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====Beyond the Wall==== * Vladimir Furdik as the Night King * Neil Fingleton as giant wight

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====In King's Landing==== * Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson as Gregor Clegane * James Faulkner as Randyll Tarly * Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris

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====In Oldtown==== * Jim Broadbent as Archmaester Ebrose

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====At Dragonstone==== * Jessica Henwick as Nymeria Sand * Rosabell Laurenti Sellers as Tyene Sand * Keisha Castle-Hughes as Obara Sand

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====In flashbacks==== * Aisling Franciosi as Lyanna Stark * Wilf Scolding as Rhaegar Targaryen * Robert Aramayo as Eddard Stark

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===Crew=== Series creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss serve as showrunners for the seventh season. The directors for the seventh season are Jeremy Podeswa (episodes 1 and 7), Mark Mylod (episodes 2 and 3), Matt Shakman (episodes 4 and 5) and Alan Taylor (episode 6). This marks Taylor's return to the series after an absence since the second season. Shakman is a first-time ''Game of Thrones'' director, with the rest each having directed multiple episodes in previous seasons. Michele Clapton returned to the show as costume designer, after spending some time away from the show in the sixth season. She previously worked on the show for the first five seasons, as well as the end of the sixth season.

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===Writing=== The seventh season contains original material not found in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series. Some of the show's sixth season also consists of material revealed to the writers of the television series during discussions with Martin.

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===Filming=== The shores of Gaztelugatxe were used as a location for filming Season 7. Filming began on August 31, 2016, at Titanic Studios in Belfast, and ended in February 2017. In an interview with the showrunners, it was announced that the filming of the seventh season would be delayed until later in the year due to necessary weather conditions for filming. The showrunners stated "We're starting a bit later because, you know, at the end of this season, winter is here, and that means that sunny weather doesn't really serve our purposes any more. We kind of pushed everything down the line so we could get some grim, gray weather even in the sunnier places that we shoot." Girona, Spain, did not return as one of the filming locations. Girona stood in for Braavos and parts of King's Landing. It was later announced that the seventh season would film in Northern Ireland, Spain and Iceland, with filming in Northern Ireland beginning in August 2016. The series filmed in the Spanish cities Seville, Cáceres, Almodóvar del Río, Santiponce, Zumaia and Bermeo. Spanish sources announced that the series would be filming the seventh season on Muriola Beach in Barrika, Las Atarazanas, the Royal Dockyards of Seville and at the shores of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, an islet belonging to the city of Bermeo. The series returned to film at The Dark Hedges in Stranocum, which was previously used as the Kingsroad in the second season. Some scenes were filmed in Iceland. Filming also occurred in Dubrovnik, Croatia, which is used for location of King's Landing. The scene where Arya was reunited with Nymeria was filmed in Alberta, Canada.

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=== Casting === ''Deadline'' reported on June 21, 2016, that the five main cast members, Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, and Kit Harington had been in contract negotiations for the final two seasons. It was reported that the cast members have increased their salary to $500,000 per episode for the seventh and eighth season. It was later reported that the actors had gone through a renegotiation, for which they had increased their salary to $1.1 million per episode for the last two seasons. On August 31, 2016, ''Entertainment Weekly'' reported that Jim Broadbent had been cast for the seventh season in a "significant" role. It was announced that the role of Dickon Tarly has been recast, with Tom Hopper replacing Freddie Stroma, who had previously played the role in "Blood of My Blood". The seventh season sees the return of Mark Gatiss as Tycho Nestoris, who did not appear in the sixth season, Ben Hawkey as Hot Pie, who last appeared in the fourth season, and Joe Dempsie as Gendry, who last appeared in the third season and maintains his status as starring cast member. Members of the British indie pop band Bastille were reported to have filmed cameo appearances. British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran also makes a cameo appearance in the season. Frontman of American heavy metal band Mastodon, Brent Hinds, has also revealed he would have a cameo appearance. This is Hinds' second cameo in the series, following his appearance (along with bandmates Brann Dailor and Bill Kelliher) in the fifth season. New York Mets baseball pitcher Noah Syndergaard made a background cameo as a javelin-throwing Lannister soldier in "The Spoils of War."

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===Episodes=== On April 21, 2016, HBO officially ordered the seventh season of ''Game of Thrones'', just three days prior to the premiere of the show's sixth season. In a June 2016 interview with ''Variety'', co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss revealed the seventh season would likely consist of fewer episodes, stating at the time of the interview that they were "down to our final 13 episodes after this season. We're heading into the final lap." Director Jack Bender, who worked on the show's sixth season, said that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes. Benioff and Weiss stated that they were unable to produce 10 episodes in the show's usual 12 to 14 month time frame, as Weiss said "It's crossing out of a television schedule into more of a mid-range movie schedule." HBO confirmed on July 18, 2016, that the seventh season would consist of seven episodes, and would premiere later than usual in mid-2017 because of the later filming schedule. Later it was confirmed that the season would debut on July 16. The seventh season includes an 81-minute finale; this was the series' longest episode until it was surpassed by the Season 8 episode "The Long Night", which is 82 minutes. Season 7's penultimate episode also runs for 71 minutes – around 16 minutes longer than an average ''Game of Thrones'' episode. The first five episodes mostly run longer than average (55 minutes), at 59, 59, 63, 50, and 59 minutes respectively. The previous longest episode in the series was the sixth-season finale, "The Winds of Winter", which ran for 69 minutes.

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===Music=== Ramin Djawadi returned as the composer of the show for the seventh season.

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===Critical response=== On Metacritic, the season (based on the first episode) has a score of 77 out of 100 based on 12 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On Rotten Tomatoes, the seventh season has a 93% approval rating from 51 critics with an average rating of 8.22 out of 10, with the site's consensus reading, "After a year-long wait, ''Game of Thrones'' roars back with powerful storytelling and a focused interest in its central characters—particularly the female ones."

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===Ratings=== The series premiere surpassed 30 million viewers across all of the network's domestic platforms weeks after its release. The show's numbers continued to climb in other countries as well. In the UK, the premiere got up to 4.7 million viewers after seven days, setting a new record for Sky Atlantic. Compared to the previous season, HBO Asia saw an increases of between 24 percent to 50 percent. HBO Latin America saw a record viewership in the region, with a 29 percent climb. In Germany, the show went up 210 percent, in Russia it climbed 40 percent and in Italy it saw a 61 percent increase. In the United States, the finale was watched by 12.1 million viewers on its first airing on television, and 16.5 million when viewings on HBO Now and HBO Go apps are included. Over the season, the viewer numbers averaged at over 30 million per episode across all platforms. Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.

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===Accolades=== American Film Institute Awards 2017 2017 American Society of Cinematographers Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series for Non-Commercial Television Robert McLachlan (for "The Spoils of War") Gregory Middleton (for "Dragonstone") 60 Minute Network or Syndicated Television David Benioff, D. B. Weiss (for "The Dragon and the Wolf") Joe Finley (for "Dragonstone") Jesse Parker (for "The Queen's Justice") Crispin Green (for "Dragonstone") Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Mathew Waters, Onnalee Blank, Bradley C. Katona, Paul Bercovitch (for "The Spoils of War") 23rd National Television Awards 8th Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Best Television Series – Drama 24th Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Outstanding Action Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Television Series Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media American Cinema Editors Awards 2018 Best Edited Drama Series for Non-Commercial Television Tim Porter (for "Beyond the Wall") Outstanding Achievement, Character Animation in a Live Action Production Paul Story, Todd Labonte, Matthew Muntean, Cajun Hylton, Georgy Arevshatov (for "Beyond the Wall") Art Directors Guild Awards 2017 One-Hour Single Camera Period Or Fantasy Television Series Deborah Riley (for "Dragonstone", "The Queen's Justice", and "Eastwatch") Cinema Audio Society Awards 2017 Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television Series – One Hour Ronan Hill, Richard Dyer, Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Brett Voss (for "Beyond the Wall") Costume Designers Guild Awards 2017 Outstanding Fantasy Television Series 70th Directors Guild of America Awards Jeremy Podeswa (for "The Dragon and the Wolf") Matt Shakman (for "The Spoils of War") Alan Taylor (for "Beyond the Wall") Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Best Period and/or Character Makeup – Television Best Period and/or Character Hair Styling – Television Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks Best Special Makeup Effects – Television Producers Guild of America Awards 2017 "The Norman Felton Award for Outstanding Producer of Episodic Television, Drama" David Benioff, D. B. Weiss, Bernadette Caulfield, Frank Doelger, Carolyn Strauss, Bryan Cogman, Lisa McAtackney, Chris Newman, Greg Spence Writers Guild of America Awards 2017 David Benioff, Bryan Cogman, Dave Hill, D. B. Weiss 16th Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode Joe Bauer, Steve Kullback, Chris Baird, David Ramos, Sam Conway (for "Beyond the Wall") Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project Paul Story, Todd Labonte, Matthew Muntean, Nicholas Wilson (for "Beyond the Wall" – "Zombie Polar Bear") Jonathan Symmonds, Thomas Kutschera, Philipp Winterstein, Andreas Krieg (for "Eastwatch" – "Drogon Meets Jon") Murray Stevenson, Jason Snyman, Jenn Taylor, Florian Friedmann (for "The Spoils of War" – "Drogon Loot Train Attack") Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial or Real-Time Project Daniel Villalba, Antonio Lado, José Luis Barreiro, Isaac de la Pompa (for "Beyond the Wall" – "Frozen Lake") Patrice Poissant, Deak Ferrand, Dominic Daigle, Gabriel Morin (for "Eastwatch") Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project Manuel Ramírez, Óscar Márquez, Pablo Hernández, David Gacituaga (for "Beyond the Wall" – "Frozen Lake") Thomas Hullin, Dominik Kirouac, Sylvain Nouveau, Nathan Arbuckle (for "The Dragon and the Wolf" – "Wall Destruction") Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode Óscar Perea, Santiago Martos, David Esteve, Michael Crane (for "Beyond the Wall" – "Frozen Lake") Thomas Montminy Brodeur, Xavier Fourmond, Reuben Barkataki, Sébastien Raets (for "Eastwatch") Dom Hellier, Thijs Noij, Edwin Holdsworth, Giacomo Matteucci (for "The Spoils of War" – "Loot Train Attack") Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Episodic Short Form – Effects/Foley Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Bradley Katona, Brett Voss and Jeffrey Wilhoit (for "The Spoils of War") Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Episodic Short Form – Dialogue/ADR Tim Kimmel, Paul Bercovitch and Tim Hands (for "The Spoils of War") Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing - Episodic Short Form – Music/Musical David Klotz (for "Beyond the Wall") 15th Irish Film & Television Awards Actor in a Supporting Role – Television Ronan Hill, Onnalee Blank and Matthew Waters 5th Location Managers Guild Awards Outstanding Locations in a Period Television Series Robert Boake, Matt Jones, Tate Araez Guzman Best Fantasy Television Series Best Actress on a Television Series Best Supporting Actor on a Television Series 2018 British Academy Television Awards "Viserion is Killed by the Night King" (for Beyond the Wall) 2018 British Academy Television Craft Awards The cast of ''Game of Thrones'' Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series Alan Taylor (for "Beyond the Wall") Jeremy Podeswa (for "The Dragon and the Wolf") Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (for "The Dragon and the Wolf") 70th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series Nina Gold, Robert Sterne, and Carla Stronge Outstanding Costumes for a Fantasy/Sci-Fi Series Michele Clapton, Alexander Fordham, Emma O'Loughlin, Kate O'Farrell, (for "Beyond the Wall") Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Outstanding Hairstyling for a Single-Camera Series Kevin Alexander, Candice Banks, Nicola Mount, Rosalia Culora (for "The Dragon and the Wolf") Outstanding Make-up for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic) Jane Walker, Kay Bilk, Marianna Kyriacou, Pamela Smyth, Kate Thompson, Nicola Mathews (for "The Dragon and the Wolf") Outstanding Production Design for a Fantasy Program Deborah Riley, Paul Ghirardani, Rob Cameron (for "Dragonstone") Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup for a Series Jane Walker, Paul Spateri, Emma Sheffield, Barrie Gower (for "Beyond the Wall") Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series Tim Porter (for Beyond the Wall) Crispin Green (for "The Spoils of War") Katie Weiland (for "The Dragon and the Wolf") Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score) Ramin Djawadi (for "The Dragon and the Wolf") Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama series Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Tim Hands, Paul Bercovitch, Bradley C. Katona, John Matter, Brett Voss, David Klotz, Jeffrey Wilhoit, Dylan T. Wilhoit (for "The Spoils of War") Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Series Onnalee Blank, Mathew Waters, Richard Dyer, Ronan Hill (for "Beyond the Wall") Outstanding Special Visual Effects Steve Kullback, Joe Bauer, Adam Chazen, Michelle Blok, Sam Conway, Ted Rae, David Ramos, Wayne Stables, Derek Spears (for "Beyond the Wall") Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Series

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===Broadcast=== The season was simulcast around the world by HBO and its broadcast partners in 186 countries. In some countries, it aired the day after its first release.

