Little Finger not only fooled the gods but also the author. While writing the last page of the series GRRM will finaly understand what Littlefinger was up to.
Preston's "Littlefinger War Against the Gods" theory does nicely fit with one of the most reputable fan theories about the series yet - that The Song of Ice and Fire is Martin's own retelling of the Ragnarök saga. As you know a theory was presented that the events of in the SOIAF books share striking parallels to the 13th century Nordic epic of an apocalyptic battle between the Aesir Gods of Asgard and extra-dimensional invaders that will result in the destruction and rebirth of the the realm of men. It was originally posited by that theory that Bloodraven was the Loki figure in Martin's story, a bringer of chaos whose trickery and schemes create the conditions for Ragnarök. But that theory was disregarded by other fans who rightly, in my opinion, pointed out Bloodraven was an Odinic figure due to striking parallels shared by both characters: their having one eye, sacrificial {"blood") magic, affinity for ravens, and association with a World Tree. So if Bloodraven is Odin, preparing his forces to protect the realms of mankind and Gods from the Others and Undead (The Frost Giants and denizens of Hel), who plays the role Loki in the story? I believe that character is none other than Littlefinger - the character whose own background, modus operandi, and motivations (according to your theory) coincide with the Trickster God. Like Loki, Littlefinger is an outsider in a warrior culture which values martial strength. Though he lacks physical skill both rely upon deceit and cunning to achieve his goals. And if Preston is correct both share a common motivation - a grudge against the gods.
@Liz Lee I think the theory had Daeny and the Targaryeans as jormungandr, the World Serpent. Balder is most probably Ned Stark - both are heroic figures who were killed due to Loki (Littlefinger's) trickery.
"Why would a king who is trying to unite a kingdom have scenes of battle?" You know you're talking about Robert, right? The guy that really loved battle. He loved melees. This part is the biggest stretch I think. That and Penny being an agent of Littlefinger because she blushes at a lewd remark! C'mon.
I also dont think hes trying to recreate the bael of bard story with sansa since its a story that not even the starks and the north knows about. Theres no books or accounts of bael in westeros only spoken stories of him north of the wall. I dont see how littlefinger would even know about the bael legend
@@kingad8869 no im sorry. People over glorify Littlefinger and Varys. They are excellent players yes, but flawed. Littlefinger flaw is his weird desires for sansa. No prophecy
@@kingad8869 Cause she looks like Catelyn, whom Littlefinger was obsessed with. In Littlefinger's mind, Sansa is just the young Catelyn that he loved at Riverrun. And this time, he won't risk it all on a duel with Brandon Stark.
Just a small point to add to the discussion as Harrenhall is a major part of this theory. Harrenhall may be an Other-proof castle (the dragons did literally turn it into dragon glass....might also explain the glass candle bit with each tower being a GIANT glass candle) and with the coming war....
It's interesting that we hear Sansa is going to slay a giant in prophecy, and we have Petyr changing his sigil from a giant's head to a bird. Almost like he's aware of the prophecy, and is trying to avoid it...
To be fair on that one, Tyrion has also been called a giant before. Not that GRRM doesn't like making things vague to fit a number of different characters.
Interesting theory, and a good conclusion to this five part series. However one mistake, in the books the reason Littlefinger had Dontos only talk to Sansa in the Godswood is because it's the only place in the Red Keep that are safe from Varys Little birds. Varys has agents in the floors, ceilings and walls. The Godswood is the only place in the Red Keep that has none of these so any conversation there is secret.
Well there probably are but Littlefinger can't be certain how far the tunnels go, there could be dozens of blindspots through out the Red Keep but if he investigated then Varys little birds would find out and inform him. The Godswood is the only place he can know for sure is safe.
Preston Jacobs Not tryin to hate but, I'm the slightest bit disappointed you went through this entire series without mentioning that the Kettleblacks are and have been in LF's pocket.
