Lord Petyr Baelish, also known as Littlefinger (played by Aidan Gillen), was one of the most manipulative villains on Game of Thrones throughout the last seven seasons.
After being obsessed with Lady Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) for over a decade, Littlefinger proceeded to attach himself to her daughter, the impressionable young Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner).
At first it appeared to fans of the HBO fantasy drama that Sansa was under Littlefinger’s thumb, in a frustrating plot that went on for years, but season seven tossed everything upside down when the powerful red-head’s younger sister Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) suddenly returned to Winterfell.
The girls struggled to regain their bond at first – both Sansa and Arya have undergone extensive torture in their time apart – but in an unexpected twist it turned out they had teamed up to kill Littlefinger once and for all.
Now a new clue may have revealed Sansa didn’t actually know Littlefinger was trying to manipulate her into fighting with Arya, in a bid to draw them apart for his own enjoyment.
In fact, some fans believed Sansa and Arya were so at odds there could be the risk one of them would kill the other in a horrific attempt to gain power in the season seven finale.
But the confusion has now been explained, and it’s all in some script notes.
Vanity Fair has shared the details on the season seven scenes, and it all began with Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie).
Sansa wanted to let Arya back in to her life, but her behaviour towards her protector instantly put a frosty atmosphere between them.
This only appeared to grow until Arya lifted her mask and murdered the snivelling Littlefinger, and the Stark sisters’ bond seemed stronger than ever.
In fact, when Sansa watched Brienne and Arya sparring together in the courtyard, the eldest female Stark sibling was instantly jealous, and panicked she could lose her trusted ally.
In the script, it read: “Sansa is not happy about it,” with a later add-on: “This disturbs Sansa; the woman she thought was her dedicated protector is actually a time share.”
What’s more, their tensions are proven correct when the script later explains the girls’ feelings towards each other after so much time apart.
When Arya accuses Sansa of giving in to the Northern Lords too much for fear of losing favour, the script says: “Arya is right. She knows it.
“We know it. Sansa knows it.”
“Now she grows angry, and when Sansa gets angry a steeliness enters her tone,” it later reads in regards to Sansa’s growing impatience with her sister.
It’s clear these fights between the sisters were very real, and as a result, it may have been incredibly touch and go as to whether Sansa and Arya would return to the same side to destroy Littlefinger.
Luckily, the moment of truth may have come when the evil Lord whispered into Sansa’s ear about Arya’s dreams to become the Lady of Winterfell.
The fog instantly lifted, as the elder sister was always clear on how little Arya wanted the life of a noblewoman – and clearly still doesn’t.
“Littlefinger spreads his hands. Well? There it is. Sansa nods. There it is,” the script declared, as actress Sophie showed exactly how little her character believed her trusted companion.
Fans will have to imagine the plans made off-screen between Arya and Sansa.
Game of Thrones season 8 will return to HBO and Sky Atlantic in 2019. Seasons 1-7 are currently streaming on NOW TV.