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===Marketing=== On July 23, 2016, a teaser production trailer was released by HBO at the 2016 San Diego Comic-Con. The trailer mostly consisted of voice overs, and shots of crew members creating sets and props. The first footage from the season was revealed in a new promotional video released by HBO highlighting its new and returning original shows for the coming year on November 28, 2016, showcasing Jon Snow, Sansa Stark and Arya Stark. On March 1, 2017, HBO and ''Game of Thrones'' teamed up with Major League Baseball (MLB) for a cross-promotional partnership. At least 19 individual teams participated in this promotion. On March 8, 2017, HBO released the first promotional poster for the season ahead of the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, which teases the battle of "ice vs. fire". Showrunners Benioff and Weiss also spoke at the event, along with fellow cast members Sophie Turner and Maisie Williams. On March 9, 2017, HBO hosted a live stream on the ''Game of Thrones'' Facebook page that revealed the premiere date for the seventh season as being July 16, 2017. It was accompanied by a teaser trailer. On March 30, 2017, the first official promo for the show was released, highlighting the thrones of Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, and Cersei Lannister. On April 20, 2017, HBO released 15 official photos shot during the season. On May 22, 2017, HBO released several new photos from the new season. On May 23, 2017, HBO released the official posters featuring the Night King. The first official trailer for season 7 was released on May 24, 2017. The trailer set a world record for being the most viewed show trailer ever, being viewed 61 million times across digital platforms, in the first 24 hours. The second official trailer was released on June 21, 2017. The season premiere was screened at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles on July 12, 2017.

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===Home media=== The season was released on Blu-ray and DVD in region 1 on December 12, 2017.

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===Illegal distribution=== The season premiere was pirated 90 million times in the first three days after it aired. On August 4, 2017, it was reported that, two days before its original broadcast, the fourth episode of the season was leaked online from Star India, one of HBO's international network partners. The leaked copy has the "for internal viewing only" watermark. On July 31, 2017, due to a security breach, HBO was the victim of 1.5 terabytes of stolen data. However, "this was not related to this episode leak", according to ''The Verge''. On August 16, 2017, four days before its intended release, it was reported that HBO Spain and HBO Nordic accidentally allowed the sixth episode of the series on-demand viewing for one hour before being removed. Data from piracy monitoring firm MUSO indicates that season seven was pirated more than one billion times mostly by unauthorized streaming, with torrent and direct downloads accounting for about 15 percent of this piracy. On average, each episode is estimated to have been pirated 140 million times, making ''Game of Thrones'' the most-pirated television series in 2017.

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'''Petyr Baelish''', nicknamed '''Littlefinger''', is a fictional character in the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation ''Game of Thrones''. Introduced in 1996's ''A Game of Thrones'', Littlefinger is the master of coin on King Robert's small council. He is a childhood friend of Catelyn Stark, having grown up with her and her two siblings at Riverrun. He subsequently appeared in Martin's books ''A Clash of Kings'' (1998), ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000), and ''A Feast for Crows'' (2005). He is set to appear in the forthcoming novel ''The Winds of Winter''. Littlefinger's primary character attributes are his cunning and boundless ambition. Originally hailing from a minor family with little wealth or influence, Baelish used manipulation, bribery, and the connections he secured at Riverrun to gain power and prestige in King's Landing. Since then, his various intrigues have directly caused several major events that have impacted Westeros, including the framing of Tyrion Lannister for the attempt on Bran Stark's life, the downfall of Lord Eddard Stark, the deaths of Lord Jon Arryn and King Joffrey Baratheon, and the War of the Five Kings. Littlefinger is portrayed by Irish actor Aidan Gillen in the HBO television adaptation, for which he has received positive critical reception.

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==Character== Littlefinger is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as Ned Stark, Catelyn Stark, Sansa Stark, Tyrion and Cersei Lannister.

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== Background == Petyr descends from a Braavosi sellsword who served House Corbray. His father befriended Lord Hoster Tully during the War of the Ninepenny Kings, and Tully took the young Petyr as a ward. Petyr grew up at House Tully's castle Riverrun with Hoster's daughters Catelyn and Lysa, and son Edmure; Edmure nicknamed Petyr "Littlefinger" in reference to his short stature and his family's lands on the smallest of the Fingers. Petyr was a sly, mischievous child with the ability to always look contrite after his mischief. He became infatuated with Catelyn and claims to have lost his virginity to her while drunk; in reality, he lost it to Lysa, who was obsessed with him. When Catelyn was betrothed to Brandon Stark (Eddard Stark's elder brother), Petyr brazenly challenged him to a duel for her hand in marriage but lost easily to Brandon. Petyr's life was spared at Catelyn's behest. During his convalescence Petyr impregnated Lysa, but the pregnancy ended in a forced abortion, and Petyr was banished from Riverrun. Even after her marriage to Jon Arryn, Lysa remained in love with Petyr. Her patronage saw Baelish appointed as customs officer at Gulltown, a position he excelled at. In the books it was around this time that Petyr's unnamed father died and passed the unnamed "Baelish Tower" in the Fingers to his son, making him a lord. However, in the show it is implied that both of Baelish's parents died when Petyr was much younger. Jon Arryn, who was Hand to King Robert Baratheon, eventually brought Baelish to King's Landing as Master of Coin. When Arryn tries to have his and Lysa's son Robert sent to Dragonstone to be fostered by Stannis Baratheon, Baelish gives Lysa poison to kill Jon and convinces her to tell Catelyn that House Lannister was responsible. This subterfuge sets in motion the main events of the series.

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=== Appearance and personality === Petyr Baelish is a small man, shorter than Catelyn Stark. He is slender and quick, with sharp features and laughing green eyes. He has a pointed chin beard and threads of silver in his hair. He often wears a silver mockingbird to fasten his cloak. He clearly enjoys the intrigues of court life at King's Landing. He is dangerously intelligent, utterly Machiavellian, and cunning enough to hide his machinations. Since Petyr is not a POV character his motivations are somewhat of a mystery. However he has stated his motivations were his lingering love towards Catelyn Stark and (in the show) Sansa Stark. Many are skeptical of this, with Sansa Stark stating 'the only person Littlefinger serves is Littlefinger.' His methods are totally unscrupulous, including the use of lies, treachery, and murder to achieve his goals.

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===''A Game of Thrones''=== Baelish, the "Master of Coin" in charge of the realm's finances on King Robert's Small Council, is disliked by the Hand, Ned Stark, who initially considers him as flippant as he is untrustworthy. Baelish hides Catelyn at one of his brothels, when she brings Ned the news of the attempt on Bran's life, and tells her the dagger used was won from him by Tyrion Lannister. This leads to Catelyn's capture of Tyrion; but this information is later identified as a lie. Tyrion mentions during his captivity at the Eyerie that Baelish has frequently claimed to had a sexual relationship with Lady Catelyn during their youth together at Riverrun, a claim she indignantly rejects. Petyr helps Eddard expose the secret parentage of the royal children, but advises him to abet Joffrey's rise to power in order to consolidate their own. Ned insists that Stannis must be king and asks Baelish to secure the help of the City Watch when he moves against the Lannisters, but Petyr betrays Lord Stark and aids his arrest.

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===''A Clash of Kings''=== After the death of Renly Baratheon, Petyr arranges an alliance between the Lannisters and the powerful House Tyrell, which leads to Stannis Baratheon's defeat. When Joffrey is convinced to marry Renly's widow, Margaery Tyrell, in ''A Storm of Swords'', Petyr is named Lord of Harrenhal and Lord Paramount of the Trident in place of Edmure Tully.

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===''A Storm of Swords''=== Baelish is given charge to marry Lysa Arryn and bring the Vale under the control of the Lannisters; before departing he reveals Olenna Tyrell's plan to marry Sansa Stark to Willas Tyrell, leading to Sansa's forced marriage to Tyrion. When Joffrey is poisoned at his wedding feast, Petyr has Sansa whisked away from King's Landing in the confusion and takes her to his holdings on The Fingers, disguised as his illegitimate daughter. During the voyage, Petyr reveals that he had conspired with Olenna Tyrell to poison Joffrey and blame Tyrion for the murder. Lysa arrives at Petyr's keep and promptly marries him at Lysa's insistence, although Petyr would have preferred a court wedding. After the wedding, Baelish and Sansa travel to the Eyrie, where he spends much of the time asserting his new authority over the lords of the Vale. While alone with Sansa, he notes her physical similarity to Catelyn and kisses Sansa. Witnessing the encounter, Lysa tries to kill Sansa a short time later. Petyr rushes to comfort Lysa, but reveals that he had only ever loved Catelyn and pushes Lysa to her death. He immediately implicates the only other witness, the minstrel Marillion.

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===''A Feast for Crows''=== Petyr names himself Lord Protector and claims Lysa's son Robert as his ward. The Lords of the Vale also try to claim Robert, but Petyr bribes Lyn Corbray to help Petyr obtain leverage to keep Robert. Petyr later reveals to Sansa that he plans to either eliminate the lords or win them to his side, and to help Sansa regain the North. He also tells her that he has arranged for her to marry Robert Arryn's cousin and heir, Harrold Hardyng, and that on Robert's death she will reveal herself and use the Knights of the Vale to recover the North.

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===''The Winds of Winter''=== Petyr is set to appear in the sixth volume, still in the Vale with Sansa and Robert Arryn. He will hold a tournament, the winners of which will be inducted into the Brotherhood of Winged Nights, a order similar to the Kingsguard that will protect young Robert Arryn. However, knowing that the sickly child will soon die, he plans for Sansa to wed Harrold Hardyng, Robert's heir, so that the knights of the Vale will rally behind her to retake the North from House Bolton.

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==== Seasons 1 & 2 ==== Baelish's storyline remains much the same as in the books for the first few seasons of the television series, with only minor details changed. In later seasons, however, his story is significantly different.

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==== Season 3 ==== Having become Lord of Harrenhal, Petyr plans to sail to the Eyrie to propose marriage to Lysa Arryn, taking Sansa with him. One of his prostitutes, Ros, learns of his plan and warns Varys, who arranges with Olenna Tyrell to have Sansa wed Loras Tyrell. Baelish's spy Olyvar, who is posing as Loras' squire and lover, tips Baelish off to the plot. Baelish, in turn, gives this information to Tywin Lannister, who has Sansa wed Tyrion instead. Realising that Ros has betrayed him, Baelish hands her over to Joffrey to kill for his entertainment.

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==== Season 4 ==== In the aftermath of Lysa Arryn's death, Baelish is questioned by several lords of the Vale. Baelish maintains that Lysa committed suicide, and Sansa corroborates this assertion. Baelish decides to take Robin Arryn on a tour of his domain, with Sansa accompanying them.

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==== Season 5 ==== Baelish brokers a marriage alliance between Sansa and Ramsay Bolton, the sadistic son of the new Warden of the North Roose Bolton. Baelish mentions to Roose how the alliance of the North and the Vale brought down the Targaryens, the "mightiest dynasty" in Westerosi history, with the implication that a new alliance might have similar effects. Although Baelish assures Roose that the marriage alliance will strengthen their respective positions, Baelish privately tells Sansa that Stannis Baratheon is marching on Winterfell and will likely defeat the Boltons in battle. However, before Sansa and Ramsay's wedding, Cersei summons Baelish to King's Landing to ascertain his loyalties. Baelish reassures Cersei of the Vale's allegiance to the Lannisters and tells her of Sansa's marriage to Ramsay, neglecting to reveal his role in arranging the marriage. Cersei is outraged, and Baelish offers to use the Vale's forces to defeat whomever is left of the Bolton and Baratheon armies following the battle, revealing that his true plan all along was to be named Warden of the North, a request Cersei grants. Before his departure Baelish meets with Olenna Tyrell, who is furious that testimony from Olyvar has led to the arrests of Margaery and Loras Tyrell. When Olenna threatens to reveal Baelish's role in Joffrey's murder, Baelish arranges for Lancel Lannister to tell the religious leader, the High Sparrow, of Cersei's crimes, leading to her arrest.

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==== Season 6 ==== Baelish reunites with Robin Arryn at Runestone and claims that Sansa was abducted by the Boltons, before manipulating him into sending the Vale's forces to defend her. Baelish later meets Sansa in Mole's Town, insisting that he was unaware of Ramsay's cruelty. He offers the support of the knights of the Vale in retaking Winterfell and mentions that Sansa's great-uncle Brynden "Blackfish" Tully has seized Riverrun from the Freys. Sansa refuses Baelish's offer and declares that she never wants to see him again. However, after Sansa and Jon Snow are unable to gather enough men to match the Boltons, Sansa sends a raven to Baelish asking for his aid. Baelish leads the men on Winterfell, and they arrive in time to destroy the unsuspecting Bolton army before they can slaughter the Starks. After the battle, Baelish reveals to Sansa that his ambition is to take the Iron Throne with her at his side, but she rebuffs his advances. Baelish is present when the Northmen and Valemen declare Jon King in the North, but instead of cheering for Jon, he glares at Sansa.

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==== Season 7 ==== Throughout the season, after Jon Snow threatens him to stay away from Sansa, Baelish attempts to turn Sansa and her sister Arya against each other following the latter's return to Winterfell. To add further incentive, Baelish arranges for Arya to find the letter Sansa wrote Robb, asking him to surrender, while she was held by the Lannisters. Baelish continues his manipulation of Sansa, seemingly convincing her that Arya intends to murder her and take her role as Lady of Winterfell. Sansa brings Arya into the hall with everyone present, including a smug Baelish. However, she reveals that Baelish is actually the one on trial. Caught off-guard, Baelish sputters with confusion but eventually recovers and questions Sansa about what's happening. Sansa reveals his numerous crimes, including his murder of Lysa Arryn, his orchestration of both Jon Arryn's and Eddard Stark's murders, and his manipulation of the Starks and Lannisters into war. Though concerned by her knowledge, Baelish quickly denies the accusations, citing lack of evidence, until Bran Stark reveals that he has seen Baelish's betrayal of Eddard Stark himself due to his ability to see events in the past and around him. Panicking, Baelish then tries to convince Sansa to speak with him alone and listen to his side of the story, but Sansa refuses, citing his earlier advice to figure out her true enemies' intentions. This causes Baelish to desperately command his banner man Yohn Royce to escort him back to the Vale, which Royce refuses. With nowhere left to run, Baelish gets down on his knees and emotionally begs Sansa to spare him, telling her how much he loved her mother and her. Sansa reminds him that he betrayed them nonetheless and orders Arya to kill him. After Sansa thanks Baelish for his lessons, Arya executes him by slitting his throat with his own Valyrian dagger.

