Littlefinger’s trailer spotted on the set, and other filming updates

While today was full of casting news about a potential new Frey and the amazing news of Max von Sydow joining the show, cameras still rolled for Game of Thrones.

Twitter user @IrishThrones, a site dedicated to reporting on Game of Thrones shooting locations, has some news from the set in Moneyglass, Northern Ireland.

Potential spoilers below!

They reportedly saw “Littlefinger” written on the door of the trailer but were unable to get a clear photo. As previously established, the set at Moneyglass is Winterfell, which means Littlefinger, if he’s there, has returned to the North.

lf

This really isn’t a surprise since most viewers expected Littlefinger to return to Winterfell with Vale troops at his back because of his conversation with Cersei in Episode 6:  “Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken”.  However, what Littlefinger’s true objective is, regardless of what he told Cersei, is still uncertain.  I mean, at this point, does anyone believe he will take the North and hold it for the Lannisters?

Some other things that remain up in the air in regards this storyline are:   Will he return to find Sansa gone and some very unhappy Boltons?  Will they need him and his troops even more now that they don’t have Sansa under their control?  Will Littlefinger and the Vale’s army go to battle with Roose or will he slink off in search of Sansa?  Or will he stumble across Sansa on the way to Winterfell?  So many interesting permutations!

WolfDragonHair

Since season 1, GoT production has been divided into two filming units, Wolf Unit and Dragon Unit (a Raven Unit was added for season 3, to accommodate the increased workload but then disbanded for season 4). The Wolf and Dragon units may be amalgamated for season 6 or perhaps they’re currently filming near each other.

WinterfellHorses

We can’t exactly be surprised that horses are being used at the Winterfell set. Horses are, after all, a rather important means of transportation in Westeros. Nonetheless, the number of horses in the photograph support speculation (mentioned above) that Littlefinger may return to Winterfell with troops from the Vale.

 

WinterfellSet

Looks like we can look forward to some sweeping crane shots!

We’ll keep you posted on more filming activity throughout the week.

109 Comments

  1. Side note – anyone else having really bad mobile pop up ads on this site ? It is getting hard to read any article without being redirected to a random site that automatically takes me to the App Store. This is the only website it happens and I use my iPhone to do my browsing. Have the latest iOS and everything. Only solution seems to be turning off JavaScript which also disables YouTube so not an ideal solution. From what I understand this is accomplished through shady advertisers via the advertising platform.

  2. TheNamesPlissken:
    Side note – anyone else having really bad mobile pop up ads on this site ? It is getting hard to read any article without being redirected to a random site that automatically takes me to the App Store. This is the only website it happens and I use my iPhone to do my browsing. Have the latest iOS and everything. Only solution seems to be turning off JavaScript which also disables YouTube so not an ideal solution. From what I understand this is accomplished through shady advertisers via the advertising platform.

    I’m getting “you may like”-ads, links apparently sponsored by “taboola”.. -.-

  3. “We seen….” *throws things around room in a rage…*

    Oh Littlefinger, you enigma.

    TheNamesPlissken,

    Yes, it’s making me nuts. I don’t care about Tom Cruise’s ugly teeth or how to make my non-existant penis bigger.

  4. Some other things that remain up in the air in regards this storyline are: Will he return to find Sansa gone and some very unhappy Boltons? Will they need him and his troops even more now that they don’t have Sansa under their control?

    By imprisoning, raping and brutalizing Sansa the Boltons have already knowingly thrown away any prospects for future cooperation with Littlefinger and the Valemen. Why they did that, well, because the whole thing was just a plot construct to get Sansa to play the role of Jeyne, and the second Littlefinger left it was discarded and had no further bearing on the story.

    The North is a hard story to predict this year, because I can guess a lot of individual elements, but not how they’re all going to fit together. There’s a whole bunch of characters strewn around, from Sansa and Theon to the Boltons to the Wildlings to Mel, Davos, and the eventually-resurrected Jon (and from Mel’s vision, she’ll be at Winterfell for the fall of the Boltons, it sounds like), and the impending arrival of the Valemen.

  5. Oh, so many possible permutations!! Oh, the excitement!! Part of me wants Sansa far away from Littlefinger’s reach… but they need to meet again and Baelish needs to be outsmarted by Sansa…

  6. TheNamesPlissken,

    I hear you. I’ve limited my WotW access to Chrome loaded with the “Ad Blocker” extension. These fucking generic advert services are fraught with malware and quite annoying. Don’t ever click on them, no matter how enticing.

    —–

    LF leading the Vale forces into battle for the north is laughable.

  7. i dont think litllefinger will be at winterfell with the vale trop now. I think he will go alone and discover sansa is gone with a furious roose and ramsay flaying soldiers for they dont see her going out. Then he will come with his trop , and will be nice with roose until kill him and his armm and ramsay will escape with life.

    and yeah, before this i think Ramsay will murder fat walda with his litlle brother.

    I actually like roose, hes cold and smart as tywin. i want a decente death for him, I Want roose be crucified where ned beheaded the man of the night patrol with a big northern audience watching.

  8. Sean C.,

    Perhaps…I’m wondering how the Vale commanders will react to anything LF says after they discover what he did at WF and in KL. He sort of lied to them.

  9. Hodor’s Bastard,

    I expect we’re going to get a scene where he implausibly spins the issue of how Sansa, who was last seen in his custody, is…not, anymore. I don’t think there’s going to be any plot consequences (on his own, anyway), since that would just deprive Littlefinger of his army, and the writers pretty clearly see the Vale primarily as a means to give Littlefinger soldiers.

    Igor Thadeu,

    Why would Littlefinger go back to Winterfell by himself? He’s planning to invade. And if he did go to Winterfell, the Boltons would never let him leave.

  10. Sean C.: and the writers pretty clearly see the Vale primarily as a means to give Littlefinger soldiers.

    Now this is when the BF needs to reappear… 🙂

  11. Cersei said she would only name Littlefinger Warden of the North after she saw “Sansa Stark’s head on a spike.” Now, the original plan was for Stannis to defeat the Boltons and for LF and Sansa to then join him. But since that possibility is out of the picture, I’m curious: did LF only agree to Cersei’s terms so that he’d be able to move the Vale army north without making the Lannisters suspicious, or does he truly intend to betray Sansa in order to gain more power?

