Spoilers for “The Dragon and the Wolf” beyond this point!
“A Song of Ice and Fire”, the series of novels written by George R.R. Martin on which HBO’s epic fantasy series Game of Thrones is based, it’s not really about the battle between the good living and the evil undead. It’s not about the true identity of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) (Aegon Targaryen? Really? Aegon? Really?). heck, the books aren’t even about daenerys’ (emilia clarke) quest for the iron throne (and after the season 7 finale, it’s pretty clear the show isn’t about that, either).
You are reading: Does littlefinger die in the books
no, asoiaf is about the secret war between two men:varis (conleth hill), the master of whispers and secrets; and petyr baelish aka littlefinger (aidan gillen), the master manipulator. and killing the little finger, game of thrones finally, and he said goodbye to the books altogether forever.
on last night’s episode (august 27), after a controversial season-long storyline pitting sisters sansa (sophie turner) and arya stark (maisie williams) against each other turned out to be a ruse to catch the little finger, the al Sansa’s former adviser had his throat slit and was left to die, bleeding to death on the floor of Winterfell. It was a relatively quiet and regrettable ending (he had to say one last “I loved catelyn stark, you know?” before he died, right?) for a character who’s been in control for nearly seven seasons. he also raised a lot of questions, like, “when exactly did sansa and arya discuss this?” and, “sansa really needed to be so loud about the whole thing?” but it is what it is, and on TV -until it is resurrected as a white walker, of course- we said goodbye to the little finger, something that until now does not seem to be in the cards, on the page.
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we need to discuss the game of thrones treatment of arya and sansa
Icing (sorry) pinky isn’t the only difference at this point; the show surpassed the plot of the books, which are still being written, last season. but the structure of the novels, at its core, is about two different philosophies. for one, varies, that he has been manipulating events for the good of the realm and, ultimately, humanity. on the other is littlefinger, a man who has slowly and carefully built up his power base for one purpose: his own ultimate supremacy.
other characters have been caught in their webs, or caught up in their seemingly cordial battle of minds. and often the plot will not focus on either character for long periods of the narrative. eventually, though, things always go back to variegated or pinky. the latter is, in the books, behind the assassination of king joffrey (jack gleeson), the ascension of sansa, and is working to become king (although at this point in the books that hasn’t been explicitly stated). The former knows that Daenerys Targaryen is the rightful queen of Westeros and has secretly worked to eliminate her rivals and provide her with the best aides and advisers available, even if she doesn’t know he is helping her. varies she is also trying to prepare westeros for an enemy that may or may not come, the army of other undead.
Sure that doesn’t seem too far off from the show, but by ditching the motley and killing off the pinkie, Thrones has streamlined the narrative to focus on epic heroes, rather than sneaky manipulators. it’s about the heroic journey and the spectacle, rather than quiet scenes where swings and little fingers play mental chess in empty, cavernous throne rooms. where you can expect (as much as you can predict what grrm will do in his novels) that vary and littlefinger are the last two standing in the books, that’s not where the head of the show is.
aidan gillen, game of thrones
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game of thrones season 7 finale: where is jaime going without cersei and more burning questions
This is a criticism that has been thrown at thrones in general last season (and I’d say was present last season as well): the show has moved away from the character-driven drama that propelled the first few seasons in favor of making action movies. It’s great to see, but is that ultimately why we tune in in the first place?
I’ll leave that question unanswered for now, but it’s clear that while some points of contact between the show and the books will remain the same, littlefinger’s death indicates that, once and for all, the books aren’t they will be “spoiled”. “for the show; the stories are completely different.
or it will be, if george r.r. martin never finishes writing them.
game of thrones will return for a final season, date to be confirmed.
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