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===Critical reception=== Aidan Gillen plays the role of Petyr Baelish in the television series Gillen's performance has received significant praise. Huw Fullerton of ''Radio Times'' praised his performance on the show. Writing for ''The Huffington Post'', Gil Kidron described the character as "gross...creepy...evil" and stated, "you should root for him to win." Kidron claims, "in Westeros he's a 99 percenter." Kidron writes Petyr is "doing it for himself", but "he's working tirelessly to destroy an old and decaying world that none of us would want to live in." In an article published in the ''National Review'', Grant Starrett claimed that every red-blooded American should root for Littlefinger. Starrett praised Baelish's rags-to-riches story, saying, "He epitomizes what could soon be called the Westerosi Dream." Meritocracy, social mobility, and an end to a failing system are all reasons to support Petyr Baelish for the Iron Throne, according to Starrett.

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===Recognition and awards=== Aidan Gillen has received award nominations for his portrayal. His nominations include Portal Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2012, and Irish Film & Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor on Television in 2012 and 2014.

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"'''The Spoils of War'''" is the fourth episode of the seventh season of HBO's fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'', and the 64th overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Matt Shakman. At Dragonstone, Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow observe cave drawings left by the Children of the Forest, indicating that the First Men and the Children fought together against the White Walkers. In King's Landing, Cersei Lannister seeks further investment from the Iron Bank, after reassuring them that their debt will soon be paid. In the North, Arya Stark returns to Winterfell, reunites with her siblings, Sansa and Bran Stark, and spars with Brienne of Tarth. On the road to King's Landing, Jaime Lannister, Bronn, and the Lannister and Tarly armies are caught in an attack led by Daenerys, her dragon Drogon, and the Dothraki army. The title of the episode refers to the Tyrell gold and other resources in possession of the Lannisters after taking Highgarden. "The Spoils of War" received praise from critics with one critic defining it as a "masterpiece", who listed the concluding battle sequence between Daenerys and Jaime, Arya's return to Winterfell and interaction with Brienne, and Daenerys and Jon's conversation at Dragonstone as highlights of the episode. It received a nomination at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Editing, and was also Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's pick to support his nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor, his first ever for this series. The episode set an industry record for the most stuntmen set on fire, with 73 "fire burns", in addition to 20 people being set on fire for a single shot. In the United States, the episode achieved a viewership of 10.17 million in its initial broadcast, the 3rd highest in the series. "The Spoils of War" also received multiple awards and nominations, including "Best TV Episode" and "2017 People's Choice Award" from IGN "The Spoils of War" marked the final appearance of Ellie Kendrick (Meera Reed).

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===In King's Landing=== Cersei assures Tycho that the Crown's debts to the Iron Bank will be fully repaid. They discuss the possibility of a new loan that would enable Qyburn to engage the mercenary Golden Company of Essos.

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===At Winterfell=== Littlefinger gives Bran the Valyrian steel dagger that was used in the attempt on Bran's life. Littlefinger tries to get Bran to tell him of his experiences after fleeing Winterfell, and is disconcerted when Bran repeats to him Littlefinger's earlier remark to Varys that "chaos is a ladder." Meera visits Bran to say farewell, as she wants to be with her family when the White Walkers attack. Bran is indifferent to her departure, and a dismayed Meera remarks figuratively that Bran died in the Three-Eyed Raven's cave. Arya arrives at Winterfell, and evades the guards to visit Ned's tomb in the crypts, where Sansa finds her. Sansa takes Arya to see Bran in the godswood. Arya is taken aback to find that Bran knows of her kill list, and Bran gives her the Valyrian steel dagger. Podrick reassures Brienne that she has fulfilled her oath to Catelyn; Brienne insists she did almost nothing. Later, Brienne and Podrick spar and Arya asks to train with Brienne. They fight to a draw as Sansa and Littlefinger watch.

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===At Dragonstone=== Jon shows Daenerys the vast dragonglass mine, in which Children of the Forest cave drawings depict the Children and the First Men fighting together against the White Walkers. Seemingly convinced that Jon is telling the truth, Daenerys vows to fight for the North, but only if Jon bends the knee. Jon remains resistant. Tyrion and Varys report the pyrrhic victory at Casterly Rock and the loss of Highgarden; Daenerys questions Tyrion's loyalties. Considering striking King's Landing with her dragons, she asks Jon for advice. He notes that her followers believe she can change the world, but if she destroys a city, she will be just another tyrant. Later, the Ironborn survivors return to Dragonstone. Jon confronts Theon, declaring that his role in saving Sansa from Ramsay is the only reason he will not kill him for betraying Robb. Theon reveals that he has come for Daenerys' help in rescuing Yara, but Jon and Davos inform him that Daenerys has gone.

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===On the Roseroad=== The bulk of the Lannister caravan approaches King's Landing after the Tyrell gold has been brought inside the city. Jaime gives Bronn a large satchel of gold, but Bronn still wants the castle he was promised. Riding Drogon, Daenerys leads a Dothraki attack that quickly overruns the caravan. Abandoning the gold where he drops it, Bronn wounds Drogon with Qyburn's scorpion weapon. Drogon destroys the scorpion, then lands. Tyrion watches the chaos with remorse from a safe distance; as Daenerys dismounts to tend Drogon's wound, Tyrion is shocked to see Jaime charge at her. Drogon breathes fire at Jaime, but Bronn tackles him off his horse, out of the flame's path, and into the Blackwater Rush, where Jaime begins to sink under the weight of his armour.

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===Writing=== The episode was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. "The Spoils of War" was written by the series' creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss. The episode is the series' shortest episode to date. In the "Inside the Episode" featurette published by HBO following the airing of the episode, David Benioff spoke about the inspiration for the return of Arya Stark to Winterfell, saying it was inspired by Odysseus's return, who is also unrecognizable after making his journey. Benioff also stated that the important part of her return to Winterfell is her relationship with Sansa Stark, with Weiss following up by stating that the intention of the scene in the crypts where they are reunited was to "lay down the beginnings of the storyline where Sansa realizes what Arya is now." Speaking about the revelation of the cave drawings with the Children of the Forest and the First Men, Benioff stated that the inspiration for the drawings were the cave paintings created by prehistoric men that were found in France, and that the scene was meant to be evocative in noting the thousands of years that have passed since the drawings were created. In writing the battle between the Lannister army, and Daenerys' Dothraki and Drogon, Weiss stated that one of the most exciting elements of the fight involved the fact that two main characters were on opposite sides of the battlefield, and that it is "impossible to really want any one of them to win, and impossible to want any one of them to lose," according to Weiss. He also compared the introduction of a dragon in medieval warfare to using an F-16 fighter aircraft in a medieval battle. According to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, in an interview with ''Entertainment Weekly'' following the airing of the episode, the script stated that "One of our main characters is about to die." Coster-Waldau also stated about his character, "Jaime is such an idiot that he thinks for a second, 'If I can do this, I can win the whole thing in a 'Hail Mary.'"

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===Casting=== In addition to the regular recurring guest cast, Major League Baseball player Noah Syndergaard, pitcher for the New York Mets, made a brief uncredited cameo appearance as a spear-throwing Lannister soldier during the battle between Lannister and Tarly forces and Daenerys Targaryen and the Dothraki. In an interview prior to the season conducted by ''Sports Illustrated'', Syndergaard spoke about his appearance in the series by saying "It's a dream come true. I think it’s the greatest TV show of all time, so just to be able to say I was in ''Game of Thrones'' is an unbelievable feeling."

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===Filming=== "The Spoils of War" was directed by Matt Shakman. This was Shakman's first episode of ''Game of Thrones'', but he had previously served as a director for several other television series, including ''Fargo'', ''The Good Wife'', ''Mad Men'' and ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', among others. The battle sequence at the conclusion of the episode, which was nicknamed "The Loot Train Attack" by HBO, set an industry record for the most stuntmen set on fire, with real fire being used, rather than special effects, to simulate the dragon fire being emitted by Drogon. There were 73 "fire burns," in addition to 20 people being set on fire for a single shot. Filming of the attack sequence took approximately 18 main-unit days, five second-unit days, and several weeks for the effects-unit. In an interview with ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Shakman spoke about the first time he read the script of the battle, saying "I was reading the script and this battle began and I kept turning pages and the battle kept going on page after page after page! The excitement, the stress and the fear all built at the same time, mirroring probably what was happening on screen. It was a huge opportunity and a challenge. I spent the better part of six months working on that one sequence." The "Loot Train Attack" was filmed in Cáceres, Spain, and Emilia Clarke, who portrays Daenerys Targaryen, was filmed riding a motion base on a stage in Belfast in front of several green screens. Director Matt Shakman chose Jaime Lannister, portrayed by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (''pictured''), as the main point of view for the battle. Shakman's first step in directing the battle was choosing to focus on a specific perspective, with Shakman choosing Jaime as the main point of view, noting "To see it from a traditional fighter like Jaime to see what happens when you introduce something like napalm or the atom bomb into battle and all the sudden traditional fighting goes out the window." Shakman also noted that Tyrion was another important perspective for the battle, as he watches from afar, saying "We talked through every beat of what he was seeing, and then he imagined that in his mind and brought it to life. He's the human intermediary there to see the battle through." Shakman filmed Peter Dinklage as Tyrion about a mile from the battlefield, and most of his shots involved "staring at lots of different tennis balls" for eye line. Shakman drew inspiration for the direction of the sequence from Miguel Sapochnik, who directed the sixth season episode "Battle of the Bastards", and Neil Marshall, who directed the second season episode "Blackwater", as well as the battles in ''Apocalypse Now'', ''Saving Private Ryan'' and ''Stagecoach''. Shakman also revealed that he used the volcanic destruction of Pompeii as a reference, which led to the idea of some of the army being turned to ash. For the beginning of the "Loot Train Attack," with the Dothraki approaching, Shakman stated that he wanted it to feel like a Western, saying in the interview, "I wanted that feeling of a Western — this savage attack coming at this more formalized line of men, that tension of circling the wagons and trying to protect them from the chaos and the onslaught." Shakman worked with the horse mistress, Camilla Naprous, in order to show the Dothraki's mastery at horse riding, which included standing on the horse's saddles while shooting arrows. In order to accomplish this stunt, Naprous built what was referred to as a "metal shoe" that allowed the stunt performers to stand on the horses. The sequence continues with Drogon attacking the Lannister and Tarly armies, with special effects supervisor Joe Bauer noting that the number of shots of Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen riding Drogon increased significantly, with the entirety of the sixth season having eleven shots, while "The Spoils of War" alone had over 80 shots. As the stunt performers were lit on fire, they were required to hold their breath until the fire was put out, and specific attention was given to stunt performers in the middle of the shot, as they faced the brunt of the heat from the fire. Shakman also spoke about the difficulty in shooting the dragon sequence and the safety of the performers, saying "The most difficult was safety because you're dealing with fire, horses and actors — and those things don't do well in close proximity yet the nature of it was to create this Bosch-like nightmare where, as the scene progresses, it becomes increasingly like you're in the pit of hell. That was difficult." Robert McLachlan who served as cinematographer for the episode, and previously was cinematographer for episodes including "The Rains of Castamere" and "The Dance of Dragons" in the show's third and fifth seasons respectively, was also interviewed about the process of creating the "Loot Train Attack." In an interview conducted by ''The Verge'', McLachlan revealed that the production team received the script for the episode more than a year in advance. Several cameras were used to capture the "Loot Train Attack," including a small handheld camera known as an Osmo, which "allowed a horseman to get shots while riding a horse at a full gallop through the cavalry charge," as well as a "custom-built miniature helicopter drone" for the "overhead dragon shots." A cable-cam was also used, which made several passes over the battlefield during the course of filming. Going into filming, one of McLachlan's most desired effects was the amount of smoke on the battlefield, saying "we wanted to block the sun out so the shots would have some consistency. And I knew the fire and smoke would be incredibly beautiful." White smoke was used towards the beginning of filming, but as the battle went on, McLachlan decided to switch to black smoke, which was accomplished through burning diesel oil. This caused the crew to be required to wear masks and goggles, and raised concern for HBO's safety officer, who eventually prohibited further use of the black smoke due to health and safety concerns. Additional smoke was added later by the special effects team. The number of extras that were utilized for filming the "Loot Train Attack" began with more than 600 extras, and gradually decreased as the weeks of filming went on, with 400 extras returning the following week, and ultimately concluded with approximately 100 extras, according to McLachlan. McLachlan also discussed the "oner" featuring Bronn, which he described as a single shot that "runs for as long as possible," revealing that the sequence was actually three shots that were stitched together by the special effects team, led by VFX supervisor Joe Bauer. He continued by revealing that the entire "oner" Bronn sequence was accomplished in only three takes. In an interview with ''Entertainment Weekly'', Sophie Turner, who portrays Sansa Stark, spoke about filming the reunion scene with Maisie Williams, who portrays Arya Stark. Turner stated that the two kept laughing during the filming of the scene, and that they couldn't "keep a straight face". She continued, "Our relationship is so close, but it's only that fun side, never the business side. I was nervous. It just terrified me. It's like performing for your mum. When somebody is watching you don't do it quite as well." Williams also spoke about the scene, saying, "It was the weirdest thing when we shot our first scene together. We were both embarrassed to do our thing in front of each other. It took a few hours for us to get serious and actually do it. Later it was fine on set and we could concentrate, but it was so hard to get into character with Sophie in front of me." Shakman also spoke about the reunion in a separate interview, saying, "It was fun for them, it was fun for us to see them work together, and same with Isaac when they all got together. They're all terrific, and they're amazing actors, and it was fun to see them come together now as adults and navigate these much more complicated scenes than they had to do with each other years ago."

