WARNING: Major Spoilers ahead for the latest episode of Game of Thrones! Continue reading at your own risk…
Petyr Baelish, more commonly referred to as Littlefinger on Game of Thrones, has been trying to drive a wedge between the Stark sisters, Arya and Sansa, in the last few episodes of the current seventh season. However, the master manipulator could secretly be getting outsmarted by the daughters of Ned Stark, and there are several compelling arguments that support this theory.
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After spending years apart and surviving a seemingly endless number of horrific situations on their own, Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Arya (Maisie Williams) were finally reunited this season. However, their long-awaited reunion has been marred by a brewing conflict between the two that was manufactured by Littlefinger.
Littlefinger, played by Aidan Gillen, baited Arya into finding an incriminating old note penned by Sansa back in Season 1. Sansa was forced to write the letter by the Lannisters, but the discovery has seemed to make Arya question her sister’s loyalty to the North and their family.
However, Sansa and Arya are far more clever than they may currently appear at this point in the show. In past seasons, Arya has learned to become a skilled assassin by the Faceless Men and is supposed to be able to detect the difference between a truth and a lie. This being said, it’s hard to believe that she wouldn’t trust Sansa, who is indeed telling the truth about the letter.
As for Sansa, she spent considerable time around both Cersei and Littlefinger, who are both two of the most manipulative characters of the story.
Sansa has also been outspoken in saying that she doesn’t trust Littlefinger.
“Only a fool would trust Littlefinger,” she told Jon Snow in Season 6.
Also, when Bran and Arya are talking about the Valyrian steel dagger that Littlefinger gave to Bran, Sansa said, “[Littlefinger]’s not a generous man. He wouldn’t give you anything unless he thought he was getting something back.”
Furthermore, because Bran is now the Three-Eyed Raven, and has the ability to see the future, he likely would not have given the dagger to Arya if he had foreseen future conflict between his sisters.
Another detail worth mentioning is that Sansa chose to send Brienne of Tarth away from her side in episode 6. Littlefinger explicitly mentioned Brienne as someone who is honor-bound to protect both of the Stark girls, and if she were to sense danger for the both of them then Brienne would be forced to do something.
Sansa then chooses to send Brienne to King’s Landing in her place. This likely could have been a move to simply give Littlefinger a false sense of comfort. Sansa knows that Arya is dangerous in a swordfight, and now she has learned of Arya’s faceless abilities. This could mean that Sansa knows that Arya may be all the protection that she needs in Winterfell.
Lastly, there would be something poetic about Sansa being the one to orchestrate Littlefinger’s doom. After all, it was Littlefinger that got Ned killed. He sided with the Lannisters against Robb Stark and was the one to set her up with the Boltons.
Now that Littlefinger is in love with Sansa, she and Arya could be using this against him to manipulate him right back.