  12. misselle: I have the same problem on my Android. I have to go back, click the link again, and usually lose the redirect the 2nd time. It’s annoying.

    This. Constantly. The walk to the bathroom at work is only so long, I don’t want to the whole thing backtracking.

  13. I think the reason Littlefinger gave Sansa to the Bolton’s was to give him an excuse to attack them.
    By making Cersei think the Boltons betrayed her, he can now attack them and take the North, while keeping the Lannisters believing he’s on their side.

  14. Sean C.,

    wow, why the boltons woudnt let him leave? We know he go out because of the letter of cersei, but if the letter never comes??.. i dont think he was going to live in winterfell, he is the lord of the vale…. and after all, he gave them sansa, was not him who lost her too. Why they would make him a prisioner? no logic i think.

    But thinking more, i think he will be there with the trops, not alone ( actually he was never alone, he alwyas had vale soldiers with him), but not for he be scared, but for the map, the vale comes first, so he will appear there with a trop, but for sure Roose is not a idiot to open gates for a trop. so will be interesting what will happen.

    Maybe this time we will actually see a batlle in winterfeel.

  15. Big Mac,

    THIS!! Its exactly what i have been thinking too since i saw him take her there. Little Finger aims to destroy the Boltons and this is his ticket now. He had to have a reason to go against them and he used Sansa to turn Cersei against them thinking that they betrayed her. Now he has a reason to go against them with the full support of the Vale. Hes basically aiming to create a new war of kings just like the last war.

  16. Pigeon:
    Littlefinger will outlive everybody. And it’ll be awesome. He’ll be so bored.

    He’s like a cockroach. I’m pretty sure he could weasel his way safely through a White Walker invasion at this point.

  17. Gayle,

    I have android as well, and when it happens to me, I hold down the back button to pull up the history menu. Saves some seconds.

  18. Big Mac:
    I think the reason Littlefinger gave Sansa to the Bolton’s was to give him an excuse to attack them.
    By making Cersei think the Boltons betrayed her, he can now attack them and take the North, while keeping the Lannisters believing he’s on their side.

    I sort of agree. I think he knew all along that the Boltons were psychos, and didn’t care. He sent Sansa to the Boltons to turn Cersei against them. Cersei ordered him to take charge of the Vale armies and use them against the Boltons .

    One option: controlling the Vale with the blessings of the queen is the whole point of the exercise. There’s a good chance that Littlefinger will delay the Northern attack, as it would be suicide. He’d be trying to conquer the North from the south, which has never been done. It’s winter. Boltons are victorious. They control Moat Cailin. Winterfell is a tough place to besiege, and he’d have to get past the Moat and everything else to make it there. Tywin would have found this impossible to pull off, and Littlefinger is not a military leader.

    …and then maybe he will take the Vale against the North, but indirectly, by encouraging a Northern rebellion for the Starks, and against the Boltons. At the end of that, he could enter with the Vale troops, marry Sansa, and become Lord Paramount independent of Cersei. The Lannisters would be in no position to do much about this; they’re sinking fast. Problem is that though he knows the Boltons are psychos, he doesn’t know that Rickon and Bran are still alive. Trying to take them down could kill him.

  19. Aryamad,

    The walkers will approach, The Night’s King will stare coldly at him, and then LF will just start talking in such convoluted circles of quotable quips and assessments of human nature, that they’ll all just slowly glance at each other and back away, build a wall of their own, and never speak of it again.

  20. TheNamesPlissken:
    Side note – anyone else having really bad mobile pop up ads on this site ? It is getting hard to read any article without being redirected to a random site that automatically takes me to the App Store. This is the only website it happens and I use my iPhone to do my browsing. Have the latest iOS and everything. Only solution seems to be turning off JavaScript which also disables YouTube so not an ideal solution. From what I understand this is accomplished through shady advertisers via the advertising platform.

    I have also problems with this site on my Android. It’s a very recent problem. I don’t know what changed.

  21. Maria: I sort of agree. I think he knew all along that the Boltons were psychos, and didn’t care. He sent Sansa to the Boltons to turn Cersei against them. Cersei ordered him to take charge of the Vale armies and use them against the Boltons .

    Cersei didn’t ordered him to take charge of the vale armies. She is in no position to do it. Littlefiner offered himself to take charge of the vale armies. Please don’t bend the reality.

  22. Big Mac:
    I think the reason Littlefinger gave Sansa to the Bolton’s was to give him an excuse to attack them.
    By making Cersei think the Boltons betrayed her, he can now attack them and take the North, while keeping the Lannisters believing he’s on their side.

    That’s obviously what the writers are going for. Actually giving them Sansa was unnecessary and counterproductive, though. Cersei didn’t actually investigate his claim that the Boltons had her, and indeed, if she had, any agents she sent would have a pretty high probability of discovering that it was Littlefinger who took her to Winterfell in the first place, ruining the entire scheme. He was banking entirely on her not investigating it and taking him at his word. There’s thus no reason to actually put her there.

    Igor Thadeu:
    wow, why the boltons woudnt let him leave? We know he go out because of the letter of cersei, but if the letter never comes??.. i dont think he was going to live in winterfell, he is the lord of the vale…. and after all, he gave them sansa, was not him who lost her too. Why they would make him a prisioner? no logic i think.

    Littlefinger “gave” them Sansa as his emissary to help found an alliance (supposedly), not as a rape-slave. The Boltons treated her worse than Joffrey and the Lannisters did, and the Lannisters certainly weren’t expecting a cooperative relationship with Robb. Treating her the way Ramsay did is effectively a declaration of war on Littlefinger, and letting him leave just invites his retaliation for their blatant bad faith.

    Maria:
    I think he knew all along that the Boltons were psychos, and didn’t care.

    Explicitly denied by Bryan Cogman, who said he had no idea.

  23. Not sure on the crane shots, crane shots would be nice but I think the crane is to hold things in place

    Interesting news though regardless

  24. In the scene where Mel tries to seduce Jon she mentions that he should come to Winterfell because he knows the castle, the “hidden tunnels, its weaknesses, its people”. Maybe that plays out – not for Stannis obviously – but for a combined northern/Vale siege against the Boltons

  25. Sean C.: He was banking entirely on her not investigating it and taking him at his word.There’s thus no reason to actually put her there.