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===Ratings=== "The Spoils of War" was viewed by 10.17 million total viewers on its initial viewing on HBO, which was significantly higher than the previous week's rating of 9.25 million for the episode "The Queen's Justice". This set a ratings record for ''Game of Thrones'', as the highest rated episode of the series to that point, surpassing the seventh season premiere, which previously held the record. The episode also acquired a 4.6 rating in the 18–49 demographic, making it the highest rated show on cable television of the night. In the United Kingdom, the episode was viewed by 3.015 million viewers on Sky Atlantic, making it the highest-rated broadcast that week on its channel. It also received 1.022 million timeshift viewers.

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===Critical reception=== "The Spoils of War" received widespread acclaim from critics, who listed the battle between Daenerys Targaryen and Jaime Lannister, Arya's return to Winterfell and interaction with Brienne, and Daenerys and Jon Snow's conversation at Dragonstone as high points of the episode. It has received a 97% rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes from 43 reviews with an average score of 9.2 out of 10. The site's consensus reads "'The Spoils of War' delivers arguably the greatest battle sequence of the series so far, in exciting, epic, fiery spectacle." The episode also currently holds a 9.8 out of 10 community rating on IMDb, making it one of the highest-rated episodes on the website. Matt Fowler of IGN wrote in his review for the episode, "The past three ''Thrones'' episodes now have ended with big action set pieces, but the Dragon/Dothraki battle down in The Reach, in "The Spoils of War," was one of the most gripping and magnificent ones to date. It may even rival "Hardhome" in terms of spectacle." He continued, "''Game of Thrones'' pulled no punches and showed no quarter this week as we witnessed one of the fiercest and most engaging battles the show's ever produced, featuring major fan-favorite characters on opposite sides of the fight. On top of that, Arya, after seven years, made her way home to Winterfell and managed to best Brienne of Tarth in a friendly training session. There are three Starks in Winterfell right now, but with Littlefinger there poisoning the well, things still aren't quite right." He gave the episode a 10 out of 10. Myles McNutt of ''The A.V. Club'' similarly praised the concluding battle sequence: "The Spoils Of War" lives up to its title by reinforcing how much more fruitful war is as a storytelling mechanism at this point in the series' life." He also compared the episode to the previous episode, "The Queen's Justice", which had two battles that largely took place off-screen, writing "Here, the battle is told through multiple perspectives, each vested with meaning and purpose: our point-of-view shifts between Dany and Drogon and Jaime and Bronn, before eventually adding Tyrion watching from afar, and the direction from first-time Thrones director Matt Shakman uses those POV very carefully." He concluded his review by saying "The Spoils Of War" anchors itself on characters whose stories are far from over, and crafts a reunion and a battle sequence that end no stories and yet draw meaning from the fact that technically, at this point, any story could end at any moment." He gave the episode an A-. James Hibberd of ''Entertainment Weekly'' gave the episode an A, writing in his review, "All the leaks in the world couldn't wreck 'The Spoils of War'. ''Game of Thrones''' shortest episode ever — and part of the show's fastest-paced season ever — didn’t feel rushed at all, and the story's impact remained incredibly strong no matter what you knew ahead of time."

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===Accolades=== American Society of Cinematographers Awards Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series for Non-Commercial Television Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Mathew Waters, Onnalee Blank, Bradley C. Katona, Paul Bercovitch Directors Guild of America Awards Outstanding Animated Character in an Episode or Real-Time Project Murray Stevenson, Jason Snyman, Jenn Taylor, Florian Friedmann – "Drogon Loot Train Attack" Outstanding Compositing in a Photoreal Episode Dom Hellier, Thijs Noij, Edwin Holdsworth, Giacomo Matteucci – "Loot Train Attack" Best Sound Editing in Television, Short Form: FX/Foley Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Bradley Katona, Brett Voss and Jeffrey Wilhoit Best Sound Editing in Television, Short Form: Dialogue / ADR Tim Kimmel, Paul Bercovitch and Tim Hands Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Jaime Lannister Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama series Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama series Tim Kimmel, Paula Fairfield, Tim Hands, Paul Bercovitch, Bradley C. Katona, John Matter, Brett Voss, David Klotz, Jeffrey Wilhoit, Dylan T. Wilhoit

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==Leak== On August 4, 2017, it was reported that, two days before its original broadcast, the episode was leaked online from Star India, one of HBO's international network partners. Four suspects were arrested over the leak in Mumbai. Three of them were current employees of Prime Focus Technologies, an independent company that handles Star India's data; the fourth was a former employee.

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==External links== * "The Spoils of War" at HBO.com

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'''Sansa Stark''' is a fictional character created by American author George R. R. Martin. She is a prominent character in Martin's award-winning ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' series. Introduced in ''A Game of Thrones'' (1996), Sansa is the elder daughter and second child of Lord Eddard Stark and his wife Lady Catelyn Stark. She subsequently appeared in the following three novels: ''A Clash of Kings'' (1998), ''A Storm of Swords'' (2000), and ''A Feast for Crows'' (2005). While absent from the fifth novel ''A Dance with Dragons'', as the books are separated geographically, Sansa is confirmed to return in the forthcoming next book in the series, ''The Winds of Winter''. In HBO's adaptation of the series, ''Game of Thrones'', Sansa is portrayed by English actress Sophie Turner. The character has received critical acclaim, including praise as the 4th greatest character in the series by ''Rolling Stone''. She and the rest of the cast were nominated for Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2016. Furthermore, Turner received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2019.

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==Character and appearances== Sansa Stark is the second child and elder daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark. She was born and raised in Winterfell, until leaving with her father and sister at the beginning of the series. She was raised with a younger sister Arya Stark, two younger brothers Rickon Stark and Bran Stark, as well as an older brother Robb Stark, and an older illegitimate half-brother, Jon Snow. Raised as a lady, Sansa is traditionally feminine. Sansa's interests are music, poetry, and singing. She strives to become like the heroines of romantic tales by attempting to find a prince, knight, or gentleman to fall in love with. For a companion animal, she owned a direwolf named Lady. However, Lady was killed in place of Arya's direwolf, Nymeria, after Nymeria attacked the Crown Prince, Joffrey Baratheon, and later fled. Sansa has been described as tall, slim, womanly, and beautiful, destined to be a lady or a queen. She has blue eyes and thick auburn hair that she inherits from her mother, who came from House Tully in the Riverlands region prior to her marriage to Eddard Stark. She has her hair dyed dark brown later on while in the Vale, disguised as Alayne Stone, the bastard daughter of Petyr Baelish. Sansa is 11 years old in ''A Game of Thrones'' and nearly 14 in ''A Feast for Crows''. Arguably the most naive of the Stark children at the start of the series, Sansa often finds herself used as a pawn in the machinations of the other characters. However, as the story progresses, she matures and becomes more of a player of the game rather than a pawn for other characters. She is the most beautiful woman in Westeros at the time of the events of "A Song of Ice and Fire".

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===''A Game of Thrones''=== Sansa Stark begins the novel by being betrothed to Crown Prince Joffrey Baratheon, believing Joffrey to be a gallant prince. While Joffrey and Sansa are walking through the woods, Joffrey notices Arya sparring with the butcher's boy, Mycah. A fight breaks out and Joffrey is attacked by Nymeria (Arya's direwolf) after Joffrey threatens to hurt Arya. Sansa lies to King Robert about the circumstances of the fight in order to protect both Joffrey and her sister Arya. Since Arya ran off with her wolf to save it, Sansa's wolf is killed instead, estranging the Stark daughters. During the Tourney of the Hand to honour her father Lord Eddard Stark, Sansa Stark is enchanted by the knights performing in the event. At the request of his mother, Queen Cersei Lannister, Joffrey spends a portion of the tourney with Sansa, but near the end he commands his guard Sandor Clegane, better known as The Hound, to take her back to her quarters. Sandor explains how his older brother, Gregor, aka "Mountain that Rides" pushed his face into a brazier of hot coals, for playing with one of his wooden toys. After Eddard discovers the truth of Joffrey's paternity, he tells Sansa that they will be heading back to Winterfell. Sansa is devastated and wishes to stay in King's Landing, so she runs off to inform Queen Cersei of her father's plans, unwittingly providing Cersei with the information needed to arrest her father. After Robert dies, Sansa begs Joffrey to show mercy on her father and he agrees, if Ned will swear an oath of loyalty, but executes him anyway, in front of Sansa. Sansa is now effectively a hostage in King's Landing and finally sees Joffrey's true nature, after he forces her to look at the tarred head of her now-deceased father.

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===''A Clash of Kings''=== Sansa is a hostage in King's Landing, and has learned to be outwardly loyal to King Joffrey to avoid severe physical abuse. At the celebration for Joffrey's name day, she ostensibly saves the life of Ser Dontos Hollard, when he shows up late and inebriated, begging Joffrey to spare him, in turn winning Dontos' loyalty. Sansa is routinely beaten by Joffrey's guards. After her brother has won a battle against Joffrey's maternal family, she is publicly beaten and has her clothes torn. Tyrion Lannister intervenes on her behalf, and Sandor Clegane gives her his cloak to cover herself. Later, Sandor Clegane saves Sansa from a riot in King's Landing. During the Battle of Blackwater Bay, all of the highborn ladies in King's Landing seek refuge within a doubly secure, moated chamber within the Red Keep. There, Queen Cersei drunkenly mocks and berates Sansa, then flees when the tide of the battle falls, while Sansa stays to give comfort to the ladies before retreating to her own quarters. There she finds a drunken Sandor Clegane, who offers to take her away from any imminent danger and the Lannisters themselves. She declines, but he insists she sing for him, at dagger point, then rips his cloak off and gives it to her a second time before fleeing the city. When Sansa awakens, the battle is over. House Lannister has won, but her betrothal to Joffrey is soon ended, so as he may marry Margaery Tyrell whose family just helped turn the tide of battle. However, Joffrey informs Sansa that he still has use for her when married, and to "expect a nightly visitor for a long while".

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===''A Storm of Swords''=== In the third book, Sansa is invited to dine with Margaery and her grandmother, Olenna Redwyne. The two women seek to learn the true nature of Joffrey Baratheon now that he and Margaery are betrothed. In turn, Olenna suggests that Sansa should marry her grandson Willas Tyrell. Sansa reveals the marriage plan to Ser Dontos, who warns her of the Tyrells; however, Sansa develops a close friendship with Margaery and is excited about becoming a part of her family. However, when Tywin learns of the marriage plot he schemes to have Sansa's brother Robb Stark killed, knowing that would leave Sansa to inherit Winterfell and the North. He then commands his son Tyrion Lannister to marry Sansa. Tyrion is initially opposed to the marriage, but is eventually enticed by the prospect of becoming Lord of Winterfell, and so agrees to marry her. Sansa is shocked one morning to learn that she is being fitted for a gown to marry Tyrion that day. Joffrey taunts Sansa and acts on behalf of her father to give her away during the ceremony to add further insult. Sansa ignores Tyrion and refuses to bend as he attempts to put his cloak around her, a marriage ceremony custom in Westeros. In turn, Joffrey commands Ser Dontos to act as a stool so that Tyrion can cloak his bride in spite of his short stature. At the banquet, Sansa dances with many lords, who offer words of comfort; however, Joffrey merely threatens to rape her. Tyrion intervenes and states a desire to castrate Joffrey. After the wedding ceremony, Tyrion chooses not to consummate the marriage due to Sansa's lack of desire in him. It is not long before many in King's Landing come to know that the marriage was never consummated. Not long after Sansa's marriage, Joffrey and Margaery are wed and afterward a grand feast. At Joffrey's wedding, Joffrey is poisoned, and Cersei orders both Tyrion and Sansa arrested. As Joffrey begins to choke to death, Sansa manages to flee during the chaos. Once in her room, she gathers her belongings and notices that one of the amethysts from her hairnet, a gift from Ser Dontos, is missing. Sansa immediately realizes that the prince had been poisoned and starts to doubt Ser Dontos' rescue plan. Understanding that she will be implicated in the murder of Joffrey, she chooses to flee King's Landing with the knight anyway. Ser Dontos is later killed by Petyr Baelish, who reveals that he is the mastermind behind nearly all of the capital intrigue. He reveals that he was the one who sent Dontos to her and that Olenna took the amethyst from Sansa's hairnet. Baelish smuggles Sansa to safety in the Vale of Arryn, where she poses as his bastard daughter Alayne Stone. She is taken to her aunt Lysa Arryn, now married to Baelish. Lysa declares that Sansa must marry her sickly boy Robert, heir to the Vale. Petyr Baelish and Lysa are wed; however, Lysa becomes jealous when she witnesses Littlefinger kissing her niece. Lysa later attempts to murder Sansa, but she is saved once again by Baelish, who kills Lysa.

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===''A Feast for Crows''=== After Lysa's death, Sansa becomes mistress of the Eyrie and still pretends to be Baelish's illegitimate daughter, Alayne Stone. Baelish successfully pacifies the lords of the Vale, who suspected Baelish's hand in Lysa's death. Afterwards, Baelish reveals to Sansa his plans to eventually marry her to the heir to the Vale, Harrold Hardyng, and his long-range plans to reveal her true identity and reclaim the North. Sansa acts as a mother figure to Robert Arryn, caring for him after the death of Lysa. By now she has lost much of her naivety, as well as trust for Baelish.

