The Hidden Meanings Behind Sansa's Final Game Of Thrones Look

Audiences have come to expect three big things from Game of Thrones: wild plot twists, a fair amount of bloodshed, and gorgeous costumes. Spoiler alert: the series finale included the characteristic trio, and placed an unexpected emphasis on the last of the three.

During the closing montage of the Game of Thrones finale, viewers watched as Sansa Stark prepared herself for her coronation as Queen in the North, now a completely separate kingdom with its own ruler. It was a full-circle moment for Sansa, and the outfit she wore featured several tiny details that paid tribute to her incredible journey.

Here are all the hidden meanings behind Sansa's final Game of Thrones look.

The first nod to Sansa's evolution from a meek girl wanting to marry Joffrey Baratheon to an independent woman who would do anything to protect her family is found in her intricate chest plate. Game of Thrones costume designer Michele Clapton explained that the bodice features "the growing branches of the weirwood tree," the tree important to the Stark family, found in the godswood of Winterfell.

Within the series, plenty of pivotal moments happen beneath the weirwood tree: Night's Watch recruits making their vows, Jon Snow reuniting with Arya, and Arya killing the Night King once and for all. The weirwood tree,, is a place of worship for House Stark. That Sansa's coronation dress features its branches is quite special. The chest plate itself is also significant in that it shows a softer side of Sansa: she's sported armor before, but this is more delicate, worn for peace and not war.

Speaking of the weirwood tree, one of the two belled sleeves of Sansa's dress is embroidered with deep red, five-pointed leaves, the same ones found on the sacred tree. In the novels written by George R.R. Martin, weirwood trees are said to live forever if they are properly cared for and left undisturbed. This is seemingly what Sansa intends to do with the North: preserve it so that it may never fall.

Not only do the leaves on Sansa's costume honor House Stark, but they also provide a drastic contrast to her younger self who desperately wanted to be a Southern queen and not a Northern girl. They also show that she is finally in the exact place she was meant to be. Moreover, they link to her brother's recent inauguration as King of Westeros and to the attitude of the North as a whole.

The sleeves themselves are symbolic as well, as they and Sansa's entire dress are made from the same fabric as two other iconic Game of Thrones outfits. Clapton revealed that she utilized the fabric from the "dark Sansa dress," seen on the eighth episode of the fourth season when Sansa unveiled her mysterious new look to Littlefinger. Keep watching the video to learn the hidden meanings behind Sansa's final Game of Thrones look!

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