    Oh, there is. We didn’t need Mereen 2.0, aka The Vale plot.

  26. mau: Oh, there is. We didn’t need Mereen 2.0, aka The Vale plot.

    What do you mean? We already HAD the entire Vale plot in S4.

  27. Melisandre saw Bolton banners burning, but she also saw herself walking on the battlements of Winterfell. Could Melisandre team up with Littlefinger? What use would Littlefinger have for a Red Priestess of Asshai? Well, she can see the future…..

  28. Some points:

    1: Sansa and LF are still together in the books, and there really isn’t a plausible arc where she would go to the North without him in any reasonable time frame. Thus, in order to re-align the show and the books, LF and Sansa must meet up again this season.

    2: LF is a player, but he also talks often of vengeance. Who does he hate? Well, who killed the one HE loved? The Freys and the Boltons. He has personal reasons to invade the North. On top of that, taking the seat of his rival Ned Stark would be a huge coup for him.

    3: The directors and showrunners have said on multiple occasions that TV-LF did NOT know about how evil Ramsay was. Regardless of how implausible this was, I take them at their word on that. TV-LF is clueless as to how Sansa was brutalized.

    4: Anyone in Sansa’s position would be seething mad at LF, regardless of whether his mistake was out of stupidity or duplicity.

    5: There is a major unfulfilled prophecy in the book which implies Sansa will kill a giant in a castle of snow.

    LF mistakenly believes he can re-unite with Sansa and rule the North through her. He is wrong, and she will turn on him and crush him at the peak of his power. LF’s death will be one of the biggest moments of the season, and I am most definitely looking forward to it.

    Final point: What would cause Sansa to turn on LF in the books? Well, anything could happen, like a rape by Harry the Heir, but I think the most obvious route is for Sansa to learn that LF betrayed her father. If you think for a while, you can probably think of someone who knows the truth about that day, fancies Stark girls, and who was only MOSTLY dead. This could come up on TV as well.

  29. Chad Brick,

    No, we hadn’t. That was just prolog for politics of the Vale, no one gives a damn.

    Sansa is stuck there, ” learning to become a player” by listening to LF’s monologues (I suppose that’s how every great politician or ruler became a player), and at the same time I can’t see what is her purpose in this story after all.

    To become a lady of the Vale? To take the North? From whom? Stannis? The Boltons? How? The political situation in the Vale is so complicated that there is no realistic way for 14 year old girl to lead them to the war, so far away from their homes.

    Every lord from the Vale has his own interest in the books, his agenda, schemes, so why would they go to the North to fight for Sansa?

    In the show, they are just nice people who hate the Lannisters and love the Starks. Sometimes, simpler is better.

  30. Chad Brick,

    Sansa can learn truth about Lf’s betrayal from Brienne in the show. Brienne spent some time with Cat, and in the show Cat knew that LF betrayed Ned, so it is reasonable to assume that Cat told that to Brienne, while they were traveling to Robb’s camp in S2.

    Also, in S5, Brienne wanted to speak alone with Sansa. Maybe to tell her about Arya, but maybe to tell her the truth about LF.

  31. mau,

    Not a valid narrative reason. Littlefinger isn’t aware he’s in a TV show.

    mau:
    Sansa is stuck there, ” learning to become a player” by listening to LF’s monologues (I suppose that’s how every great politician or ruler became a player), and at the same time I can’t see what is her purpose in this story after all.

    To become a lady of the Vale? To take the North? From whom? Stannis? The Boltons? How? The political situation in the Vale is so complicated that there is no realistic way for 14 year old girl to lead them to the war, so far away from their homes.

    Every lord from the Vale has his own interest in the books, his agenda, schemes, so why would they go to the North to fight for Sansa?

    Sansa is learning how politics is played and is beginning to actively carry out plans and manipulate people (successfully and sensibly). The lords having their own agendas is what makes it a challenging place to learn. As to where it’s going, that remains to be seen. “Act 2” is just beginning.

  32. My page a day calendar quote for 04-aug:
    Yes, all Lannisters are lions, and when a Tyrell breaks wind it smells just like a rose.
    -Olenna Tyrell – a storm of swords

  33. Chad Brick,

    Littlefinger is a psychopath incapable of loving anyone but himself. I don’t even think he loved Cat. She was just an obsession, a way for him to raise his social class. So even if he knew about Ramsay’s cruelty, it wouldn’t have changed anything. His obsession with power is ultimately greater than his obsession with Sansa.

  34. Chad Brick,

    Was Ned a rival for LF? Surely it was Brandon, Ned’s elder brother. He was the one who beat LF in a duel, and from whom LF had to be rescued by Catelyn (still a Tully back then). Wouldn’t Riverrun be higher on LF’s list than Winterfell because of its strategic value? It’s also closer to The Eyrie. Holding both would negate much of the power Freys have with The Twins.

    That’s got me wondering…..

    If LF persuades Roose to join forces, perhaps on the premise that Freys are back-stabbers….. LF gets Roose to clean out The Freys for him, and hope there’s enough resistance to weaken Boltons….. Then LF swoops in to claim the win.

    Whether that’s going to be the way it goes, who can tell? We’ve nothing to go on! (Not yet, anyway!)

  35. Tywin of the Hill,

    I agree that Littlefinger is not going to be ruled by sentiment. But Sansa isn’t merely a lust object, she’s a vital political asset, and essential to legitimizing his control of the North. Handing her over to the Boltons is both totally unnecessary and totally contrary to his avowed goals.

  36. Sean C.,

    But that way he has caused a rift between the Boltons and the Lannisters, and now he has a lawful way to obtain the North without going against the Crown.

  37. mau:
    Chad Brick,

    No, we hadn’t. That was just prolog for politics of the Vale, no one gives a damn.

    Wow, do I need to go Wimsey on you? All of the important elements of Sansa’s AFFC Vale chapters occurred in S4. That material was not cut, it was given the same basic treatment as most of this adaption has gotten – the stuff involving the main characters is kept, the stuff related to very minor characters is cut, and the stuff in the middle is either kept, modified, or tossed as necessary to stitch together a semi-coherent plot.

    You wanna go double or nothing on our bet that TWOW will be out before 01/01/2018? I bet the Vale invades the North in both S6 and TWOW. Do you disagree?

