Game Of Thrones: This is what Sansa Stark's letter said, and what it means for Arya

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Game Of Thrones season seven, episode five.

It has been another explosive week in Westeros, with Gendry finally returning, Jorah and Daenarys reuniting, and some major hints being dropped about Jon Snow’s parentage.

However, one of the biggest tensions came from Sansa Stark and her younger sister Arya, who she only reunited with last week.

Arya has become concerned that Sansa is set to betray their brother, Jon Snow, in a bid to become Queen of the North, with Arya accusing her sister of pushing her own agenda.

It all came to a head when Arya decided to keep an eye on crafty Littlefinger, believing that she has one up on him when she stalks him to his chambers and discovers a note that he had hidden inside his mattress.

Sealed by the Baratheons, signed off by Sansa, and addressed to their late brother Robb Stark, the letter was written all the way back in season one and could have devastating consequences for the sisters’ deteriorating relationship.

Viewers, Littlefinger, and, most importantly, Robb, all knew that Sansa did not mean a word of what was written in the note, which she only wrote in a bid to appease the evil Cersei whilst she was living with the Lannisters ahead of her marriage to Joffrey.

Cersei manipulated the young girl into sending the letter, which urges Robb to bend the knee to Joffrey, badmouths her father, Ned Stark, and declares her undying love for Joffrey, threatening Sansa if she didn’t.

The note read: “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.”

Arya, who does not know the history of the letter, nor just how traumatising Sansa’s time with the Lannisters was, will no doubt assume that Sansa believed every word that she signed her name to, playing right into Littlefinger’s hands.

Speaking in Game Of Thrones: Inside The Episode, showrunner D.B. Weiss divulged some more information on Littlefinger’s manipulative plan, sharing: “Arya is very used to being more clever and more stealthy, and smarter than any of the people she’s up against, but she hasn’t dealt with Littlefinger for a while.

“She gets roped into spying on somebody who’s actually leading her by the nose to something that he wants her to have.

“He’s looking for a way to prevent this sister bond from developing further because the tighter they are the more definitively he is caught on the outside of it.”

In short, Littlefinger wants to drive as big a wedge as possible between Sansa and her sister, and he also wants Sansa to see Arya’s darker side.

Weiss continued: “On the Sansa end of the relationship, he’s seen the opening and now all he needs to do is give Arya a cause to display real rage towards Sansa.

“And, he knows full well that with what’s going on in Sansa’s head with regards to Arya and how dangerous she is, when Arya starts to act dangerous, and act angry, he knows where Sansa is going to turn.”

It looks like Littlefinger has outwitted Arya this time, but will she eventually get the upper hand? Only time will tell…

Read more:

[ Game Of Thrones: Everything that happened in season seven, episode five ]

[ This is why Littlefinger panicked when Bran said ‘Chaos is a ladder’ ]

[ Game of Thrones originally had a Jon/ Arya/ Tyrion love triangle ]