Sansa and Aria are Playing Littlefinger (Not the Other Way Around)

[A Time for Starks]

I’ve thought long and hard about this, and the Arya, Sansa and Littlefinger plotline is clear: Arya and Sansa are the ones playing Littlefinger (not the other way around).  The supposed rift developing between the sisters is an act, and they’re the ones playing Littlefinger at his own game.

Two Main Reasons:

1. Sansa’s time with Littlefinger has led to two things: 1. Through his tutelage, she has now learned how to be a smart political player of this game, and 2. She has learned that Littlefinger is only in it for himself and will do whatever it takes to accumulate all the power, including destroying others that Sansa cares about.  On the first point, think of the dialogue clues from earlier in the season.  Sansa says to Jon “we have to be smarter than Robb and father.”  Tyrion and Jon conversation, about Sansa being smarter than letting on, and Jon responding with “she’s starting to let on.”  These lines of dialogue are in there for a reason.  She’s not dumb.  She knows what Littlefinger is up to.  She knows he wants all of the power.  She’s no longer the person to just sit back and be the one being played.  She will now do the playing.

2. Aria’s training with the faceless men and her interest in the theater company has led her to be a convincing actress.  I believe she is just playing a part of the angry sister in the scene with Sansa and playing the part of the clumsy spy in the scenes with Littlefinger. 

Two Supporting Reasons:

1. Deaths in this series are often ironic in some fashion (not sure if ironic is the right word here but that’s all I could think of).  One of Ned’s first scenes is him beheading a deserter of the night’s watch, then he is beheaded.  Tywin is the most respected man in Westeros, and he is killed on the toilet.  Stannis is a great military commander and he is killed by being taken by surprise militarily.  Ramsey kills others with dogs, and he gets killed by his own dogs.  Olenna poisons Joffrey at his wedding, then she drinks poison to kill herself while confessing to Joffrey’s murder.  I am sure there are more, but you get the point.  What would be more fitting to this series than Littlefinger, the one who plays everyone in his quest for power, gets played himself and it leads to his death.

2. I believe Bran also plays a role here.  Think of Bran’s scene with Littlefinger, “Chaos is a Ladder” is meant to basically say that Bran knows what Littlefinger is up to and how big of a scumbag he is (because even though Sansa knows the type of person Littlefinger is, she doesn’t know the extent of all he’s done).  And behind the scenes, Bran could be informing Sansa and Aria about all of this.

    

So I believe behind the scenes the Stark kids are working together.  And the scenes we are seeing are just an act since they know Littlefinger will have spies or some other way to overhear their conversations and track their whereabouts (think of the young lady that is getting paid by Littlefinger in this most recent episode, probably a Littlefinger spy).  If true, this would be in some ways a culmination of the three Stark kids greatest gifts coming together to bring down Littlefinger.  Bran can see what Littlefinger has done and is doing/will do and he conveys that to the Stark sisters.  Sansa is now a powerful political player in this game that will no longer be the pawn in someone else’s game.  And Aria is a sneaky assassin with the ability to convincingly lie and act.  When working together and using all of these abilities together they beat Littlefinger at his own game.

What do you think?

[Ygrain]

Yeah, this is the scenario I am hoping and rooting for :-)

Besides, it makes sense. 

[Ser Petyr Parker]

Well that makes more sense than Sansa turning evil and Arya being insanely suspicious.

[Cas Stark]

That would be much more clever of the Starks and the show, but since I can't see what the purpose of putting on such a show is.....what they are trying to trap him into doing....I think this is more over thinking of things.  Bran will just tell his sisters that LF is bad and betrayed their father and then they'll have him killed.

[A Time for Starks]

I think they're trying to trap him so they can reveal to others what a scheming asshole he is, particularly Yohn Royce.  If Arya was just to kill Littlefinger without others being very clear on the reasoning, then the North would soon find the Vale as an enemy (or at the very least, no longer an ally).  And Sansa says early on in the season how the North needs the Vale army on their side.

[Being Daenerys Targaryen]

10 hours ago, A Time for Starks said:

Deaths in this series are often ironic in some fashion (not sure if ironic is the right word here but that’s all I could think of).  One of Ned’s first scenes is him beheading a deserter of the night’s watch, then he is beheaded.  Tywin is the most respected man in Westeros, and he is killed on the toilet.  Stannis is a great military commander and he is killed by being taken by surprise militarily.  Ramsey kills others with dogs, and he gets killed by his own dogs.  Olenna poisons Joffrey at his wedding, then she drinks poison to kill herself while confessing to Joffrey’s murder.  I am sure there are more, but you get the point.  What would be more fitting to this series than Littlefinger, the one who plays everyone in his quest for power, gets played himself and it leads to his death.

I can add Brandon Stark was pushed from the window by Jaime Lannister and didn't die but Tommen (Son of Jaime) threw himself from the window and died. 