  38. Chad Brick,

    i belive that the Vale will invade the north in TWOW. and that is how sansa gets there in the books.

    also i have some doubts about how Harry will be towards her….

    what mau probaly means is that the ”plot” to convince the vale lords to join her was cut. so they made the vale lords stark loyalists

  39. ZappaCreed:
    Chad Brick,

    Was Ned a rival for LF? Surely it was Brandon, Ned’s elder brother. He was the one who beat LF in a duel, and from whom LF had to be rescued by Catelyn (still a Tully back then). Wouldn’t Riverrun be higher on LF’s list than Winterfell because of its strategic value? It’s also closer to The Eyrie. Holding both would negate much of the power Freys have with The Twins.

    That’s got me wondering…..

    Whether that’s going to be the way it goes, who can tell? We’ve nothing to go on! (Not yet, anyway!)

    Brandon was a rival before Ned was, but Ned stepped right into that slot when his brother died. I expect LF was jealous as all hell for years.

    The Freys are dead men walking strategically. They will fall in S6/TWOW and LF will scoop up the scraps. This will be more mid-season/book.

    In fact, if S5 had had a logical plot at all, LF/Sansa/Robin would have attacked the Twins rather than sending Sansa to be tortured. How hard would it have been for LF to convince SweetRobin to get vengeance for his cousin and aunt on behalf of the cute girl he has a puppy-crush on?

  40. Tywin of the Hill,

    But as I pointed out, there was no need to send Sansa there to accomplish that, as the whole scheme hinged on Cersei taking him at his word and not investigating further (otherwise his own involvement would have been discovered).

  41. LF and the troops of The Vale will try to access the North through The Neck, by establishing contact with Howland Reed.
    That will urge Howland Reed to end his “radio silence” and to turn the tide on the game of thrones, as he knows several inconvenient truths…
    Howland Reed will eventually begin the fall of LF.
    David O’Hara for Howland Reed!!!

  42. Sean C.,

    LF gambles with Cersei decision……..Ned gambles with trusting LF

    at some point i personally think that a story needs some coincidents, some characters making stupid decisions.
    and this depends, how much can a viewer take it. i for one have quite a high tolerance for this, as i belive we would haave no story otherwise.
    i for one don’t want a history book, where i have 200 pages on pointless things.
    for ex. sansa/LF getting the Vale on they’re side. make them loyal from the begining like they did in the show and i’m quite happy

    also cersei had good reasons to trust LF, who has proven loyal to the lannisters, we know what he did but she doesn’t….remenber he was the one helped arrest ned, he brought the Tyrels….so Cersei decision to trust him has some logic….but this is Cersei so we shouldn’t talk about logic too much

  43. Mihnea,

    I wasn’t arguing about whether Cersei should have trusted him. I was pointing out that because Littlefinger’s plan hinges on Cersei taking him at his word, sending Sansa to Winterfell is both pointless and counterproductive.

  44. Sean C.,

    No, Littlefinger couldn’t take the chance that Cersei would send an agent to check if Sansa was actually at Winterfell. He was covering his bases. Also, his plan may hinge on gaining the Boltons trust. Until season 6, we won’t know for sure.

  45. Sean C.,

    thats exactly what i said abou characters actions. just gave cersei as example

    i for NEVER think if a plan is “pruductive”…i think about the STORY..

    did i enjoy sansa’s story in the show?: yup
    did i enjoy sansa’s story in the books?: no
    so i think they did a good choice

    also i wont enter this disscussion anymore: our opinions are simply too differant, not only on this storyline but also about books/tv shows in general, so i don’t see the point.

  46. Young Dragon,

    As I pointed out, if Cersei had sent anybody to look into this, they would have learned that it was Littlefinger who took her there, blowing the whole plan. It only works if Cersei makes no inquiries.

    Mihnea:
    Sean C.,

    i for NEVER think if a plan is “pruductive”…i think about the STORY..

    I am talking about the story. The story wants me to believe that Littlefinger is an evil genius, which doesn’t work because his plans are nonsense.

    TheMannis,

    Have they filmed for the Iron Islands there in past seasons? I assume that’s what the Irish Times is going on. If they’re starting to film there, we might get some news on who is playing Euron.

  47. Sean C.:
    Mihnea,

    I wasn’t arguing about whether Cersei should have trusted him.I was pointing out that because Littlefinger’s plan hinges on Cersei taking him at his word, sending Sansa to Winterfell is both pointless and counterproductive.

    It hinged on far more than that. If anyone with any agenda had sent Cersei a raven telling her than LF had just dropped off Sansa at Winterfell, his head would have been on a pike the moment he stepped in King’s Landing.

    Sansa is obviously not a secret in the north. She entered Winterfell openly, and the entire reason Roose was supposedly interesting in having her was so that he could use her legitimacy to control the north. This doesn’t work if she is hidden. Everyone up there knows, and everyone is an impossibly large number of mouths to stay silent. Either some Northern lord would communicate with the crown directly on this matter in return for a favor, or someone would tell someone and the word would quickly spread. Though of course in any sane version of TV-westeros, Roose would have accepted LF’s deal concerning Sansa, then betrayed him at Moat Cailin.

  48. I don’t know why, but I thought Littlefinger would lead the Vale armies North, where they would mutiny and support Sansa instead (maybe she would promise to marry Sweet Robin?). Probably unlikely, but it would be interesting none the less.

  49. Chad Brick:
    Some points:

    I don’t know if anyone has played Final Fantasy Tactics but for some reason I’ve always thought Delita and Ovelia about Littlefinger and Sansa

  50. Chad Brick: It hinged on far more than that. If anyone with any agenda had sent Cersei a raven telling her than LF had just dropped off Sansa at Winterfell, his head would have been on a pike the moment he stepped in King’s Landing.

    Sansa is obviously not a secret in the north. She entered Winterfell openly, and the entire reason Roose was supposedly interesting in having her was so that he could use her legitimacy to control the north. This doesn’t work if she is hidden. Everyone up there knows, and everyone is an impossibly large number of mouths to stay silent. Either some Northern lord would communicate with the crown directly on this matter in return for a favor, or someone would tell someone and the word would quickly spread. Though of course in any sane version of TV-westeros, Roose would have accepted LF’s deal concerning Sansa, then betrayed him at Moat Cailin.