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====Season 1==== Sansa is first seen with Arya at Winterfell, during their embroidery lesson with Septa Mordane. Following the arrival of Robert Baratheon and his escort at Winterfell, he insists to Ned that Joffrey and Sansa should be married in order to join their houses. Sansa, who is desperate to leave Winterfell, begs Catelyn to make Ned agree to the engagement. Joffrey is bitten by Arya's direwolf Nymeria while bullying Mycah the butcher's boy and Arya. Sansa, an eyewitness, claims to be ignorant of the event at the inquest. As retribution for Joffrey's injury, Cersei convinces Robert to have Sansa's direwolf, Lady, killed in place of the now-missing Nymeria. After arriving at King's Landing, Sansa attends the Hand's Tourney where Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish tells Sansa and Arya the story behind Sandor "The Hound" Clegane's gruesome facial burns. As time passes, Sansa wears her hair like a southerner and is more flippant with Mordane, expressing fears she will fail to give Joffrey a male heir. Following Ned's initial resignation as Hand of the King, Sansa is devastated to hear she must return to Winterfell. She likens Joffrey to a lion and says he is nothing like Robert Baratheon. This statement inspires Ned to investigate the Baratheon family line, prompting him to realise that Cersei's children are bastards fathered by her twin brother Jaime Lannister, not Robert Baratheon. Following Robert's death and Ned's arrest for treason, all Stark servants in King's Landing are executed. Cersei exhorts Sansa to write Robb and Catelyn, imploring them to swear fealty to Joffrey. At court, Sansa pleads for her father's life; all agree on the condition Ned confesses his treason and swears fealty. Sansa is present at the Great Sept of Baelor and is horrified when Joffrey orders Ned's execution, fainting as Ned is beheaded. Grieving the death of her father, Sansa is forced by Joffrey to look upon the spiked heads of both Ned and Septa Mordane. She begs to return home, but he informs Sansa that they are still to be married, and she will stay and obey. Joffrey promises to present Robb's head also, to which she retorts that Robb may give her Joffrey's head, instead. While on the catwalk, Sansa moves to push Joffrey to his death but is stopped by Sandor Clegane, who offers practical consoling advice.

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====Season 2==== As the War of the Five Kings progresses, Sansa's position in King's Landing becomes increasingly perilous. On Joffrey's name day celebration, Sansa saves an inebriated Ser Dontos Hollard from execution, by convincing Joffrey to instead make Dontos his fool. While at the celebration, Tyrion offers his condolences for Ned's death, in response to which Sansa insists her family are all traitors, and she is loyal to Joffrey. Later on, when her eldest brother Robb wins a battle against the Lannisters, Sansa is publicly beaten and humiliated in front of the court by Joffrey and Ser Meryn (on Joffrey's orders), as payment for her brother's crimes. Tyrion Lannister enters the court and rescues Sansa. Despite being a dwarf, Tyrion takes pity on Sansa's situation and offers to have the engagement called off. Sansa maintains her facade that she is loyal to Joffrey, which impresses Tyrion to the point he believes Sansa might just survive King's Landing. Tyrion has his lover, Shae, positioned as Sansa's handmaiden. Sansa and Shae form a friendship in which Sansa is able to vent about her hatred of the Lannisters without fear of being betrayed. Sansa is present when the royal family bids farewell to Joffrey's sister, Myrcella, on her departure to Dorne to form an alliance between the Lannisters and the Martells. While returning to the Red Keep, a riot breaks out in the streets of King's Landing, amidst which Sansa finds herself caught in the fray. Three peasant men chase Sansa and attempt to rape her before she is rescued and returned to the castle by Sandor Clegane. The following morning, Sansa has a nightmare of the incident and wakes up in a bloodstained bed. Sansa has her first period, thus meaning she can now bear Joffrey's children. Sansa and Shae attempt to conceal this, which involves Shae's threatening to kill a witness handmaiden if she tells anyone. However, Sandor Clegane sees the blood, and both Cersei and Joffrey are informed. Cersei invites Sansa to her chambers to share some of her wisdom and experience as a wife and a mother. Cersei reminisces that her husband Robert was not interested in her childbirth. Cersei explains to Sansa that while Sansa may never love Joffrey (and vice versa), she will love his children. Cersei warns Sansa that the more people she loves, the weaker she will be. Therefore, Sansa should only love her children, as it is the only love she has no choice in. Before the Battle of the Blackwater, Joffrey forces Sansa to kiss the blade of his sword, while bragging he will kill Stannis himself. Sansa taunts Joffrey by remarking he must be battling in the vanguard, which he would not be. Joffrey promises that she will lick Stannis's blood, and later her brother Robb's blood off his sword. During the battle, Sansa takes refuge with Cersei, Shae, and the other women and children of King's Landing. A drunk Cersei declares to Sansa and the women that if the city falls, they will all be raped while the city is sacked. Cersei continues her taunting by also telling Sansa that tears are not the only weapons women have; the greatest weapon they own is between their legs. Following Cersei's departure from the refuge with Tommen, Sansa leaves to hide in her bedchamber, where she finds Sandor Clegane. Sandor, about to leave King's Landing, offers to take Sansa home. Sansa declines, insisting Stannis would not harm her. After the battle is won by the Lannister-Tyrell forces, Loras Tyrell asks Joffrey to take his sister, Margaery, as his bride. Joffrey accepts the proposal, which annuls his marriage with Sansa. Sansa, while pretending to be devastated, is secretly delighted she no longer has to marry Joffrey. However, Petyr Baelish warns that while Sansa is no longer engaged, Joffrey would have greater rein to abuse Sansa, especially now she is a woman. Petyr assures Sansa he will help get her home, in which Sansa once again displays a facade, asserting King's Landing is her home. Petyr advises Sansa that everyone in King's Landing is a liar and that they are much more cunning than her.

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====Season 3==== With her engagement to Joffrey annulled, Sansa does not have to worry about spending the rest of her life with him, but is with lesser protection from tormentors. Petyr Baelish, an old friend of her mother's with a reputation for being sadistic and cunning, tells her that he can smuggle her out of the city, but she is reluctant. Sansa finds a friend in Loras Tyrell, who is kind to her and whom she hopes will ask for her hand. His sister, Joffrey's new fiancé, Margaery, is also kind to her and takes her to dine with her grandmother, Olenna Tyrell, who asks her for her opinion of Joffrey. Sansa reveals Joffrey's true, cruel personality, but Margaery and Lady Olenna merely pass it by as a trivial matter, saying there is nothing to be done to change a man's character, especially a king's. Sansa's affection for Loras grows; she is unaware that Loras is gay and, while he likes her and enjoys spending time with her, he can never love her. Margaery proposes the idea that Loras will marry Sansa, meaning Sansa can leave King's Landing, which delights Sansa. However, when this plan is reported to the Lannisters, they fear that the Tyrells will pose an even greater threat with a member of House Stark as one of their allies and quickly end the idea of the engagement, by betrothing Loras to Cersei and engaging Sansa to Tyrion, which both Sansa and Shae are against. However, the day of the wedding, Tyrion promises not to harm her and, as she prepares to consummate the marriage, Tyrion realizes how unhappy Sansa is and tells her that she doesn't have to consummate it unless she wants to. When Sansa asks Tyrion what would happen if she never wants him in her bed, he quips, "And so my watch begins." Sansa and Tyrion do form a somewhat friendly relationship, as he is kind to her and treats her well, and she soon realizes there are worse Lannisters to be wed to. However, their cordial relationship suffers a crushing blow when Sansa receives news of Robb and Catelyn's deaths at the Red Wedding, an event orchestrated by Tywin Lannister, Tyrion's father.

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====Season 4==== Sansa, still distraught over the death of Robb and Catelyn, is approached by Dontos Hollard, a former knight whom Sansa had convinced Joffrey to make his fool instead of executing him. Dontos gives her a necklace, claiming it was his mother's. However, the necklace turns out to be a fake; one of the gems contains the poison which Lady Olenna Tyrell uses to poison Joffrey at his wedding to Margaery Tyrell. In the commotion, Sansa is taken by Dontos, to Baelish's boat in Blackwater Bay. Baelish smuggles Sansa from King's Landing after revealing the nature of the necklace and has Dontos killed with a crossbow. Lord Baelish, with Sansa posing as his niece Alayne Stone, pass through the Blood Gates to the Eyrie and to the keep of Lysa Arryn. Lysa initially invites them with open arms, revealing she knows exactly who her niece is, and they are welcome to be housed. It is soon revealed however, Lysa mistrusts the relationship between Sansa and Baelish accusing Baelish of violating Sansa and accusing him of never loving her. Later in the keep, Sansa strikes Lysa's son Robin and Baelish appears. Baelish then proclaims his undying love for her deceased mother, Catelyn, and he shares a kiss with a stunned Sansa, with Lysa watching from above. Sansa is immediately summoned to Lysa's throne room, where she believes she had been summoned for striking her son. Lysa reveals she had observed the kiss, and though defending herself and Baelish's actions against her, Lysa holds her to the Moon Door, a trap door that leads hundreds of feet down into the mountains below. Baelish intervenes before she gets the chance to execute Sansa and pushes Lysa to her death instead as he proclaimed his love for her sister. Then Baelish later claimed to the lords of the Vale that she committed suicide. Sansa is called to give testimony, and although she reveals her true identity, she supports Baelish's story. She then joins Baelish and her cousin Robin Arryn on a tour of the Vale.

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====Season 5==== Baelish brokers a marriage between Sansa and Ramsay Bolton, now the heir to the North after the death of Robb Stark. Though Sansa is reluctant to marry Ramsay, as his father Roose had personally murdered Robb, Baelish persuades her by claiming that the marriage will give her the opportunity to avenge her family. On the way to Winterfell, they encounter Brienne of Tarth, who had sworn to Catelyn Stark to take Sansa to safety and tries to convince Sansa to come with her; Baelish has her chased off by his men, but Brienne follows Sansa to Winterfell regardless. Though initially charming, Ramsay's sadistic nature becomes apparent when Sansa discovers that he has captured and enslaved Ned's former ward Theon Greyjoy, and forced him to assume the identity of his serving man, Reek. Sansa and Ramsay wed in front of the Godswood. That night, Ramsay rapes Sansa, and forces Reek to watch. Over the next few days, Ramsay continues to rape and beat Sansa every night, and keeps her locked in her bedchamber. Sansa begs Reek to help her signal her northern allies by lighting a candle in the broken tower. Reek, wishing to spare Sansa from Bolton's wrath, instead tells Ramsay. He proceeds to flay the maid who had told Sansa of the signal, and forces Sansa to look at her corpse. Furious, Sansa confronts Reek, who admits that he had failed to capture Sansa's brothers Bran and Rickon, and killed two farm boys in their place. While the Boltons prepare to battle Stannis Baratheon's advancing forces, Sansa signals to Brienne, unaware that she has left to kill Stannis. When help does not come, Sansa attempts to return to her room but is caught by Ramsay's paramour Myranda, who threatens to mutilate Sansa. Finally snapping, Theon throws Myranda to her death, just as the Bolton forces return. Fearful of Ramsay's reaction, Theon and Sansa jump from Winterfell's battlements into the snow.

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====Season 6==== Sansa and Theon are captured by Bolton soldiers in the forest outside Winterfell, but Brienne and her squire Podrick Payne arrive in time to rescue them and kill the Bolton soldiers. This time, Sansa accepts Brienne's loyalty. While Theon returns to the Iron Islands, Sansa, Brienne, and Podrick journey on to Castle Black, where she reunites with her half-brother Jon Snow, who has just resigned as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Sansa tries to persuade Jon to help her drive the Boltons out of Winterfell; although Jon initially refuses, he changes his mind after Ramsay sends a letter to Jon in which he gloats that he holds Rickon Stark captive and threatens to kill the Starks and the Wildlings Jon has let through the Wall if Sansa is not returned. Before Jon and Sansa leave Castle Black, Baelish arranges a meeting with Sansa in Mole's Town. He insists that he was unaware of Ramsay's nature and offers the support of the Knights of the Vale, also mentioning that her great-uncle Brynden "Blackfish" Tully has captured Riverrun from House Frey. Sansa sends Baelish away, declaring that she never wants to see him again, but sends Brienne to the Riverlands to convince the Blackfish to aid the Starks. Although Jon and Sansa are only able to win over a handful of Northern lords, Jon insists that they must march on Winterfell, despite Sansa's objections. Sansa sends a letter to Baelish asking for his aid, and the Vale forces arrive at Winterfell in time to defeat the Boltons. Ramsay is captured and Sansa has Ramsay fed to his hounds. In the aftermath of the battle, Sansa apologizes for not telling Jon about Baelish and the Knights of the Vale. Jon forgives her and asks that they trust each other completely from now on. They remember their father when Sansa says she received a white raven informing them that Winter is here. While in the godswood, Baelish tells Sansa the North will rally behind her and confesses his ambition to rule Westeros with Sansa at his side, but Sansa rebuffs his advances. Later, the Northmen and Valemen declare Jon the new King in the North. Sansa's smile dies when she notices Littlefinger watching her.

