) May 7, 2019

dan & david making sansa say that she needed to be abused in order to grow up is such bullshit,, a woman doesnt have to experience rape to develop as a character get out of here with your pathetic attempts to excuse your unnecessary violence against women

— lauren (@cosmickorra) May 6, 2019

Sansa didn't need to go through all that trauma to become a powerful, intelligent person, and the show implying she did is just...ugh

— Amy Collier (@Amy_Corp) May 6, 2019

as happy as i am with sansa's development throughout this series, i do have a problem with the way the writers keep pushing the narrative that a character has to go through something like rape and abuse to grow and develop.

— kinsey (@sansacstark) May 6, 2019

I still love #GameofThrones but this show proves over and over again they have no idea how to write about rape. Sansa just shrugging off what happened to her by saying she's stronger for it?? do any women write for this show, or...?

— Alex Bruce-Smith (@alexbrucesmith) May 6, 2019

Turner has spoken previously of the backlash around Sansa's rape, telling Rolling Stone the criticism didn't take into account the fact that Game of Thrones is set in medieval times.

Sophie Turner plays Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones. Photo / HBO

"We can't dismiss that and not put it in a TV show where it's all about power — and that is a very impactful way to show that you have power over somebody," she said.