10 hours ago, A Time for Starks said:

I believe Bran also plays a role here.  Think of Bran’s scene with Littlefinger, “Chaos is a Ladder” is meant to basically say that Bran knows what Littlefinger is up to and how big of a scumbag he is (because even though Sansa knows the type of person Littlefinger is, she doesn’t know the extent of all he’s done).  And behind the scenes, Bran could be informing Sansa and Aria about all of this.

I liked the "Chaos is a ladder"... Littlefinger said that to Lord Varys in King's Landing 

 

But when I saw Littlefinger watching ARya I said come on! so she get caught that easily? She was trained to sneak and kill people for the faceless god... She cannot get caught in her own castle... If there is a place where Arya can easily sneak and walk around without being seen is WInterfell... So I tought maybe it is another troll ... But then I remembered that I am watching Game Of Thrones. Thinking that it is a troll, you are actually trolling yourself... 

 

 

[A Time for Starks]

Her training definitely came to mind in all this... Arya trained with a group of assassins for a reason.  Arya was crafty enough to be able to organize an entire family's demise at a feast.  I don't think that she would get caught so easily, or at least I would hope not.

 

One more thought on the Yohn Royce angle... I can picture that when Littlefinger is finally revealed for his scheming, Sansa additionally reveals to Yohn Royce that it was Littlefinger that pushed Lysa out the moon door.

[RhaenysBee]

I mean... we thought there would be a twist when Arya got stabbed too... 

my expectations are below zero at this point. 

[A Time for Starks]

I agree on the Aria stabbing... I was disappointed with how that all played out.  At the time, I was one of those Arya Durden theorists.  That didn't quite pan out.

[Charlie Hustle]

1 hour ago, A Time for Starks said:

Her training definitely came to mind in all this... Arya trained with a group of assassins for a reason.  Arya was crafty enough to be able to organize an entire family's demise at a feast.  I don't think that she would get caught so easily, or at least I would hope not.

 

One more thought on the Yohn Royce angle... I can picture that when Littlefinger is finally revealed for his scheming, Sansa additionally reveals to Yohn Royce that it was Littlefinger that pushed Lysa out the moon door.

Ahh youre right!!! Sansa does have ammo..

[lakin1013]

I also think that Arya and Sansa are playing/will play LF but I do not embrace your details.  When I saw Littlefinger sneaking, then Arya sneaking, then LF sneaking, then ..... I think we are expected to think that LF is scheming so let's give Arya and Sansa some credit.

However, your fitting death theory is very interesting.  Jon was stabbed in the heart (chest) by his brothers .  This makes me think of Nissa/Nissa and wonder if Jon will be Nissa for Dany or Dany for Jon.

Westeros.org Wiki

Nissa Nissa was the wife of Azor Ahai. He sacrificed her to create the famous sword, Lightbringer.

The Legend of Lightbringer

Darkness lay over the world and a hero, Azor Ahai, was chosen to fight against it. To fight the darkness, Azor Ahai needed to forge a hero's sword. He labored for thirty days and thirty nights until it was done. However, when he went to temper it in water, the sword broke. He was not one to give up easily, so he started over. The second time he took fifty days and fifty nights to make the sword, even better than the first. To temper it this time, he captured a lion and drove the sword into its heart, but once more the steel shattered. The third time, with a heavy heart, for he knew before hand what he must do to finish the blade, he worked for a hundred days and nights until it was finished. This time, he called for his wife, Nissa Nissa, and asked her to bare her breast. He drove his sword into her breast, her soul combining with the steel of the sword, creating Lightbringer, while her cry of anguish and ecstasy left a crack across the face of the moon.^[1]

[Illiterati]

2 hours ago, A Time for Starks said:

I think they're trying to trap him so they can reveal to others what a scheming asshole he is, particularly Yohn Royce.  If Arya was just to kill Littlefinger without others being very clear on the reasoning, then the North would soon find the Vale as an enemy (or at the very least, no longer an ally).  And Sansa says early on in the season how the North needs the Vale army on their side.

Yohn Royce knows without question what a scheming worm LF is.  Royce hates him, but is sworn to Robbyn, who drank the koolaid.

[Cas Stark]

5 minutes ago, Illiterati said:

Yohn Royce knows without question what a scheming worm LF is.  Royce hates him, but is sworn to Robbyn, who drank the koolaid.

Well, that's another plot hole in the show.  LF threatened to have him killed and yet here he is scheming with him as if he's his friend.  Royce in a realistic world, if not having already arranged an accident for him a long time ago, would certainly not be seen as trusting him and comspiring wtih him.  I get that the show loves LF and wanted to keep him alive for another year, but if they were going to keep him alive in WF then the should have tried harder to craft some type of plot with suspense and meaning, not show him in 25 second screen shots where he's walking or skulking and getting nothing accomplished.  

[Samwell_Tarly]

2 hours ago, Cas Stark said:

That would be much more clever of the Starks and the show, but since I can't see what the purpose of putting on such a show is.....what they are trying to trap him into doing....I think this is more over thinking of things.  Bran will just tell his sisters that LF is bad and betrayed their father and then they'll have him killed.