Preston Jacobs I like your videos but... This is just too complicated to be true. Here is what I think of Littlefingers plans: Littlefinger makes sure that there will be war between Lannisters and Stark. Then he make sure that Ned Stark dies and Stannis cant get too much power. King Lannisters is the best option to Littlefinger, becouse he knows that many people hate House Lannister. So Lannisters break all Seven kingdoms, there are many rebels, and its easy for LF to take control of Westeros. Now LF needs alliances. He wants Catelyn on his side becouse he loves her. But Robb and Catelyn wouldnt join Littlefinger after Robbs victories and Neds death. Now he choices Sansa. Sansa is heir to Robb after Brans and Rickons "death" and LF propably dont know that Stark boys are alive (and I believe that will ruin his plans later) . But Littlefinger has a plan for Sansa already in the 2nd book. Now there are few problems. Sansa cant be queen, when Robb is alive. Knowledge is power, and LF knows that Boltons and Freys arent loyal to Robb. He could mention this to Tywin Lannister, and like this LF organizes The Red wedding. And so Sansa is heir of Winterfell. Now LF wants Vale. He marrys Lysa Arryn and then kills him. Sweet Robin will die soon too, becouse he is already so sick and weak. Then Sansa marries Harry the Heir and now she is heir of Vale and North. Littlefinger has Harrenhall. Edmure Tully dont want to rule Riverlands anymore, so when Brynden is missing, the Heir of Riverrun is - oh my - Sansa. But there are still few problems. Twins, Freys and Tyrion. Well, Tyrion is sentenced to the death, so his marriage is easily removed. Littlefinger killed Joffrey, but he knew that Tyrion will be imprisoned. And Twins. This is maybe the hardest part, but I have two theories. 1. Thoros of Myr and LF are in alliance. Littlefinger pays for Thoros, so he joins Beric Dondarrions company in the Kings Landing. Thoros makes sure that Beric wont die and so Beric will trust in him very much. Thoros makes sure that they stay in the Riverlands until Red wedding. Then they find Catelyn corpse in the river. Thoros says that Beric can wake him up by the kiss of life. And poor Beric dont know that he will die when he does that. Now Thoros and lady Stoneheart are in Riverlands, killing Freys. And when all Freys are death, Sansa will get Riverlands. 2. Arya the Assasin. Littlefinger has for sure many plans with Ironbank of Braavos. What if he even is one of Ironbanks leaders? Arya has connection to Berics companion and Thoros too. Thoros could somehow lead Arya, so she will go to Braavos. Plus Arya has connection to Harrenhall. What if LF recommended Syrio Forell to Ned? Maybe that is why Ned made Syrio Aryas teacher. And if Syrio is same person with Jaqen Hgar... Well, it would be easy to Littlefinger put Jaqen to the black cells after Syrios "death", and it would be easy to Jaqen to make Arya trust you. Jaqen and Syrio are things that lead Arya to Braavos. Back to ironbank. Ironbank has a lot of power in Braavos, so it could easily control many things in the city. For example: House of Black and White. Maybe Littlefinger controls Ironbank and House of Black and White, and he is secretly making Arya to the best assasin in the world, so Arya can kill all the people she hates. Arya and LF have very similar enemies: Lannisters, Boltons and Freys. Arya could be very useful to Littlefinger. After all this Sansa would be crowned, and she will get the North, the Vale, the Riverlands, maybe even the Reach. I have read half of the DwD, so I dont know everything that you know yet. But after Cersei is imprisoned, Mace Tyrell has the control of Kings Landing, am I right? And if Tyrells and Littlefinger are in alliance... Wow, Littlefuckingfingers plan looks good. What do you think of this?
You should merge the audio for each series and release them as podcasts. Added up each one would probably be a decent length, and might appeal to another audience. edit- Also then there would be a SAFE place for your work, so that no matter what we know where to find it.
All these plot points are just WAY to complicated and intricate for any normal person to keep track of and write a story about. It's amazing that Preston can see these things, it's unbelievable that GRRM could write it. Literally, I don't believe it. I don't think GRRM or anyone could write something with this many layers and keep track of it all with only a minor mention of something here and there.
Brad Stark After rereading Catelyn's chapters, and becoming utterly convinced that Rob is not Ned's son - I just can't put it past George. But I do agree with what you're saying to a degree. Some stuff is just too much, and sometimes in the story, the simplest answer is the right one. But the detail put into Cat's deception is just mind blowing. Even the dream with Jaime and his mother that makes it sooooo obvious Jaime isn't Tywin's son.
***** Brandon being the father is completely off the timeline you know that right? It is clearly stated that Robb was born 9 months after the fortnight Cat and Ned stayed together after their wedding... She hadnt seen Bran for longer than that!
The hollards were a stewardly house serving the darklyns. There is precedent (namely the tyrells being named wardens of the south after the destruction of house gardener and the kingdom of the reach) for stewards taking over lands after the destruction of a principal line. The hollards definitely have a better claim than the I think it's the rykers who currently hold the dun fort.
@@Paulo-py4mm That is not precedent! If you read the histories well, this only happened because the Tyrells surrendered the castle to Aegon! The Gardeners hardly married any Tyrells. They had more prominent matches. Till today, the Tyrells are not the most powerful house in the Reach and are still thought as up-jumped. This is why they have had so many recent inter marriages with the rest of the Reach! It’s same as assuming the Cassell’s are next in line as wardens of the North!