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====Season 7==== Jon travels to Dragonstone to negotiate with Daenerys Targaryen for her support against the White Walkers, leaving Sansa as regent in his absence. Soon after, Bran and Arya return to Winterfell. Littlefinger seeks to drive a wedge between Sansa and Arya by letting Arya find Sansa's letter to Robb asking him to bend the knee to Joffrey, causing Arya to confront Sansa. Sansa sneaks into Arya's quarters and comes across the "faces" Arya has taken from the various people she has killed on her travels; Arya catches Sansa and tells Sansa of her ability to assume people's identities with the faces before she threatens her. Sansa later receives an invitation to King's Landing, where Jon intends to present Cersei, who is now Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, with proof of the White Walkers' existence. Refusing to return to King's Landing, she sends Brienne as her representative. Sansa shows Littlefinger the letter she received from Jon following the meeting in King's Landing, in which Jon states that he had pledged his support to Daenerys Targaryen. Littlefinger continues his manipulation of Sansa by claiming that Jon has betrayed the North, Sansa should seize power from Jon, and suggests Arya intends to murder her to become Lady of Winterfell. Sansa summons Arya to the great hall and begins an accusation of treason and murder, before directing the accusation towards Littlefinger. With help from their brother Bran (now known as Three-Eyed Raven), Sansa and Arya reveal that they are aware of Baelish's numerous crimes, including the murder of Lysa Arryn, orchestrating the murders of both Jon Arryn and Eddard Stark, and manipulating the Starks and Lannisters to war. Baelish tries to plead for his life, but Sansa refuses and sentences Littlefinger to death. Arya executes him. The Stark sisters later resolve their differences and acknowledge that the Starks must stand together to survive the winter. They remember their father telling them, "The lone wolf dies, but the pack survives."

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====Season 8==== Sansa welcomes Daenerys and her court, including Tyrion, to Winterfell. Tyrion declares that the Lannister troops will be marching north as well to defend against the dead, but Sansa is skeptical; her fears are confirmed when Jaime Lannister arrives in Winterfell and he reveals Cersei's treachery. Sansa wishes Jaime dead for attacking Ned in King's Landing, but spares him when Brienne vouches for him. Sansa suspects that Jon's decision to pledge to Daenerys as queen is due to his love for Daenerys. Sansa is wary of Daenerys but when speaking with her in private, Daenerys assures Sansa that her love for Jon is also genuine and they reach common ground. However, the situation becomes tense when Sansa asks of the North's independence after Daenerys has conquered Westeros. They are interrupted by Theon's arrival, who has come to help defend Winterfell. Sansa watches the battle against the dead from Winterfell's battlements, but when the Dothraki are easily overrun, Arya orders Sansa to seek refuge in the crypts with the other non-combatants. The Night King reanimates the dead around Winterfell, including the Starks buried in the crypts, but the undead fall when Arya kills the Night King, allowing Sansa, Tyrion, and the others in the crypts to survive. Sansa is present for the funeral for those fallen in battle, including Theon, who was killed defending Bran. She places a Stark pin in Theon's armor before he is cremated to honor him as an ally of the Starks. Sansa is reunited with the Hound at the victory feast. The Hound declares that Sansa would not have experienced the horrors she faced had she fled King's Landing with him, but Sansa acknowledges that her experiences made her wiser. At the war council, Sansa and Daenerys disagree over giving the Northern army time to recover before marching on King's Landing. After the council, Sansa and Arya tell Jon they don't trust Daenerys but Jon defends Daenerys. Jon confides he is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark after swearing Sansa and Arya to secrecy. Sansa reveals this to Tyrion. Daenerys takes King's Landing, but lays waste to the surrendered populace during which Cersei is also killed. Jon tries but fails to dissuade Daenerys from further destruction and ultimately assassinates her. When Jon is arrested by the Unsullied, Sansa camps the Northern army outside the city and travels to King's Landing to convene a council to determine the fates of Jon, Tyrion, and Westeros. Tyrion suggests Bran be crowned king, to near-unanimous approval. Arya and Sansa abstain, and Sansa asserts to Bran that the North has sacrificed too much to remain part of the Seven Kingdoms, declaring the North's independence. Sansa, Arya, and Bran bid farewell to Jon, who is exiled. Sansa returns to Winterfell and is crowned Queen in the North.

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===Reception=== Sophie Turner plays the role of Sansa Stark in the television series As her storyline has progressed, Sansa has received critical acclaim for the development of her character and her emergence from a naive young girl to a strong young woman. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked Sansa as No. 4 on a list of the "Top 40 ''Game of Thrones'' Characters", saying that Sansa is "often overlooked in favor of her killer kid sister", but that her "quiet, innate political shrewedness and emotional strength have enabled her to survive", and calling her "the show's best-kept secret". In a ranking of the 48 best ''Game of Thrones'' characters listed in the main credits in the first five seasons on the website ''The Wrap'', Sansa was ranked at No. 4, ahead of the more popular Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, and Tyrion Lannister, saying that "Sansa has been kind of great in Season 6, turning into the sort of badass we always hoped but never thought she actually could become". In an article published on ''Mic.''com, Julianne Ross says that "the elder Stark daughter is often cited as one of the most reviled characters on ''Game of Thrones''", while also saying that "not coincidentally, Sansa Stark is also one of the most classically feminine characters on the show." Ross criticized the heavy hatred for Sansa, particularly in contrast to "her universally (and rightly) adored tomboy little sister Arya", stating that Sansa "arguably gets a disproportionate amount of fan hate because she doesn't fit the narrow 'strong female character' mold we're used to rooting for." Blogger Rhiannon Thomas of ''Feminist Fiction'' wrote in 2012 that "the focus on this sort of female character - the oft-cited 'strong female character' - seems to suggest that femininity is still ''bad,'' and that women can only be strong by adopting stereotypically male roles and attitudes". Thomas went on to say that "in an abusive situation that would break so many people, Sansa survives" and that she has a "woman's courage" that "keeps her alive and in the game where characters like Arya would not last five minutes". In an article published on MTV.com by Crystal Bell titled "Sansa Stark is the Only ''Game of Thrones'' Hero Worth Rooting For", Bell writes: "Sansa is the most relatable character in George R.R. Martin's canon. She's often despised for having no agency, but the way I see it, Sansa is hated for being a woman. Unlike Brienne, Arya, Cersei, and Margaery -- models of the "strong female character" archetype—Sansa's passivity denotes weakness. She doesn't have cool swordplay skills like her sister Arya; she isn't a smart seductress like Margaery Tyrell or a fierce queen like Cersei. She is the epitome of femininity on ''Game of Thrones'', and therefore, she is dismissed." Bell went on to say: "However, Sansa's greatest strength as a character has been her unwavering resilience. She was tortured and humiliated for seasons by the unhinged man-boys around her. She's been the subject of everyday sexism and misogyny since day one. And yet, she survives, even as armor-clad heroes fall before her. She is the show's survivor. She continuously ''endures'' the pain and humiliation of being a woman in Westeros. Just because Sansa doesn't wield a sword as fiercely as Arya and Brienne, or command a horde of dragons like Daenerys Targaryen, doesn't make her any less of a hero." Sansa received particular acclaim in Season 6 of the show, during which she began her quest to retake her family home and exact revenge on those who wronged her. In an interview with ''The New York Times'', actress Sophie Turner said that "she's Sansa no longer a pawn in anyone's game; she's no longer a prisoner...she's the one taking charge and doing her own thing, which is very exciting". Megan Garber of ''The Atlantic'' praised the show's decision to have Sansa be the one orchestrating Ramsay's death in Battle of the Bastards, saying that "In the end, it was Sansa and her abuser, alone again in a darkened chamber; in the end though, it was Sansa making the decisions about who would be the victim." On the scene, Turner said: "It's amazing. It's Sansa's first kill and it's such a strong moment for her because all her life she's been affected by these men who have just done such terrible things to her...." Following the penultimate Season 6 episode, Bennett Madison of ''Vanity Fair'' wrote "When Sansa icily reminds her dopey brother that 'No one can protect you', it's because she's always been on her own. As far back as King's Landing, Sansa's between quietly protecting herself, working on her stitchery while taking cool measure of everything going on around her, learning how to game the system, and slithering through situations that would have gotten the best of the show's more flashy or impulsive characters. In 'Battle of the Bastards', she got to show a little flash of her own; by being defiantly, gloriously correct in her convictions, by saving the day with her foresight and savvy, and by feeding Ramsay to the dogs." Turner later told ''Time'' magazine about how gratifying it was to watch Sansa's development during Season 6 and defended the show on its cruel treatment of women: "In my opinion, ''Game of Thrones'' is not sexist, and it's accurate to medieval time. The show puts social boundaries on the women, and they break out of these boundaries."

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====Controversy==== In the episode "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken", Sansa's rape was the main subject of controversy for the season's deviations from the books. The majority of professional criticism concerned the decision to have Ramsay rape Sansa on their wedding night, with most critics describing the scene as gratuitous and artistically unnecessary. "This grim scene was difficult for the show to justify," said Charlotte Runcie of ''The Daily Telegraph''. Joanna Robinson of ''Vanity Fair'' added, "this rape scene undercuts all the agency that’s been growing in Sansa since the end of last season. ... I’d never advocate that ''Game of Thrones'' (or any work of fiction) shy away from edgy plots out of fear of pushback or controversy. But edgy plots should always accomplish something above pure titillation or shock value and what, ''exactly'', was accomplished here?" Christopher Orr wrote in ''The Atlantic'', "I continue to be astonished that showrunners Benioff and Weiss still apparently believe that their tendency to ramp up the sex, violence, and—especially—sexual violence of George R.R. Martin’s source material is a strength rather than the defining weakness of their adaptation." Myles McNutt of ''The A.V. Club'' wrote, "The issue with the show returning to rape as a trope is not simply because there have been thinkpieces speaking out against it, and is not solely driven by the rational concerns lying at the heart of those thinkpieces. It’s also that the show has lost my faith as a viewer." Writers from ''Vanity Fair'', ''The Mary Sue'' and ''The Daily Beast'' all disapproved of the decision to use Sansa's victimization as a motivating agent for Theon, saying that the scene undermined Sansa's character development: "Was it really important to make that scene about Theon's pain?" wrote Joanna Robinson of ''Vanity Fair''. Other critics responded positively to the scene. Sean T. Collins of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote: "By involving a multidimensional main character instead of one introduced primarily to suffer, the series has a chance to grant this story the gravity and seriousness it deserves. Sarah Hughes of ''The Guardian'' wrote: "I have repeatedly made clear that I’m not a fan of rape as a plot device – but the story of Ramsay and Sansa’s wedding was more than that. ... The writers are walking a very fine line here. They handled it well tonight, telling a gothic tale of innocence sacrificed". Alyssa Rosenberg of ''The Washington Post'' wrote that the scene "managed to maintain a fine balance, employing a dignity and care for the experiences of victims that ''Game of Thrones'' has not always demonstrated." Some critics questioned why this scene in particular should generate outrage when similar scenes have not. Sara Stewart of the ''New York Post'' pointed out that the rape and sexual abuse of both female and male characters is typical for ''Game of Thrones'': "Why are we suddenly so outraged about the rape of Sansa Stark, when this show has served up a steady diet of sexual assault and violence against women since its first season began?" Cathy Young of ''Reason'' magazine, writing in ''Time'' noted what she calls a lack of complaint in response to the sexual mistreatment of male characters in earlier seasons, specifically the literal emasculation of Theon Greyjoy and the sexual assault of Gendry. Criticism of the scene has not extended to the quality of the acting. Joanna Robinson of ''Vanity Fair'' wrote, "And if we can say one positive thing about that scene it's that Allen nailed his performance. Theon's horror mirrored our own and the camera—focusing on his reaction—let our minds fill in the blanks." Sophie Turner defended the scene as an artistic challenge for herself as an actor, saying, "When I read that scene, I kinda loved it. I love the way Ramsay had Theon watching. It was all so messed up. It's also so daunting for me to do it. ... I think it's going to be the most challenging season for me so far, just because it's so emotional for her. It's not just crying all the time, like seasons 2 or 3, it's super messed up." Iwan Rheon (Ramsay Bolton) agreed, referring to Turner's performances this season as "absolutely amazing." Some viewers, including U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, announced that they would stop watching the show because of this scene. According to ''Business Insider'', this scene and increased use of streaming services are likely reasons why ratings dropped from 6.2 million viewers for this episode to 5.4 million for the next episode, "The Gift."

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===Recognition and awards=== Sophie Turner has received several award nominations for her portrayal of Sansa including an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2019. For her performance in the series she earned the Glamour Award for Best UK TV Actress in 2016 and 2017, and an EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2016. Other nominations include the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series by a Supporting Young Actress in 2012, and the EWwy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2015.

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===General references===

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George R. R. Martin's ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels feature a sizable cast of characters. The series follows three interwoven plotlines: a dynastic war for control of Westeros by several families; the rising threat of the superhuman Others beyond Westeros' northern border; and the ambition of Daenerys Targaryen, the exiled heir of the previous ruling dynasty. The Great Houses of Westeros represent the Seven Kingdoms forged across the continent: the North, the Iron Islands, the Vale of Arryn, the Westerlands, the Stormlands, the Reach, and Dorne. A massive Wall of ice and old magic separates the Seven Kingdoms from the largely unmapped area in the most northern portion of the continent. Each chapter is narrated in the third-person limited point of view through the eyes of a single character. Beginning with nine POV characters in ''A Game of Thrones'' (1996), a total of 31 such characters have narrated over the course of the first five volumes of the series.

