Here's what the letter Arya just stole from Littlefinger in 'Game of Thrones' said

So we finally know what Littlefinger’s up to. Kind of.

Baelish has spent almost the entirety of Season 7 so far brooding across various parts of Winterfell. Brooding in the crypt. Brooding on the ramparts. Brooding in the courts.

He’s looked a little lost at times, surprised by how smart the Stark children have become, and unsure what his next step should be.

But after Episode 5, ‘Eastwatch’, it looks like he’s managed to get one over on Arya, and his plan – whatever that may be – is beginning to take shape.

Arya has been spying on Baelish, and caught him getting his hands on a tiny scroll, taking it to his chamber, hiding it, and locking the door. Bingo, right? Baelish clearly wants no one else to read what is says on that scroll, so if she can only steal it from him, she’ll have the dirt she needs to grass him up to Sansa and get rid of him once and for all.

The only problem? Littlefinger had predicted Arya’s every move. He knew she’d follow him, knew she’d break in, knew she’d steal the scroll, and wanted her to read what was on it. 

And what, exactly, did the scroll say? Well, you had to pause the show to find out (which I did, blearly-eyed at 6.30 this morning) and if you do, you can see that it wasn’t actually anything that incriminates Littlefinger at all. Here, take a look:

The eagle-eyed among you will recognise that letter, because it’s come up in the show before – it’s the one Sansa sent to Robb and Catelyn all the way back in Season 1, when Cersei forced her – under much duress – to say that Ned had tried to usurp Joffrey, and to order the young wolf to bend the knee to the ‘rightful king’.

Here’s the full transcript:

“Robb, I write to you with a heavy heart. Our good king Robert is dead, killed from wounds he took in a boar hunt. Father has been charged with treason. He conspired with Robert’s brothers against my beloved Joffrey and tried to steal his throne. The Lannisters are treating me very well and provide me with every comfort. I beg you: come to King’s Landing, swear fealty to King Joffrey and prevent any strife between the great houses of Lannister and Stark.”

And what’s so important about Arya finding that letter? Well, it looks likely to fracture the relationship between the Stark sisters even further. Their happy reunion has already proved to be short-lived – Arya wasn’t impressed with Sansa’s extremely weak defence of Jon being off away from the North earlier in the episode, while Sansa argued that you can’t just go around killing people, otherwise no one will stay on your side.

This letter is likely to elevate Arya’s belief that all Sansa wants is power for herself, but will Arya confront Sansa, or could she go one step further? Could we end up seeing Arya add Sansa to her kill list?

After all, the list is made up almost entirely of people who wronged her family, if Arya belives Sansa had a part to play in their father’s execution, could it spell the end for the eldest remaining Stark?

And how does this all play into Littlefinger’s plan? Well, it’s unlikely he wants Sansa dead, as he claims to be in love with her, and probably wants to rule as much as Westeros as he possibly can with her at his side. However, maybe he gave Bran his dagger, knowing he’d give it to Arya so she could use it for this very reason? It’s far-fetched, but with Littlefinger, who really knows?

It’s most likely he wants rid of Arya in some way, but all we know for sure is he’s clearly trying to cause a rift between the Stark sisters, and definitely wants at least one, or both, out of the way.

(Images: HBO)