I agree with 100%, people are over thinking this situation, its as simple as you say it and Ive said multiple times. 

The question that begs answering is as you say, what are they trapping him into by letting them think he is playing them..... the note he got Arya to 'find' is more incriminating for Sansa than LF. Infact it would make Sansa look really bad. 

Could this note actually be bad for LF and he has not realised, in the fact that if Arya was to read it to the Northern Lords, this note would discredit Sansas reputation and trust with the Northern Lords and LF was sansa to be Queen in the North/Lady of Winterfell etc.

 

[Illiterati]

1 minute ago, Cas Stark said:

Well, that's another plot hole in the show.  LF threatened to have him killed and yet here he is scheming with him as if he's his friend.  Royce in a realistic world, if not having already arranged an accident for him a long time ago, would certainly not be seen as trusting him and comspiring wtih him.  I get that the show loves LF and wanted to keep him alive for another year, but if they were going to keep him alive in WF then the should have tried harder to craft some type of plot with suspense and meaning, not show him in 25 second screen shots where he's walking or skulking and getting nothing accomplished.  

Yeah, I instantly noticed that as well.  It could be argued that he thinks he's serving Sansa, but he doesn't strike me as that ignorant.

[Cas Stark]

1 minute ago, Illiterati said:

Yeah, I instantly noticed that as well.  It could be argued that he thinks he's serving Sansa, but he doesn't strike me as that ignorant.

Even a one minute scene with Royce and Sansa talking about LF would alleviate that plot hole and tell the audience that Royce doesn't trust LF, remind the audience of the Vale/Stark connection, etc. .  Instead, Royce too is trailing around in scenes with nothing productive to do.  And of course, if the show had back in seasons 4/5 given a couple of the Northern lords a larger role, then both LF and Sansa might be able to do something more intersting beyond walking around Winterfell talking about armor and supplies.  The show is attempting to create suspense, but I doubt even the most casual of showwatchers really believes Sansa is going to depose her brother/cousin or that Arya is going to kill her sister.

Considering that they have known the ending since season 1, they have done a poor job in constructing things, so that now, despite rushing to the end, there is still a whole lot of running in place, with people not getting anything accomplished until boom.  

[A Time for Starks]

18 minutes ago, Illiterati said:

Yohn Royce knows without question what a scheming worm LF is.  Royce hates him, but is sworn to Robbyn, who drank the koolaid.

I think that's a good point.  But I'm not sure Sansa knows how Yohn Royce feels about Littlefinger.  The only major time all three interacted, Sansa and Littlefinger were both lying to Yohn on how Lysa died and he took the bait.  So I think it's still conceivable that she would want to trap Littlefinger in some sort of scheme as proof.

...Or yea, maybe she should just talk to Yohn...

[Samwell_Tarly]

15 minutes ago, Cas Stark said:

Even a one minute scene with Royce and Sansa talking about LF would alleviate that plot hole and tell the audience that Royce doesn't trust LF, remind the audience of the Vale/Stark connection, etc. .  Instead, Royce too is trailing around in scenes with nothing productive to do.  And of course, if the show had back in seasons 4/5 given a couple of the Northern lords a larger role, then both LF and Sansa might be able to do something more intersting beyond walking around Winterfell talking about armor and supplies.  The show is attempting to create suspense, but I doubt even the most casual of showwatchers really believes Sansa is going to depose her brother/cousin or that Arya is going to kill her sister.

Considering that they have known the ending since season 1, they have done a poor job in constructing things, so that now, despite rushing to the end, there is still a whole lot of running in place, with people not getting anything accomplished until boom.  

We know Royce doesnt trust LF thats clear, we dont need a scene to show this. Its pretty obvious.........

[Cas Stark]

1 minute ago, Samwell_Tarly said:

We know Royce doesnt trust LF thats clear, we dont need a scene to show this. Its pretty obvious.........

I beg to differ, Sansa tells Brienne that she need LF in order to keep the lords of the Vale, if Royce in the show didn't trust LF that would not be true.  At one point, in the past, he didn't trust LF, then he did, then he didn't, and now apparently he does again.  Otherwise, Sansa would just tell Lord Royce that it was a lie that she was kidnapped by the Boltons....and LF would have been dead many episodes ago.

[Samwell_Tarly]

3 minutes ago, Cas Stark said:

I beg to differ, Sansa tells Brienne that she need LF in order to keep the lords of the Vale, if Royce in the show didn't trust LF that would not be true.  At one point, in the past, he didn't trust LF, then he did, then he didn't, and now apparently he does again.  Otherwise, Sansa would just tell Lord Royce that it was a lie that she was kidnapped by the Boltons....and LF would have been dead many episodes ago.

Royce is not stupid he knows whats going on and what LF  is capable of. Royce has to do as Robyn says and LF is calling the shots through Robyn. Royce has to be careful and do the right thing not because he trusts LF but he doesnt want to end up dead which he could have done in season 6.

Sansa doesnt know that LF told Royce she was kidnapped by the Boltons......