Does Littlefinger have some criminally insane tendencies or is he just a Bond Villian?

[The King in Black]

This debate began on , of all places, a YouTube comments section. Some guy compared LF to the Joker, then another compared him to Emperor Palpatime ,then another to a standard Bond villian. So who is he comparable to? A world domination type or a sociopathic high stakes criminal crazy type? Or both perhaps?

[Universal Sword Donor]

I believe this can be addressed with a ASOIAF quote:

There are no men like me. There's only me.... Also don't believe everything you read on internet.

- Petyr Baelish, Lord Protector of the Vale, Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, and undisputed dueling champion of Westeros

[James Arryn]

He's a mob accountant on vacation.

[Torph]

A Bond VILLAIN? Littlefinger IS James Bond.

[Minstral]

A Bond VILLAIN? Littlefinger IS James Bond.

:uhoh:

So was Bond ever portrayed as evolving his boy crush to uncomfortable obsessions to a woman/lust for power and status, and then transfer said obsession to the deceased woman's daughter where it translates to weird pseudo incest undertones :ack: ? I'm sorry, the guy is creepy, and it baffles me when I do come across the odd person that thinks that he and Sansa should be together.

[The King in Black]

:uhoh:

So was Bond ever portrayed as evolving his boy crush to uncomfortable obsessions to a woman/lust for power and status, and then transfer said obsession to the deceased woman's daughter where it translates to weird pseudo incest undertones :ack: ? I'm sorry, the guy is creepy, and it baffles me when I do come across the odd person that thinks that he and Sansa should be together.

So you think he's sociopathic then?

[VivaVictarion2]

whoever originated that description was probably basing it off of the show Petyr.

[Minstral]

So you think he's sociopathic then?

GRRM said a few things about the man. So yeah I guess I do.

[Thanos Targaryen]

Baelish is Iago to practically everyone else cast in the role of Othello.

[James Arryn]

Baelish is Iago to practically everyone else cast in the role of Othello.

I played Iago and I'd never given it much thought. He kinda thinks of himself as a warrior, but. Brandon is Cassio?

[Howland Reeds Weed Swamp]

I read this as 'Doran Littlefinger' true bond shit.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

:uhoh:

So was Bond ever portrayed as evolving his boy crush to uncomfortable obsessions to a woman/lust for power and status, and then transfer said obsession to the deceased woman's daughter where it translates to weird pseudo incest undertones :ack: ? I'm sorry, the guy is creepy, and it baffles me when I do come across the odd person that thinks that he and Sansa should be together.

Bond got the creepy part right down and is basically a sociopath very similar to LF, though their goals are different.

[LordStoneheart]

If you need a comparison, the best one out of those three is the Joker, though the comparison is not one to one. He appreciates chaos (thrives in it, were his words in the book) but he doesn't murder left and right for sick glee. The other two are nowhere close.

whoever originated that description was probably basing it off of the show Petyr.

There is no Petyr on that show. Only Aiden Baelish, Petyr's over the top foppish cousin.

[Equilibrium]

He was raised without clear moral guidance, looked down upon because of the unjust social system based on exploitation, of course he himself is at most to blame for not taking the moral high road like some would have but he made a choice, conscious choice that he loves money more than moral high ground, people make the same choice today all the time, yes often resulting less deaths and sex slaves but same choice in the core.

How much empathy we all have and how much of it is a cultural construct embedded in us more than a true care for the fellow man? Most of us are better people than Littlefinger but does his ability to ignore empathy to achieve some other goals means he is criminally insane? I think not, most of us even though we wouldn't do the same in his place can understand why is he doing that, some can ignore niggling voice in the back of the head calling to morals because they have power of the will and different priorities.

I don't think the wealth and even power are worth it, but I can certainly see why someone would deem them so, as I am certain most of you can also. Everybody wants to be rich to some extent, some are willing to work hard, some are not, some are willing to risk, some are not, some are willing to compromise their morality for it, and some are not.

[LordStoneheart]

does his ability to ignore empathy to achieve some other goals means he is criminally insane?

Criminally insane? No. But it certainly supports that sociopath claim. :)

[James Arryn]

He was raised without clear moral guidance, looked down upon because of the unjust social system based on exploitation, of course he himself is at most to blame for not taking the moral high road like some would have but he made a choice, conscious choice that he loves money more than moral high ground, people make the same choice today all the time, yes often resulting less deaths and sex slaves but same choice in the core.

How much empathy we all have and how much of it is a cultural construct embedded in us more than a true care for the fellow man? Most of us are better people than Littlefinger but does his ability to ignore empathy to achieve some other goals means he is criminally insane? I think not, most of us even though we wouldn't do the same in his place can understand why is he doing that, some can ignore niggling voice in the back of the head calling to morals because they have power of the will and different priorities.

I don't think the wealth and even power are worth it, but I can certainly see why someone would deem them so, as I am certain most of you can also. Everybody wants to be rich to some extent, some are willing to work hard, some are not, some are willing to risk, some are not, some are willing to compromise their morality for it, and some are not.

Nicely phrased, but that's a car without breaks.

[Dr. Qyburn]

He's Goldfinger's long lost brother. It is known

[RedShirt47]

Criminally insane? No. But it certainly supports that sociopath claim. :)

I agree, I think he's more like Al Capone than any of the options listed above.

I think he is a short-term gain type operator. He sees an opportunity and takes advantage of it, no matter who gets hurt doing so (as long as it's not himself).

I think in the rigid social hierarchy of Westeros that is difficult to climb the ladder, especially if you try todo so morally and with a conscience. So he cheats, lies, steals, bribes, extorts, seduces, kills his way up the ladder.

Although I think when he was a minor lord dealing with other minor lords or bankers or merchants his schemes worked quite well. But I think that now he's dealing with major houses for much higher stakes that he will find himself out of his depth fairly soon. His schemes have already started a major war (which I don't think was his intention) as he is now meddling in affairs beyond his ken..

He's no longer a big-ish fish in a small pond, he's a big-ish fish in a very big pond.

[ummester]

GRRM said a few things about the man. So yeah I guess I do.

GRRM never said LF was a sociopath in that - just that LF sees Sansa 3 different ways, depending on where his mind is at at a given time - paternally, as a piece in the games and sexually.

If anything, this makes it seem like LF is neither a bond villain or a sociopath to me - rather a fully realized character based on human emotions that can be related to given LF's character's back story.

[Raving Stark the Mad]

He's Goldfinger's long lost brother. It is known

LOL. This!

I have to go with Bond villain. He's just a power hungry, devious, little plotter.