    Indeed. There are so many ways that word would get to Kings Landing that Sansa was married to Ramsay Bolton. A “hey, Littlefinger was there, too!,” appendix would not reasonably be included. Sean C is trying to call this awkward storytelling because it is different from the books. It is no more or less contrived than anything else that happens in book or show. People have seen too many spy movies and bad TV shows, thinking that of course Littlefinger would have known about Ramsay. That’s just boneheaded. He wouldn’t know.

  51. I’m of the siesta:
    Oh, so many possible permutations!! Oh, the excitement!! Part of me wants Sansa far away from Littlefinger’s reach… but they need to meet again and Baelish needs to be outsmarted by Sansa…

    I know this idea of Sansa somehow outsmarting Littlefinger is an immensely popular one, but I’ve never liked it. “Playing the game” seems very much to NOT be in Sansa’s nature, and having her outmaneuver one of the shrewdest players seems like a very phony and unearned development, IMO.

  52. the north: Cerseididn’t ordered him to take charge of the vale armies. She is in no position to do it. Littlefiner offered himself to take charge of the vale armies. Please don’t bend the reality.

    He told her the situation, offered to take charge, and she said yes, go right on ahead. She is the queen, no matter how weak her position, and her ok puts him in a stronger position than he was before. He now has options he didn’t have before, and Littlefinger always acts to increase his options, which is why he loves chaos. I’m not sure how that’s a bending of reality.

  53. @King in the North Carolina
    This is the problem with many people on this fandom,they are so certain that a plotline will go into a certain way and when it doesn’t happen,they bitch and rage like the showrunners or Martin owed them to fullfil their fantasies of what they wanted to see happen to the characters .

  54. Chilli, and Everyone,

    Our apologies for the Taboola issue. Taboola was merely a test run to see how it would function and it obviously needs work before it will be implemented again.

    As to the automatic shift to the app store via mobile.. we are not sure what is causing this. We do not have an ad agreement in place for any app advertising whatsoever and we will look into what could be causing it and get it deleted.

    Our apologies for the inconvenience.

  55. Off-Topic Otto: Indeed. There are so many ways that word would get to Kings Landing that Sansa was married to Ramsay Bolton. A “hey, Littlefinger was there, too!,” appendix would not reasonably be included. Sean C is trying to call this awkward storytelling because it is different from the books. It is no more or less contrived than anything else that happens in book or show. People have seen too many spy movies and bad TV shows, thinking that of course Littlefinger would have known about Ramsay. That’s just boneheaded. He wouldn’t know.

    No, I called it bad storytelling because it doesn’t make sense. Littlefinger’s plan hinges on Cersei not investigating what he tells her (what rumours might or might not reach KL is not what I was talking about). As such, sending Sansa there is unnecessary — or, if for some reason it was necessary, under no circumstances would Littlefinger take her there himself.

    King in the North Carolina,

    Take it up with GRRM, who has said Sansa is learning to play the game like Littlefinger. That’s why she’s with him, in the narrative — just like why Bran is with Bloodraven, and Arya the Faceless Men.

  56. Sean C.,

    Yes, The Iron Islands were filmed there before.

    http://winteriscoming.net/2011/08/23/day-30-filming-continues-in-northern-ireland/:

    “Last week, there was four days of filming at Ballintoy Harbour, according to this Belfast Telegraph article. Based on reports from the set, we know that a number of different scenes were shot in the area, all of them set on the Greyjoy’s homeland of Pyke. Alfie Allen was spotted on set with a character believed to be Aeron Greyjoy, but other trusted sources have confirmed that this character is NOT the Damphair. “

  57. Littlefinger is already Warden of the North. When he aked Cersei, she immediatly responded she would “speak of it to the King tonight”. She only says that “when she’ll see Sansa’s head on a spike”, she’ll know “he is a man of his word”. So Sansa’s life is not an issue in this plot. He already holds the title.

    I know that’s not a common opinion but I really do understand the writers’s logic in having LF not knowing about Ramsay’s madness. The series never state Littlefinger’s spy network is as large as Varys’s. His zone of influence simply does not go as far as to the vast and wider North. He only is from the Vale, has spent his childhood in the Riverlands and has gained influence in KL. He most certainly knew of the Boltons’s gruesome traditions but it was more likely to think the deeds were executed by the soldiers/henchmen (as seen in Theon’s case in early Season 3) ; it is not even sure that Roose himself ever tortured a man. As Ramsay tells LF in episode 3, he was only given a clear and high status recently. Before that he was only a “bastard”, probably unknown to the rest of the Northern lords (Robb didn’t react to Roose sending him to take back Winterfell in season 2), and we’ve “only” seen him torturing/killing defenseless and common girls, his own henchmen and Theon. And all of this actions were mostly hidden/unwitnessed : all of the henchmen were killed in the forest ; the Greyjoys themselves didn’t know of Theon’s torture ; Tansy was killed with only Myranda and Reek witnessing. And even in the Cerwyns’s case, their castle was located nearby Winterfell. It wasn’t a Northern stronghold at a far-off distance in the North with a town nearby. Additionally, as the corpses were displayed, Sansa & LF were already at Moat Callin, so he couldn’t get the information at this point. I even read a French elaborate review which stated that “all of Westeros knows of Ramsay’s personnality”, which I think is wrong considering how large are the North and Westeros and also Ramsay’s old status which I tried to explain earlier.

    As for LF not counting on Cersei investigating, I don’t have a real explanation, only that he’s a “beating man”, adoring risk and “grandiose” coups (having Jon Arryn poisoned to spark off a war). But he also could have counted on the Crown’s diminished zone of influence as Varys had escaped and Qyburn’s influence seemes to have been restrained to KL.

  58. TL,

    i took it as this: LF has proven loyal to the lannisters, varys gone, the spy network no where near its full strenght, and the strongest point….cersei is stupid, more so without tywin.

    and on a 2 point: how would cersei invesigate? go around town to ask for a maid of three and ten?
    its not like everyone in the riverlands knows how sansa looks…only podrik recognized her because he was tyrions squire.
    they where not at big castles so no high lords who could recognize her. and even if somehow, altough i highly doubt it, someone told cersei that LF was seen at an in with a young girl, he could simply say it was a whore/friend/lady from the vale….afterall he is a widow so him with young girls shouldn’t be suspicious. more so that noone suspects him

    i highly agree with you on the other points.