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== House Stark == House Stark is one of the Great Houses of the Seven Kingdoms and the principal house of the North. Its seat is at Winterfell, one of the oldest castles in the Seven Kingdoms. Its coat of arms displays a grey direwolf running on a white field, and its words are ''Winter is Coming''. Bastards born in the North are given the surname Snow. House Stark had ruled as the Kings in the North for thousands of years until House Targaryen conquered Westeros, whereafter the Starks are the Lords of Winterfell and Wardens of the North. For prizing honor and devotion to duty, House Stark is the closest of the noble houses to heroism. Over the course of the novels, the Starks are scattered by the War of the Five Kings, and the fate of the House remains uncertain, as most characters believe that all the legitimate Stark sons are dead.

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=== Eddard Stark === Eddard "Ned" Stark is the Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, and briefly serves as Hand of the King to Robert Baratheon. He is executed, by Joffrey's order, on the steps of the Great Sept of Baelor. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Sean Bean. Robert Aramayo and Sebastian Croft have both played younger versions of the character in flashbacks.

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=== Catelyn Stark === Catelyn Stark is the Lady of Winterfell, wife of Lord Eddard Stark, and mother to his children Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. She is the daughter of Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun; niece to Ser Brynden Tully (also known as the legendary "Blackfish") and sister to Lysa Arryn of the Vale and to Edmure Tully. In the HBO television adaptation, she is portrayed by Michelle Fairley.

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=== Robb Stark === Robb Stark is the oldest child of Eddard and Catelyn Stark, and the heir to Winterfell. He is not a POV character, but features in the POV chapters of his family members in the first three novels in the series. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Richard Madden.

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=== Sansa Stark === Sansa Stark is the second child and elder daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. She serves as a POV character for 24 chapters throughout ''A Game of Thrones'', ''A Clash of Kings'', ''A Storm of Swords'', and ''A Feast for Crows''. Sansa is introduced as beautiful and demure. In the HBO television adaptation, she is portrayed by Sophie Turner.

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=== Arya Stark === Arya Stark is the third child and younger daughter of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. She serves as a POV character for 33 chapters throughout ''A Game of Thrones'', ''A Clash of Kings'', ''A Storm of Swords'', ''A Feast for Crows'', and ''A Dance with Dragons''. So far she is the only character to appear in all 5 books as a POV character. In the HBO television adaptation, she is portrayed by Maisie Williams.

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=== Bran Stark === Brandon "Bran" Stark is the second son and fourth child of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. He serves as the third-person narrator of twenty-one chapters throughout ''A Game of Thrones'', ''A Clash of Kings'', ''A Storm of Swords'', and ''A Dance with Dragons''. In ''A Game of Thrones'', he sees Queen Cersei and her brother Jaime Lannister committing incest, and Jaime pushes Bran from the window to keep the relationship secret. Bran survives, but loses the use of his legs. While comatose, Bran dreams of a three-eyed raven. Slowly, he develops the ability to assume his wolf Summer's consciousness, making him a warg or ''skinchanger''. After his older brother Robb is crowned King in the North, Bran becomes Robb's heir and the acting Lord of Winterfell. In ''A Clash of Kings'', Jojen Reed teaches Bran how to correctly use his telepathy, and directs him beyond the Wall. In ''A Dance with Dragons'', Bran meets the Three-Eyed-Raven: an alias of the last trained clairvoyant. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Isaac Hempstead Wright.

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=== Rickon Stark === Rickon Stark is Ned Stark's youngest child and is three years old in ''A Game of Thrones''. When Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell in ''A Clash of Kings'', Rickon hides in the crypts. After Winterfell is sacked, he and the wildling woman Osha travel through the North. In ''A Dance with Dragons'', he is said to be on an island of cannibals, presumably Skagos. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Art Parkinson.

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=== Jon Snow === Jon Snow was raised as Ned Stark's illegitimate son and serves as the point of view character in 42 chapters throughout ''A Game of Thrones'', ''A Clash of Kings'', ''A Storm of Swords'', and ''A Dance with Dragons''. He shares the Stark family values of honour, and tries to stay morally correct and honest, even when forced to act otherwise. He is theorized to be the son of Lyanna Stark, Ned Stark's sister, and Rhaegar Targaryen. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Kit Harington.

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=== Benjen Stark === Benjen Stark is Ned Stark's younger brother and a First Ranger in the Night's Watch. He appears briefly at the start of ''A Game of Thrones'', first in Winterfell and then later on the Wall at Castle Black, where he travels with his bastard nephew Jon Snow. Benjen is sent on a mission into the lands beyond the Wall to search for a missing ranging party, but he and his men also disappear. The bodies of two of his men are later found and brought back to Castle Black; they reanimate as undead wights and kill several men before they are destroyed, but no trace of Benjen has yet been found. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Joseph Mawle.

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=== Lyanna Stark === Lyanna Stark was Eddard Stark's younger and only sister, and has been deceased for 14 years at the beginning of ''A Game of Thrones'', but is mentioned in every published book in the series. She died at the young age of 16, was said to have been beautiful by all who knew her as "a child-woman of surpassing loveliness", headstrong and "had a touch of" the fabled Starks' "wolf blood", and was one of the best horse-riders in the North. She was betrothed to Robert Baratheon, who was deeply in love with her, although she was unimpressed by Robert's reputation for infidelity. Her life's tales are mainly told through the words of Eddard Stark and Meera Reed (via Bran Stark's viewpoint chapter), with some passing commentaries from other people such as Barristan Selmy, Cersei Lannister, Roose Bolton, and Kevan Lannister. During the Tourney at Harrenhal, the greatest tourney in Westerosi history, Lyanna was chosen by the eventual jousting champion, Crown Prince Rhaegar Targaryen, as the tourney's "Queen of Love and Beauty". Because Rhaegar was already married, and Lyanna was a maiden betrothed to Robert Baratheon, Rhaegar wooing's of Lyanna was considered an outrageous scandal at the time. One year later, she was said to have been abducted and raped by Rhaegar, triggering a civil war that resulted in the overthrow of House Targaryen. At the end of the war, Eddard and six of his companions ventured to the Tower of Joy within Dorne, where Lyanna was located and guarded by three of the most prominent Kingsguard knights — the "Sword of the Morning" Ser Arthur Dayne, Ser Oswell Whent, and the "White Bull" Ser Gerold Hightower (lord commander of the Kingsguard). After a fierce skirmish that killed everyone except Eddard and his close friend Howland Reed, Eddard entered the tower and found Lyanna dying in a bed of blood. Before she died, she asked her brother Eddard to make a promise, something that Eddard regarded as a price he paid that haunted him days and nights for 14 years. Eddard later takes her body home, to be entombed in Winterfell's crypt, and installs a stone statue in her likeness in front of her sarcophagus. When he returns, he also brings back a newborn boy named Jon Snow, whom he claims is his own bastard by a tavern wench named Wylla. Although Jon Arryn persuaded Robert to marry Cersei Lannister, Robert greatly mourns Lyanna for over a decade, causing great strain in his marriage with Cersei. In the HBO television adaptation, Lyanna is portrayed by Cordelia Hill in childhood and Aisling Franciosi during her late teens.

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=== Roose Bolton === Lord Roose Bolton is a significant vassal of Lord Eddard Stark. His seat is the Dreadfort and his sigil is a flayed human, a homage to the ancient Bolton tradition of flaying enemies. He is nicknamed "the Leech Lord" for regular leechings meant to improve his health. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Michael McElhatton.

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=== Ramsay Bolton === Ramsay Snow is the bastard son of Lord Roose Bolton, later legitimized as Ramsay Bolton. He is known as the Bastard of Bolton or the Bastard of the Dreadfort. Ramsay is vicious, ruthless, psychopathic, sadistic, opportunistic, unpredictable, and fearless. He takes great pleasure and pride in torturing others and enthusiastically practices the Bolton custom of flaying their enemies. Roose suspects that Ramsay murdered Roose's legitimate heir and expects that Ramsay will kill all of Roose's future children. He is described as ugly, with blotchy skin and dry, dark hair. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Iwan Rheon.

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=== Rickard Karstark === Banner of arms of House Karstark Rickard Karstark is the Lord of Karhold and one of the main Stark vassals. During the Battle of the Whispering Wood Jaime Lannister kills two of his sons, who were guarding Robb Stark. Rickard's surviving son Harrion Karstark is later killed by the Lannisters. When Catelyn helps Jaime escape in an attempt to recover her daughters, Rickard murders two of Jaime's cousins and has his army desert Robb to search the Riverlands for Jaime, offering his daughter Alys Karstark to whoever brings him the Kingslayer. Due to this Robb executes Rickard personally. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by John Stahl.

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=== Alys Karstark === Alys Karstark is the only daughter and youngest child of Lord Rickard Karstark. She is betrothed to Daryn Hornwood, heir to the Hornwood, but Jaime Lannister kills him alongside two of her brothers. Her father offers her to whomever captures Jaime Lannister, so the sadistic sellsword Vargo Hoat captures Jaime in the hope of becoming Lord of Karhold. However, after Rickard's death his uncle Arnolf Karstark plots to take control of Karhold. He declares for Stannis when he comes North in the hope this will mean the Lannisters execute his great-nephew Harrion Karstark, so Karhold will pass to Alys, whom Arnolf intends to force into marriage with his son Cregan Karstark. Arnolf also intends to betray Stannis when the Boltons attack. However, Alys (pursued by Cregan) flees to the Wall seeking Jon Snow's help and reveals her uncles' plans. To protect her Jon imprisons Cregan and arranges for Alys to marry the Wildling leader Sigorn, Magnar of Thenn, in a ceremony performed by Melisandre, which will aid Wildling integration into the North. If Harrion dies childless, Karhold will pass to the newly formed House Thenn. In the HBO television adaptation, she is portrayed by Megan Parkinson.

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=== Wyman Manderly === Wyman Manderly is the Lord of White Harbor, the only city in the North, and the wealthiest of the Stark vassals. He is an enormously fat man, with two sons, Ser Wylis and Ser Wendel Manderly. During the War of the Five Kings the Manderlys and Boltons begin a private war over the Hornwood lands after Ramsay kidnaps the widowed Lady Donella Hornwood, Wyman's cousin, forces her to marry him and then starves her to death. Wyman's heir Wylis is captured when Roose Bolton treacherously sends a large Northern force to be wiped out by Randyll Tarly. Wyman's younger son Wendel is murdered at the Red Wedding by the Freys. Due to his heir being held captive Wyman cannot openly defy the Lannisters. Three Freys come to his city with Wendel's bones and a peace is apparently made, in which Wyman's granddaughters Wynafryd and Wylla will marry one of these Freys, Rhaegar Frey, and another of Walder Frey's grandsons, "Little" Walder Frey. When Davos Seaworth arrives in White Harbor to treat with Wyman to support Stannis, Davos denounces the Freys present for their treachery. Wyman apparently has him executed but secretly executes a criminal in his place, leading to Cersei returning his heir. Wyman reveals to Davos he knows where Rickon Stark is hiding and will support Stannis if Davos returns him. Wyman is implied to have murdered the White Harbor Freys when their stay was over (thus keeping to guest right), then put them in pies which he serves to the Freys and Boltons when he attends Ramsay's wedding, even eating some himself. The Freys suspect him of murdering their kin, and when Little Walder is murdered (possibly by his cousin Big Walder Frey) their uncle Hosteen Frey attacks Wyman. It is unclear if he survives. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Sean Blowers.

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=== Hodor === Hodor is a simple-minded stable-boy at Winterfell. He is popularly known as Hodor because that is the only word he is capable of saying. He is over seven feet tall, and it is hinted that he may have giant ancestry. He has a friendly, childlike disposition and possesses great strength, though he is reluctant to use it against others. After Bran Stark is crippled in ''A Game of Thrones'', Hodor is employed to carry him in a sling on his back. Old Nan (Hodor's great-grandmother) reveals to Bran that Hodor's real name is Walder. When Winterfell is destroyed, Hodor escapes to the north with Bran, Jojen, Meera, Rickon, and Osha. In the HBO television adaptation (in which Hodor's real name has been changed to Wylis, ostensibly to avoid confusion with another character, Walder Frey), he is portrayed by Kristian Nairn as an adult and Sam Coleman as a child.

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=== Osha === Osha () is a wildling woman who sneaks south of the Wall to escape the Others. When she and her fellow refugees try to kidnap Bran Stark in ''A Game of Thrones'', she is captured by Robb Stark and taken back to Winterfell and eventually employed as a scullery maid and is given limited freedom for her good behavior. She becomes close to Bran Stark and often gives him advice about the oncoming winter. When Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell, Osha chose to protect Bran and Rickon over her freedom. She joins Bran and Rickon hiding in Winterfell's crypt after faking escape. She later parts ways with Bran and is entrusted to take care of Rickon through the North in their escape, and by ''A Dance with Dragons'', they are reported to have landed on the island of Skagos, supposedly inhabited by cannibals. In the HBO television adaptation, Osha is portrayed by Natalia Tena.

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=== Jeyne Poole === Jeyne Poole is the daughter of Vayon Poole, the steward of Winterfell, and Sansa Stark's best friend. She has brown eyes and dark hair and is described as being very pretty. Following the arrest of Eddard Stark in ''A Game of Thrones'', the members and servants of his household are killed. Jeyne reappears in ''A Dance with Dragons'', having survived the massacre but being sent to Petyr Baelish's brothels. The Lannisters use her as a stand-in for Sansa's younger sister Arya and send her north to marry Ramsay Bolton at Winterfell. Theon Greyjoy recognizes that she is a fake, and that the Boltons are aware of the ruse. It is implied that Ramsay Bolton tortures her and forces her to perform sexual acts on dogs. Jon Snow, Arya's half-brother, believes Jeyne to be the real Arya and sends Mance Rayder to rescue her. The group enlists Theon's help, but their cover is blown and Theon and Jeyne barely escape. In the first season of the television adaptation, an unidentified extra appeared briefly as Jeyne in the pilot episode. In season five, her storyline was partially blended into Sansa Stark's.

