Littlefinger Faked His Death With A Faceless Man

The Lord Protector of the Vale was not a character that fans were overly disappointed to see go, after seven seasons of manipulation – not to mention the horrible decision to leave poor Sansa with the evil Ramsay Bolton. Fans cheered as Sansa got her revenge, outwitting Littlefinger and joining forces with her siblings in order to have him begging on the floor before Arya slit his throat.

No death in Game of Thrones is especially odd, since is a show with an incredibly high body count. However, it does seem strange that a character as intelligent and scheming as Littlefinger could be trapped and killed quite so easily. Baelish was already aware that he was in danger at Winterfell when Sansa was younger and alone, she was relatively easy to manipulate, but the new, tougher Sansa is thinking for herself. Once Arya and Bran returned to Winterfell, it was increasingly obvious to Baelish that he needed to keep them from rallying together in order to maintain his position of influence with Sansa.

This is why Littlefinger was trying to create infighting between the Stark sisters in the first place, and it’s difficult to believe that he was entirely convinced it was working. Bran himself gave the game away when he told Petyr “chaos is a ladder,” echoing what Baelish himself had said to Varys when they were alone in the throne room in season 3. Littlefinger must have realized at this point that Bran, at least, knew more about him than he should, and that he was in danger at Winterfell. And yet, a man who is known for traveling all over Westeros in order to save his own skin decided to simply stay put and hope he would be OK. It’s extremely out of character for Littlefinger to stick around when things start heating up, especially when he has somewhere else (the Vale) where he could go, and a way to get there safely.

We already know that Littlefinger has a connection to Braavos, because before his family came to Westeros, they were Braavosi. His great-grandfather was a sellsword in Braavos before coming to the Vale, which Petyr mentions in the series. He also confirms that he knows who the Faceless Men are, if “only by reputation” – and it’s very possible that Littlefinger is lying about the extent of his knowledge. Presumably, growing up from a Braavosi family, he has heard plenty about the House of Black and White. Further suggesting that Littlefinger is aware of the Faceless Men is his smirk when he hears Arya say to Brienne that ‘no one’ trained her with a sword. It seems that, as usual, Littlefinger knows more than he is letting on.

Then, in season 7, episode 5, Arya observes an interesting exchange: Littlefinger stops to talk to a blonde stranger in a corner of the castle. She says to him what sounds like “your time is up,” before he gives her a coin and she goes on her way. She may have simply been a spy for him, and he may have been paying her for her services, but if this is the case, it makes it even more likely that he would have left Winterfell immediately to save his skin. However, given his Braavosi connections, it’s possible that this woman is a Faceless Man herself, and that the coin he gives her is not payment, but one of the coins of the House of Black and White. If this is true, Peter could have been setting her up to take on his face, and to stand in his place to be killed, while he leaves Winterfell for the Vale. We know that it’s possible for a Faceless Man to wear the face of a living person, thanks to Arya seeing her own face on the body of Jaqen H’ghar in season 5, and given Littlefinger’s scheming, wealth, and Braavosi connections, it’s entirely possible that the Starks killed… no one.