  59. Sean C.:
    Young Dragon,

    As I pointed out, if Cersei had sent anybody to look into this, they would have learned that it was Littlefinger who took her there, blowing the whole plan.It only works if Cersei makes no inquiries.

    I am talking about the story.The story wants me to believe that Littlefinger is an evil genius, which doesn’t work because his plans are nonsense.

    That’s not true at all. Cersei’s agent would have seen Sansa, then reported straight back. Why would the agent hang around asking questions waiting to be discovered?

  60. King in the North Carolina: “Playing the game” seems very much to NOT be in Sansa’s nature, and having her outmaneuver one of the shrewdest players seems like a very phony and unearned development,

    I, too, would like to know where this “playing the game” characterization of Sansa is coming from. S5 saw Sansa being used and abused as much as any other season. Her assertive “game-playing” consisted of picking up a corkscrew and using it to unlock her bedroom door. It was Reek/Theon who stepped in to save her this season.

    Even in AFfC and the sample TWoW Alayne chapter, GRRM seems to be giving Sansa some modicum of normalcy. It is obvious that GRRM covets her and has protected her from serious trauma throughout the books, unlike her siblings and parental units. Besides her SweetRobin smackdown in S4, her greatest “game-playing” asset is her deft use of her ears to listen to the events that swirl around her.

    I anxiously await her next move….

  61. Mihnea,

    She’s been shown to have her own spy network in season 1. Besides, she’s the queen. It wouldn’t be hard to send a random Lannister soldier to check it out.

  62. Sean C.:
    mau,

    Littlefinger isn’t aware he’s in a TV show.<

    No, but we are, and we should be thankful. One Meereen was enough.

    Sansa is learning how politics is played and is beginning to actively carry out plans and manipulate people (successfully and sensibly).The lords having their own agendas is what makes it a challenging place to learn.As to where it’s going, that remains to be seen.

    The point is, that doesn’t make a good story. It’s just a filler, like Meereen. In that city you also have many sides with their own agenda, but no one cares, because no one cares about the future of Meereen, just like no one cares for the future of the Vale.

    Sansa is learning how politics are played? Yeah, right. One crucial thing for every player is something Sansa lacks. Ambition. What does she want? She never said that she wants to become a player, she didn’t say that she wants to be a lady of the Vale, to be Queen in the North,.. nothing…

    You can’t become a player by listening to other’s person monologues. You need to have a goal, a purpose, a mission, something you want to achieve. You need to start playing, to try and fail, and try again..

    She is just not interested in politics.

  63. Young Dragon,

    check ou what? the people in the riverlands don’t know sansa.
    and its not like she can send a guard to winterfell to check

    also spy-network in kings landing not the riverlands

  64. Chad Brick: Wow, do I need to go Wimsey on you? All of the important elements of Sansa’s AFFC Vale chapters occurred in S4. That material was not cut, it was given the same basic treatment as most of this adaption has gotten – the stuff involving the main characters is kept, the stuff related to very minor characters is cut, and the stuff in the middle is either kept, modified, or tossed as necessary to stitch together a semi-coherent plot.

    The most important element of the Vale plot is Harry, and that was drastically changed.

    You wanna go double or nothing on our bet that TWOW will be out before 01/01/2018? I bet the Vale invades the North in both S6 and TWOW. Do you disagree?

    I don’t disagree, but the Vale invasion doesn’t make any sense in the books. But GRRM will write it.

  65. mau,

    my thoughts are the same on her motivation. she is never going to be like LF.
    not that she couldn’t, she can. but she simply isn’t that type of person

  66. Mihnea,

    Check out to see if Sansa is really in Winterfell. She could send someone from her spy network to investigate. One person should be able to sneak into the North undetected.

  67. also! Roose does not kill LF the same way Royce doesn’t kill him(royce’s reason is that he has ”honor”)

  68. Sean C.: No, I called it bad storytelling because it doesn’t make sense.Littlefinger’s plan hinges on Cersei not investigating what he tells her

    So what? LF’s plan in AGOT hinges on Ned be too stupid to tell Cersei exactly what he will do and on Robert dying in the hunt.

    You just overanalyze his plot, because you don’t like it, but with that approach you can find so many holes in every plan in the books and every plan in every show and book ever.

  69. Mihnea:
    also! Roose does not kill LF the same way Royce doesn’t kill him(royce’s reason is that he has ”honor”)

    And why would Roose kill LF, who controls The Vale? For Lannisters? Please.

    The Vale can help him with their fresh army, ih he needs them, and Lannister are useless now.

  70. Mihnea,

    I’m not saying it’s likely, I’m saying it’s possible. Littlefinger wasn’t taking any chances. Besides, that’s only one reason that Littlefinger sent Sansa to Winterfell. He may also need the Boltons trust for the next stage of his plan. We’ll find out more in season 6.

  71. mau: No, we hadn’t. That was just prolog for politics of the Vale, no one gives a damn.

    Sansa is stuck there, ” learning to become a player” by listening to LF’s monologues (I suppose that’s how every great politician or ruler became a player), and at the same time I can’t see what is her purpose in this story after all.

    To become a lady of the Vale? To take the North? From whom? Stannis? The Boltons? How? The political situation in the Vale is so complicated that there is no realistic way for 14 year old girl to lead them to the war, so far away from their homes.

    Every lord from the Vale has his own interest in the books, his agenda, schemes, so why would they go to the North to fight for Sansa?

    In the show, they are just nice people who hate the Lannisters and love the Starks. Sometimes, simpler is better.

    1.Tv show’s Sansa isn’t 14
    2. Tv show’s Stannis is dead.
    3.Let not forget Littlefinger is the husband of the queen of the vale and he is the ruler of the vale until Robin Arryn come to age.

    So yeah, I don’t see why you can’t understand it.

  72. the north: 1.Tv show’s Sansa isn’t 14
    2. Tv show’s Stannis is dead.
    3.Let not forget Littlefinger is the husband of the queen of the vale

    So yeah, I don’t see why you can’t understand it.

    I was speaking about the plot from the books. I understand everything in the show, and I see what purpose Sansa can serve in this story.

  73. Watchers on the Wall:
    As to the automatic shift to the app store via mobile.. we are not sure what is causing this.We do not have an ad agreement in place for any app advertising whatsoever and we will look into what could be causing it and get it deleted.