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=== Jojen and Meera Reed === Jojen and Meera are the children of Howland Reed, the Lord of Greywater Watch and a loyal Stark bannerman. They first appear in ''A Clash of Kings'', where they are sent to attend the harvest festival in place of their father to renew House Reed's pledge to House Stark and support the children of the late Eddard Stark. They become fast friends with Bran Stark and his baby brother Rickon, and are narrated completely through Bran's point of view chapters. The older sister Meera is sixteen years old when introduced in ''A Clash of Kings''. As typical of crannogmen, Meera is short, slim and flat-chested, has long brown hair and green eyes, and is described as having a cheerful disposition. She is intensely loyal and protective of her "prince" as well as her own brother, with Bran commenting that the only thing that ever makes her angry or upset is her brother Jojen. Although she is never described as being particularly beautiful, both Theon Greyjoy and Bran Stark seem to consider her attractive. She is a skilled huntress, and fights with a small fishing net and a three-pronged frog spear (similar in style to a retiarius), able to defeat Bran's direwolf Summer in mock combat by entangling the direwolf with her net. The legacy of Bran's late aunt Lyanna Stark is also largely narrated through her story-telling. The younger brother Jojen is thirteen when he first appears, but his sullen seriousness and maturity make him seem older. He is short and slim with unusually deep green eyes, wearing green-colored clothing. He claims to have "greensight" and the power of prophetic "green dreams", from where he knows a number of arcane things, including the day of his death. In Winterfell, Jojen recognizes Bran Stark as a skinchanger who is able to enter the mind of an animal and control it, and mentors Bran to gain control of his abilities. When Theon Greyjoy captures Winterfell, Jojen and Meera accompany Bran and Rickon in hiding inside Winterfell's crypt after faking escape, and later escort Bran's journey north in search of the three-eyed raven after Ramsay Snow sacks and burns Winterfell. At the end of ''A Storm of Swords'', they travel beyond the Wall and Jojen becomes very weak. In ''A Dance with Dragons'', Meera struggles to keep the group's spirits up, but implies that Jojen's future is bleak. In the HBO television adaptation, Jojen and Meera Reed are portrayed by English actors Thomas Sangster and Ellie Kendrick respectively.

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=== Jeyne Westerling === Jeyne Westerling is the daughter of a family sworn to House Lannister. She meets Robb Stark when he is wounded, and falls in love with him during his convalescence. He marries her the next day to preserve her honour, in doing so breaking a marriage contract with House Frey. After Robb's departure for the Twins, Jeyne remains in Riverrun and does not witness the massacre. After the Red Wedding, she is granted a royal pardon. In ''A Feast for Crows'', she is openly mourning and last appears riding to Casterly Rock as a political prisoner. During the 2014 San Diego Comic Con, George R. R. Martin stated that Jeyne Westerling will appear in the prologue of the sixth book, ''The Winds of Winter'', but did not reveal whether she would be the prologue POV character. In the television adaptation, the character was adapted into Talisa Maegyr, a highborn healer from Volantis who falls in love with Robb. The two marry and she becomes pregnant with his child; unlike in the books, she is present at the Red Wedding and is killed alongside Robb. She is played by Oona Chaplin.

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== House Targaryen == Coat of arms of House Targaryen House Targaryen was the ruling house of the Seven Kingdoms for nearly 300 years, holding royal court in King's Landing. Its coat of arms shows a red, three-headed dragon breathing fire on a black field, and its words are ''Fire and Blood''. The Targaryens originally came from Valyria on the continent of Essos. Before Valyria was destroyed, the Targaryens left for Dragonstone. A century after the Valyrian "Doom", Aegon I Targaryen conquered six of the Seven Kingdoms with his dragons, and his descendants won the seventh through a political marriage. The Targaryen dragons were the last known to exist and died out long before the events of ''A Game of Thrones''. People of Targaryen ancestry, referred to as "blood of the dragon", tend to have silvery-gold or platinum hair and purple eyes ranging from lilac to violet. Fifteen years before the events of the series, the Targaryens were deposed in Robert's Rebellion, with the children Viserys and Daenerys fleeing to Essos.

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=== Aegon V Targaryen === Aegon Targaryen, nicknamed "Egg" in his youth, is one of the two main characters in the ''Tales of Dunk and Egg'' novellas. As a child, his father Prince Maekar reluctantly permitted him to serve as squire to the knight errant Ser Duncan the Tall, in the hopes that the lessons learned through humble service and hard experience would help him avoid the excesses and shortcomings of his royal brothers. He was later crowned as King Aegon V when a Great Council bypassed those before him in the line of succession and his older brother Aemon chose to abdicate by joining the Night's Watch. He was called "Aegon the Unlikely" because he was previously way down the line of succession and therefore considered unlikely to inherit the Iron Throne. Aegon V's reign lasted more than twenty-five years, during which he tried to push policies more favorable to the interests of common people, and frequently clashed with noble lords as a result. He later perished in the 'Tragedy of Summerhall', a huge fire at the Targaryen summer palace, along with his son Prince Duncan and close friend Ser Duncan the Tall. After he died, his son Jaehaerys inherited the throne. When Jaehaerys died three years later, the Iron Throne was passed to his son Aerys. In the television adaptation ''Game of Thrones'', Aegon is the father of Aerys the Mad King, rather than his grandfather.

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=== Aerys II Targaryen === Aerys Targaryen, also called The Mad King, ruled the Seven Kingdoms as the last Targaryen king. While his rule started out well, he slowly descended into madness. He was married to his sister Rhaella, who bore him eight children, but only three survived into adulthood: sons Rhaegar and Viserys, and daughter Daenerys. After Rhaegar absconded with Lyanna Stark, Aerys had Ned Stark's father and brother executed, beginning Robert's Rebellion. When Aerys planned to burn King's Landing rather than let Robert rule, he was assassinated by a member of his own Kingsguard, Jaime Lannister. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by David Rintoul.

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=== Rhaegar Targaryen === Rhaegar Targaryen, the 'Last Dragon', was the eldest son of King Aerys II and the heir apparent to the Iron Throne, and the older brother to Viserys and Daenerys Targaryen. He died 14 years before the events of ''A Game of Thrones'', and his life's tales are mainly narrated through the words of Jaime Lannister, Cersei Lannister, Barristan Selmy and Daenerys (via visions of sorcery), as well as commentaries by Eddard Stark, Aemon Targaryen, Jorah Mormont, Meera Reed, Jon Connington and Gilly. Rhaegar married the Dornish princess Elia Martell of Sunspear, and fathered with her a daughter named Rhaenys and son named Aegon (Aegon VI). After winning the Tourney at Harrenhal, the greatest tourney in Westerosi history, he surprised everyone by passing over his wife Elia and crowning Lyanna Stark as the tourney's "Queen of Love and Beauty". One year later, he and Lyanna both disappeared, with rumors that he abducted and raped Lyanna. Enraged, Lyanna's oldest brother Brandon went to King's Landing to confront Rhaegar, which resulted in both him and his father Lord Rickard being brutally executed by King Aerys. Lyanna's other older brother Eddard, her betrothed Robert Baratheon, their foster father Jon Arryn and Brandon's father-in-law-to-be Hoster Tully then started a rebellion against Aerys, with Robert personally killing Rhaegar in single combat at the Battle of the Trident, and ultimately overthrowing House Targaryen. Though Robert continues to vilify Rhaegar throughout ''A Game of Thrones'', many other characters express admiration for him. Daenerys's stillborn son Rhaego and her dragon Rhaegal are named after Rhaegar. In the HBO television adaption, he is portrayed by Wilf Scolding. Appearing in flashbacks, he is depicted as Jon Snow's biological father.

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=== Viserys Targaryen === Viserys Targaryen is the second-born son of Aerys II Targaryen. Thirteen years before the events of the series, he and his sister Daenerys fled Westeros to escape death at the hands of rebel Robert Baratheon. Viserys is an arrogant, cruel and ambitious man given to violent mood swings. Daenerys named one of her dragons Viserion after her brother. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Harry Lloyd.

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=== Daenerys Targaryen === Daenerys Targaryen, referred to sometimes as 'Daenerys Stormborn', 'Khaleesi', the 'Mother of Dragons', is the daughter and youngest child of King Aerys II Targaryen and is one of the last surviving members of House Targaryen. She serves as the point of view character in thirty-one chapters throughout ''A Game of Thrones'', ''A Clash of Kings'', ''A Storm of Swords'', and ''A Dance with Dragons''. In the HBO television adaptation, she is portrayed by Emilia Clarke.

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=== Young Griff/Aegon VI Targaryen === Aegon Targaryen is the only known son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell. Fifteen years before the events of the series, the infant Aegon was reported to have been killed along with his mother and sister by Gregor Clegane. In ''A Dance with Dragons'', Varys claims to have switched Aegon with another, lowborn infant (known as the "Pisswater prince") and smuggled Aegon out of King's Landing prior to the capital's fall. During his exile in Essos, Tyrion Lannister (under the alias Hugor Hill) meets Young Griff, a well-trained teenage boy endorsed by Varys's associate Illyrio Mopatis, who claims to be the surviving Aegon and is under the guardianship of Rhaegar's close friend Jon Connington (under alias of Griff). He is to be used by Varys and Illyrio as a puppet king. Young Griff intends to travel to Slaver's Bay to visit Daenerys Targaryen and propose marriages, but Tyrion provokes him during a cyvasse game and convinces him to abandon the proposal and independently attack Westeros. Revealing himself Aegon, Griff persuades the Golden Company into supporting his invasion, landing his army in the Stormlands and capture several castles, and plans to lay siege to the Baratheon seat of Storm's End. In the upcoming sixth book,''The Winds of Winter'', according to news received by Arianne Martell, Aegon's forces have successfully captured Storm's End. Many fans believe that Young Griff is not actually Aegon, but rather a Blackfyre or Illyrio's illegitimate son or just a boy of the right age.

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=== Jon Connington === Lord Jon Connington is the exiled Lord of Griffin's Roost and was a close friend of Rhaegar Targaryen. Jon serves as a third-person narrator for two chapters in ''A Dance with Dragons''. Fifteen years before the events of the series, King Aerys II made Jon his Hand of the King. However, Jon also failed to contain the rebellion. Aerys stripped him of his lands and titles, giving them to Jon's cousin Ronald Connington, and exiled him. Biding his time in Essos, he raises Young Griff, supposedly Rhaegar's son Aegon. Jon and Aegon eventually decide to attack Westeros while it is embroiled in civil war. During the return trip, Connington contracts Greyscale Plague when saving Tyrion. The group lands in the Stormlands and captures several castles, including Griffin's Roost. Aegon plans to lead the attack on Storm's End, the next target.

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=== Jorah Mormont === Ser Jorah Mormont is the exiled Lord of Bear Island in the North, which he inherited after his father Jeor Mormont joined the Night's Watch. His wife's lavish lifestyle led to debts, which led Jorah to engage in selling slaves. Escaping justice, he fled to Essos and eventually joined the service of Daenerys Targaryen, becoming one of her chief advisors. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Iain Glen.

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=== Brynden Rivers === Brynden Rivers, better known as "Lord Bloodraven", is a legitimized bastard son of King Aegon IV Targaryen (called Aegon the Unworthy) and Melissa Blackwood. He is one of only three characters (the others being Aemon Targaryen and Walder Frey) to have appeared in both the ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' novels and the ''Tales of Dunk and Egg'' novellas. He is an albino, with white skin, long white hair, and red eyes. He has a red birthmark on his left cheek, said to be in the shape of a raven, and thus the source of his nickname "Bloodraven". Bloodraven remained loyal to his half-brother King Daeron II Targaryen (called Daeron the Good) throughout the Blackfyre Rebellions against another of Aegon's legitimized bastards, Daemon Blackfyre, and their descendants, but was later thrown in prison by his great-nephew King Aegon V Targaryen (called Aegon the Unlikely) for ordering the execution of Aenys Blackfyre despite promising safe passage. He was sent to the Wall as the punishment and later elected the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and served in that capacity for many years before disappearing during a ranging beyond the Wall. In ''A Dance with Dragons'', Bloodraven is shown to have become the last greenseer and is fused to the root of a weirwood tree. He begins training Bran Stark in clairvoyance. In the HBO television adaptation, the character is only known as "The Three-eyed Raven", and his backstory regarding the Targaryens and the Night Watch is never mentioned. He was briefly portrayed by Struan Rodger in the fourth season finale "The Children", and more extensively by Max von Sydow in the sixth season. In a 2017 interview, Isaac Hempstead Wright (who portrays Bran) hinted that in the television series the Three-Eyed Raven had been "sitting in a cave looking through time" for "thousands of years".

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=== Missandei === Missandei is a slave interpreter for Kraznys mo Nakloz when Daenerys Targaryen comes to inspect the Unsullied in Astapor. After Daenerys strikes a bargain with the Good Masters of Astapor concerning payment for the Unsullied, Kraznys gives Missandei to Daenerys as an interpreter to give them commands. Afterwards, she becomes a trusted confidante and handmaiden to Daenerys. In the HBO television adaptation, she is portrayed by Nathalie Emmanuel.

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=== Daario Naharis === Daario Naharis is a leader in the Stormcrows mercenary company. Daario is won over by Daenerys and brings the Stormcrows over to her side. He becomes romantically involved with her, eventually becoming one of her advisors. In the HBO television adaptation, he is portrayed by Ed Skrein in season three, and by Michiel Huisman from season four to season six.

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