A Song of Ice and Hot Takes
Littlefinger’s Past Is About to Catch Up To Him
Littlefinger is up at Winterfell doing everything he can to create chaos. He’s doing everything he can to pit Sansa and Jon against each other.
In the promo photos for this weeks episode we see a scene in which Jon Snow and Littlefinger are talking in the crypts…

And in the second trailer for this seventh season we see Jon Snow in the crypts choking Littlefinger in a manner that is reminiscent of Ned Stark choking Littlefinger in season one.


It doesn’t seem like much of a coincidence that Jon is attacking Littlefinger right next to the statue of his real mother, Lyanna Stark, Ned’s sister. As I theorized in my recap of the first episode of the season, it’s likely Littlefinger knows, or at least has heard rumor, of the truth behind Jon Snow’s parentage.

But that’s neither here nor there, because while thinking about the fact that a merry band of ‘bros without banners’ is heading north, I started to realize that we may be in store for a brutal and potentially lethal reunion. You probably remember that the Hound, Sandor Clegane has a history with both Arya and Sansa Stark, and while most people are excited to see him reunite with the two Stark girls later this season, I’m more interested in seeing him reunite with Littlefinger. Why, you ask?… Here’s a reminder.

You probably remember that this was the scene in which Littlefinger betrayed Ned Stark and held a knife to his throat, telling him that “I did warn you not to trust me.” And look who that is on the right side of the frame: The Hound. Littlefinger doesn’t expect anyone who was witness to this betrayal to show up on horseback at Winterfell anytime soon, but my guess is that as soon as the Hound sees him, he’ll ask Jon and Sansa why they’re housing the man who betrayed their father and got him killed?
In last week’s episode while talking to Beric Dondarrion in the cabin, asking what makes him so special that he gets resurrected again and again the Hound made one noteworthy statement that felt like a bit of a throwaway line at the time, but could now have more significance. He said: “I’ve met better men than you. And they’ve been hanged from cross-beams, or beheaded… none of them came back.”
He’s likely referring to two people when he says that: the Septon Ian McShane who saved his life and was hanged and Ned Stark who was beheaded.


This subtle and mysterious reference shows us that the Hound has at least two people from his past whose deaths he still thinks about. Two people that he considers “better men” than most. So wouldn’t it be fitting for him to bring Ned’s death up again in future episodes when he rides into Winterfell and sees Sansa standing beside Littlefinger. He will probably be quite outspoken in wondering why she hasn’t beheaded the man whose betrayal led to the death of her father. And this news of Littlefinger’s betrayal could lead to Jon and Sansa doing something we’ve always wanted to see: holding Littlefinger accountable for his treacherous actions.