    Usually it’s code attached to the images being displayed. The advertising network will probably want to know which ads do it.

    For anyone using a mobile device: Take note of the ads that appear (ex: “Watch Full Anime Episodes…” et al) and if the page flips to your device’s application store then you know the culprit.

  74. Sean C.:
    Mihnea,

    I wasn’t arguing about whether Cersei should have trusted him.I was pointing out that because Littlefinger’s plan hinges on Cersei taking him at his word, sending Sansa to Winterfell is both pointless and counterproductive.

    That is because his plan is not just about Cersei. As always, he is playing both sides against the middle. He wants Cersei to think he’s on her side so he can take an army north without suspicion. He also wants Roose to think he’s on his side so that he can take an army north without suspicion. Giving Sansa to the Boltons “proved” he was on their side, since he gave up something important and helped them strengthen their position with the northerners. And the Boltons would probably have welcomed some additional troops through the Neck to help defend from Stannis…

    Of course, with Stannis dead and Sansa on the run, I don’t see LF getting a very warm welcome in the north now. We’ll see how they handle it next year…

  75. Young Dragon: That’s not true at all. Cersei’s agent would have seen Sansa, then reported straight back. Why would the agent hang around asking questions waiting to be discovered?

    That assumes the first thing the agent would even do is see Sansa, which is not generally how spies work. Moreover, agents who’ve traveled halfway across the continent would be tasked with gathering as much information as possible about the situation.

    mau:
    The point is, that doesn’t make a good story. It’s just a filler, like Meereen. In that city you also have many sides with their own agenda, but no one cares, because no one cares about the future of Meereen, just like no one cares for the future of the Vale.

    Sansa is learning how politics are played? Yeah, right. One crucial thing for every player issomething Sansa lacks. Ambition. What does she want? She never said that she wants to become a player, she didn’t say that she wants to be a lady of the Vale, to be Queen in the North,.. nothing…

    You can’t become a player by listening to other’s person monologues. You need to have a goal, a purpose, a mission, something you want to achieve. You need to start playing, to try and fail, and try again..

    She is just not interested in politics.

    The Vale isn’t filler at all. It’s been set up as a crucial region in the next phase of the conflict in Westeros.

    I entirely agree that Sansa doesn’t want, as yet, to be a “player”. She’s learning because she’s being compelled to by circumstances. The impetus to strike out on her own has yet to appear.

    mau: So what? LF’s plan in AGOT hinges on Ned be too stupid to tell Cersei exactly what he will do and on Robert dying in the hunt.

    No, it doesn’t. If Ned hadn’t told Cersei, it wouldn’t have meaningfully changed anything.

    Hodor’s Bastard: I, too, would like to know where this “playing the game” characterization of Sansa is coming from. S5 saw Sansa being used and abused as much as any other season. Her assertive “game-playing” consisted of picking up a corkscrew and using it to unlock her bedroom door.It was Reek/Theon who stepped in to save her this season.

    Even in AFfC and the sample TWoW Alayne chapter, GRRM seems to be giving Sansa some modicum of normalcy. It is obvious that GRRM covets her and has protected her from serious trauma throughout the books, unlike her siblings and parental units. Besides her SweetRobin smackdown in S4, her greatest “game-playing” asset is her deft use of her ears to listen to the events that swirl around her.

    That Season 5 completely squanders Sansa’s character development in the series (which was already rushed and badly handled) is entirely correct. That has nothing to do with whether that is her arc in the books.

    The idea that GRRM has “protected her from serious trauma throughout the books” is hilarious. She’s been abused, physically and psychologically, from the end of Book 1 through to the present, in various forms (lessening, after Book 3). Like her siblings, AFFC/ADWD represents a time where she arrives at a place where she can start to train in relative security; that’s no different from Arya or Bran.

  76. Sean C.: The idea that GRRM has “protected her from serious trauma throughout the books” is hilarious. She’s been abused, physically and psychologically, from the end of Book 1 through to the present, in various forms (lessening, after Book 3).

    I respectfully disagree but I don’t think we’re really disagreeing. While her siblings’ arcs are entering chaotic territory, Sansa’s arc, while remaining interesting, is treading water….which is the reason why the showrunners tried to up the ante for her, imho. Read Jon and Bran’s last chapter in ADwD and the Mercy TWoW chapter, then read Alayne from TWoW. Sansa is coasting in comparison. Yes, she has been exposed to atrocity and has been abused but she hasn’t really experienced (to reference an overused term) “agency” yet like the others. GRRM covets Sansa and is saving her for a future event (if it comes to that).

  77. Sean C.:

    The Vale isn’t filler at all.It’s been set up as a crucial region in the next phase of the conflict in Westeros.

    How?

    I entirely agree that Sansa doesn’t want, as yet, to be a “player”.She’s learning because she’s being compelled to by circumstances.The impetus to strike out on her own has yet to appear.

    If she ever acts, she will act to protect herself and her family from LF and that is all. Everything else is completely unrealistic. She won’t become a player, because she doesn’t have ambition for that.

    Every player in this story is corrupted more or less with desires for power, or revenge, or whatever.

    Varys, LF, Doran, Cersei, Tywin, Olenna HS,… They have nothing in common with Sansa.

    She is just a different type of person. Much kinder, much nicer, much more honest and honorable. She faced so many tragedies in her life, and all that didn’t push her to the “dark side”.

    She doesn’t dream about gold, or power, or gods, or anything like that. She dreams about peace, good husband, good children, normal family,…

    No, it doesn’t.If Ned hadn’t told Cersei, it wouldn’t have meaningfully changed anything.

    I disagree. It gave Cersei time to prepare. And Ned found about incest just because of Sansa’s comment, so it was pure luck. Ned wasn’t able to connect the dots LF gave him.

    And if Robert had lived, the LF’s whole plan would have collapsed.

