SPOILER ALERT: Warning, this article contains spoilers from the Season 7, Episode 7 of Game of Thrones, entitled “The Dragon and The Wolf.” Proceed at your own risk.
After a couple, let’s just say, not great episodes, the Game of Thrones Season 7 finale delivered so many moments fans have been waiting to see, it’s tough to narrow them all down and process them.
But there was one scene in particular in which something happened that most, if not all, fans have been wishing for since Season 1; the comeuppance of and death of Petyr Baelish, aka Littlefinger.
Littlefinger Was The Worst
Game of Thrones certainly has its fair share of less-than-savory characters. It’s part of the reason we all love this show. No character is truly evil or good, they’re by and large all nuanced and three-dimensional and for the most part, you can understand what motivates them to do the sometimes evil things they do. Even the Night King. While not exactly a nuanced character, neither is he truly evil. He’s a force of nature and he’s doing what his instinctual drive compels him to do; destroy the living.
And then you have Littlefinger. Driven only by a lust for control and power, Littlefinger answered to no one but his own self-interest. Betraying those he claimed to love, killing those he had no use for, Littlefinger was, in short, the absolute worst.
Arya and Sansa FTW
After it appeared that Littlefinger’s plan to drive a wedge in between the Stark sisters had succeeded, Sansa revealed that while she was a “slow learner” she did indeed learn from Baelish’s many lessons in deception and turned the tides on him in a trial that seemed to be for Arya.
It seemed unlikely that the two Stark sisters would actually be ready to kill one another, so it was so satisfying to see that no, they were actually working together to bring down the traitorous Littlefinger. By the ends, he was literally on his knees begging for his life. There have been few deaths on this show quite as delicious that of one Petyr Baelish.
Arya Has Littlefinger’s Face Now
How long was Sansa aware of Littlefinger’s treachery? Was this plan hatched by Sansa, Arya, and Bran and if and if so, when? But it almost doesn’t matter because the end result is that Littlefinger, along with his ceaseless plotting is finally gone. The man who essentially started the War of the Five Kings is dead and that is really the only thing of importance.
But also, Arya now has Littlefinger’s face. She can now become him, she can utilize his networks (read: brothels) to gather information on enemies. While this may not be necessary during the Great War (it’s doubtful that wights frequent brothels, but who knows?), it may become very useful when trying to put the realm back together after the inevitable carnage.
Game of Thrones has never been a story simply about good vs. evil, the living vs. the dead. It’s always been much more complex than that. George R. R. Martin, the author of the book series upon which the show is based, has also famously said that the end of the story is “bittersweet”. It’s unlikely we’ll get a truly “happy” ending. It’s likely that after the war, the players will all revert to square one; fighting over the Iron Throne. If, after the Great War, the survivors are left to pick up the pieces and rebuild the land, someone like Arya, able to impersonate someone as sly and devious as Littlefinger, may prove to be a much-needed asset.
So what do you think will happen in Season 8? Let us know on the Game of Thrones Fan Community.
