littlefinger taking the iron throne

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It is pretty obvious to most people here that littlefinger desires power and influence above all else, and has his ultimate end game set on controlling the iron throne....He is a strong contender (and quite likely actually) to take the throne in one point of the story

obviously this guys smart enough to know he could probably never be the actual king (and probably wouldnt want to be the actual king)...he would instead try to pull a dick cheney/tywin/affc cersei and find himself a mold-able puppet king to manipulate....but who would this puppet king be? Im sure there are many possibilities and LF himself probably doesnt even know yet...but there are some contenders

the most likely would probably be myrcella...presuming the dorne/aegon alliance never really works out for one reason or another....LF could try to bring the vale/riverlands/part of the north in play with dorne to take the IT in exchange for a position of influence (such as hand of the king) and possibly a marriage to a powerful dornish lady (arienne would be hilarious....imagine a LF/arienne marriage...those chapters would be pretty fucking brilliant)

I guess aegon himself could be a possiblility, but this would involve out-machiavelliing his current puppet masters varys/illyrio (LF is probably the only person in westeros/essos that would have a shot at this...but varys/illyrio have the upperhand in my mind)...I guess he could appeal to joncon to throw in his forces behind aegon in a shady exchange for getting rid of varys...then he could just kill off joncon which would be trivial for LF (it helps he already has greyscale)

he could also use sansa and marry her off to aegon, or some other puppet king (maybe one of roberts bastards)...this would give him a lot of options

I dont know who else he could use, he could try something with dany but I doubt he would be able to pull her strings and stannis....no shot in hell

edit: if you think about it...LF is in line to remarry as one of the most eligible bachelors in westeros...and who would be a better bride for his ambitions than arienne? GRRM...PLEASE make this happen...the arienne chapters would be brilliant, and it would open so, so, so many doors for LF and the readers

[Beorn Snow]

I don´t know about Stannis, but Shireen as LF´s puppet would be morbid.

His best bet is too bring the Vale in as a powerful alliance partner to someone´s side. The last lord of the Vale was a hand for more than a decade. Anyone controlling the riverlands, the vale and influencing the north through Sansa can probably pick his own seat in the small council. Aegon makes sense in that regard but there is no way that Varys will allow it.

I doubt LF even knows his own endgame.

[Danielsnag]

I would absolutely love for LF to sit the throne for a time. Perhaps just before or just after Aegon.

I can't see it happening though. Either he will worm his way into being The Hand, or he will be outplayed by his student, Sansa, giving her an army to use to support whoever she chooses.

I hope it's not the latter, but I think it's most likely. There's a lot of foreshadowing for Sansa killing LF

[Danielsnag]

His best bet is too bring the Vale in as a powerful alliance partner to someone´s side. The last lord of the Vale was a hand for more than a decade.

...

I doubt LF even knows his own endgame.

Also this. The Vale isn't really strong enough (at least I don't think) to win the 7K's by itself. If you take Aegon out of the equation, maybe. A fresh, untouched army against the divided and exhausted armies of Westeros may have a chance. But with Aegon in the mix with his aleady large army and growing support, I think LF will need to either garner more support himself, it throw in with another player.

And yeah, LF is EXTREMELY flexible. He can change his plan in an instant. More players entering the game = more chaos = stronger LF

[The Raging Bull]

I think he has an idea of his end game, I doubt all he does is in hope of just getting to a new stage, he is working towards something.

He strikes me as someone who finds a positive from any situation and manipulates it to his advantage. He will try using all he gained (Vale and Sansa) to influence who sits the Iron Throne. but is it the Iron Throne he really wants? like you said he is to clever to believe he can hold the Iron Throne even if he takes it. He is the most sly and cunning character of all ASOIAF so who knows.

I think Sansa will see through his manipulations though

[Darth Visenya]

LF would make the best King ever!!.

[Victor227]

One interesting thing is that Littlefinger mentions that he's going to -do something-. That's important, as right now, what he's doing is more than enough. Another couple years and he'll have the Vale forgetting how they ever got by without him as is. He doesn't -need- to do other things. he doesn't need to marry Sansa to Harry the Heir. He already controls the most food in Westeros, the largest intact army, and near-unnassailable territory. Added onto that, he's the Lord Protector of the Vale, Lord Paramount of the Riverlands, and Lord of Harrenhall and all its attendant lands and incomes.

He's in a wicked-good position if he wants to become Hand of the King or something no matter who wins. But that he intends to take an active hand in affairs... who knows what the hell will go on?

[Willard/Mitt Lannister]

There are two people getting in the way of Littlefinger. And this is why I don't think that he will be the King ever.

1. Sansa is going to be a problem for him. I think he is teaching her too much and that she has little loyalty or love for him. He is giving the tools for her to undo his plans. However, I do not understand why people are so certain that she will kill him. That isn't to say that I have doubts I just wonder where the evidence is.

2. Varys is a bigger problem I think. Unlike in the television program, LF in the books has never actually outwitted Varys. And, while yes, LF is a great off-the-cuff planner, Varys has been planning something for decades and is equally as adaptable. I think that Varys has the benefit of having an exact goal and being able to plan for whatever possible wrenches LF could throw in said plan.

The truth is, I have no idea where LF is going.