    But you won’t complain about that, because you like that plot and disliked Sansa’s plot in the show. You should be honest. To yourself, first of all. If we start using your criteria for what makes sense, this story would crash. And many other stores

  78. Hodor’s Bastard: I respectfully disagree but I don’t think we’re really disagreeing. While her siblings’ arcs are entering chaotic territory, Sansa’s arc, while remaining interesting, is treading water….which is the reason why the showrunners tried to up the ante for her, imho.Read Jon and Bran’s last chapter in ADwD and the Mercy TWoW chapter, then read Alayne from TWoW. Sansa is coasting in comparison. Yes, she has been exposed to atrocity and has been abused but she hasn’t really experienced (to reference an overused term) “agency” yet like the others. GRRM covets Sansa and is saving her for a future event (if it comes to that).

    Sansa’s plot in the books is “treading water” because it is logical for it to do so – you’ve got a 13-year-old who is in hiding from the crown in a peaceful place. How much “interesting” stuff is supposed to happen to her over the course of such a year or so? Unlike most writers, GRRM does not feel compelled to make drama up when drama doesn’t fit the bill. Sansa will remain on the back-burner as long until such time events demand otherwise.

    D&D, in contrast, definitely feel compelled by the medium to insert DRAMA(tm) into the lives of the main characters, even if they have to bend reason to the point of breaking to do so.

  79. Mihnea:
    Chad Brick,

    if you think the show is completly butchered story, why are you here? real question i’m not mean or ironic, just curious.

    I enjoy the show. But I no longer love it, as S5 was an illogical mess and/or butchered some major characters. You do realize that people can criticize things they like, right?

  80. Chad Brick: Unlike most writers, GRRM does not feel compelled to make drama up when drama doesn’t fit the bill.

    Yeah, right. So attempted rape on her in the Vale was for character development?

  81. Well, I don’t know. GRRM is the writer who exploits cliffhangers and shock value all the time, sometimes sacrificing logical character arc to put another cliffhanger.

    Describing him as something different is just not true.

  82. mau:
    Well, I don’t know. GRRM is the writer who exploits cliffhangers and shock value all the time, sometimes sacrificing logical character arc to put another cliffhanger.

    Describing him as something different is just not true.

    What “logical character arc” did GRRM sacrifice? I am not even sure what that means, actually. Can you be specific?

    Yes, GRRM uses lots of shocks and cliffhangers, but he sets them up and they fit naturally into his world. Unlike D&D, he doesn’t have people engage in ridiculously absurd behavior to get them into the right place.

  83. Hodor’s Bastard:
    TheNamesPlissken,

    LF leading the Vale forces into battle for the north is laughable.

    LF would never lead a battle ever, obviously. He will rather convince Lord Royce to attack WF with the Vale Knights and his actor confirmed he’ll comeback in s6.

  84. Chad Brick: What “logical character arc” did GRRM sacrifice? I am not even sure what that means, actually. Can you be specific?

    >

    Cat in ACOK, Stannis in ADWD, Jaime in AFFC, Sansa in AFFC, Brienne in AFFC, Dany in ADWD, Tyrion in ADWD,…

    Yes, GRRM uses lots of shocks and cliffhangers, but he sets them up and they fit naturally into his world. Unlike D&D, he doesn’t have people engage in ridiculously absurd behavior to get them into the right place.

    People are engaged in “ridiculously absurd behavior”, only if you can’t or don’t want to understand the context of the show and can’t or don’t want to understand limitations HBO has.

    Only GRRM’s sycophants will praise everything he wrote, every cheap shock value, every unrealistic twist or filler with whatever excuse they can find, while at the same time they will waste years and years of their lives proving that everything D&D do is bad or doesn’t make sense.

    It doesn’t make sense, because you want to see it that way. I can write you an essay about how RW, PW, Doran’s plans, LF’s plans, many other plans,… don’t make any sense, by using the same criteria you use for D&D writing.

  85. Littlefinger and the Tyrells are the ones I wanted to see this next season. Have we heard anything about Diana Rigg or Natalie Dormer being on set? Also, does this site have an app? I see people are using their phones to look at it.

  86. Oooh goodie! Litlefinger speculation – Here’s some more.
    What Littlefinger May Have Accomplished In Season 5
    SPOILER WARNING for possible spoilers
    Littlefinger seems to be carrying out a Northern plot in season 5. Let’s check or assumptions at the door & face the truth that Petyr sees Sansa only as a pawn with a “great Name” that Petyr can use & any idea that he cared for Sansa in any way was proven wrong when he left her to marry a monster. “Dark Sansa” never stood a chance against Petyr’s schemes and Ramsay’s insane evil. Sansa wanted to go home & get justice for her family, so Petyr used that desire to lie to her & to manipulate her. The Sansa marriage ploy disconnected the Boltons from the Iron Throne & set Petyr on a path to control the North. This was the real purpose of Sansa’s marriage.
    Baelish told Sansa about Stannis riding on Winterfell so Petyr likely had spies with Stannis. Perhaps, Petyr paid the sellsword leaders to abandon Stannis to insure a defeat. Perhaps that deserting army went to a comfortable site set up by Petyr to await orders. Petyr is not a warrior and learned not to play that game, so he would use weapons that he has experience with, like poison and deception. Petyr & his guard would take an antidote and then use a slow poison on Roose Bolton and all his people maybe in a victory celebration provided by Petyr. Petyr’s men would open the gate for Petyr’s waiting army & then secure Winterfell. Just Think, Petyr would have eliminated 2 competing armies fighting for the North and next, by Killing the hated Boltons he would secure the good will of the Lords of the North and the Aery and finally, it would leave Petyr in charge at Winterfell with his own army. Cersei & the small council will be happy Baelish has secured the north and will be none the wiser. That would be a slick plot of manipulation.
    The final piece of Petyr’s plot was Sansa. Petyr knew that Ramsay broke people & their spirit and Petyr was counting on Ramsay to break Sansa into a grateful, controllable girl who would do as she was told by Petyr when he married her. Marriage to a Stark would help secure Petyr’s position in the North. However, Sansa has escaped and if she tells a Lord of the North that Baelish married her to Ramsay Bolton the Lords of the North and the Aery will be wrouth with Petyr and his scheme may die with him – or not, given how slippery Petyr has proven to be.

  87. Bareeq,

    Exactly. Not ONLY that but with Vale troops and the news of what Ramsay had been doing to Sansa, he may very well get the North to rise up against the Boltons. Most of the North are still strongly loyal to House Stark. And only follow the Boltons out fear, and lack of the power to dispose them. Lf bringing down the knights of the Vale and finding out about Sansa changes all of that.

    Bareeq,

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