I thought Harrenhal was important because of location - it’s at the heart of the realm. Same reason the Riverlands get the worst of it during the war. The north has to pass through it to get to the west, the west has to pass through it to get east, it’s the southern route north. Supply chains are controlled by whoever controls this region.
I recently re-read Tyrion's ADWD chapters with your theory about Penny in mind. On my first few readings, I remember feeling confused about her character and noticed that Tyrion seemed to have a weird aversion to her. I put down to his own feelings about being a dwarf (she mirrors him yada, yada), his scornfulness about her naivety or just not being that into her (lol). After watching this series, Tyrion's behaviour/attitude seems towards Penny appears to spring from a sub-conscious wariness of her ... I dunno but as usual you've messed with my head, Preston!! (*cough* Lothar Brune *cough*) Love this series! Your comprehensive critical engagement with the question of Littlefinger's end goal makes your theory one of the front-runners in my opinion. I take my hat off to you, ser!
You had me, you had me, you had me.... aaaand you lost me. Man, I wasn't expecting that final jump into religious territory, I don't see Littlefinger as a supersticious man. Well, to be fair, it appears gods do exist in this world, so he technically wouldn't be. Anyway, I believe his machinations are more grounded, I don't think he's gonna go bigger than economy and politics; the idea of securing the Vale to allow an invasion is more in line with my understanding of the character. Regardless, I really enjoyed this. I've been watching the channel for the last couple of weeks and it's clear you do your homework on the subject, I'm hooked on your stuff. Keep it up.
6:50 about Dontos meeting Sansa in the godswood, I think that this place was chosen rather because of the lack of people in King's Landing practicing the faith of the old gods, and Sansa having a valid reason to go there. Psychologically this makes sense as well, because Sansa probably has good associations with the godswood from her childhood, even though she doesn't believe in the old gods
I think you are right about half of it like you said preston, but I doubt littlefinger cares about the gods, he is the kind of man who uses logic and facts not things like gods and magic and prophcy.
I think you forget that half the worlds population uses science, medicine, and facts, and also believes in a higher power. They are not necessarily exclusive.
Its been five years and we still don't know how Arya, Jamie and Brienne tie into this, and what Littlefingers grey-green eyes mean! Preston, you tease!
+Ryan Bowie His name was Varoufakis. Cersei (Merkel) forced him out of his position as master of coin to make his lands an example to Dorne (Spain) and the Iron Islands (Ireland). The iron bank (the imf) demanded its loans back and couldn't be seen to act weak, so had Cersei drive littlefinger out.
6:40 also, Harrenhal has got a godswood. When Daemon Targaryen challenged Aemond One-Eye to a fight there, he marked the passing of days swinging a strike of Darksister to a weirwood, reaching thirteen slashes.
I love the fact that underneath the surface, the struggle for the Iron Throne is basically a chess game between a eunuch and a pimp. But I think in some cases you're giving the pimp a little too much credit. Another little item he never planned for was Cat running into Tyrion on the way back to Winterfell, which sparked off the whole damn war in the first place, and NOT on schedule. Of course, once it DID happen, Littlefinger made adjustments to abide it. His plans are malleable... and he thinks on his feet and gets lucky a lot (so far). But I don't think he has quite as much patience and foresight as you think he does. One of my favorite quotes from Feast (one that I actually laughed out loud at), was when he tells Sansa that Cercei is making so many crazy-ass decisions in a row that he can't even manipulate like he's used to. He had no idea how unbelievably incompetent Cercei would be as a ruler, which shows that in some ways, the reader is a little ahead of him. Varys, on the other hand, has way more patience and WAY less personal ambition. Littlefinger wants things for himself. Lots of things. Maybe the Iron Throne, or maybe just virtual control of it from afar. But those things that he wants urge him forward too quickly. He may THINK he's playing the long game, but HIS long game is a matter of years. Varys' long game is a matter of decades. And as far as I can tell, the only two things he wants is to stay alive and to put a leader in power who is neither insane nor an idiot. That in itself seems like a pretty tall order in this world. But all-in-all my money's on Varys to come out ahead in the end... even though he may not live to see it.
Ned Stark, super-sleuth makes me laugh everytime. Always enjoy your videos, even if I think they're far fetched. Isn't it quite a jump to go from Baelish to Bael the Bard? I think the whole concept of Baelish as a song/story/prophecy fanatic is a stretch and the concept of him being aware of the old gods even more so. There's also no indication that he's aware of Bran and Rickon being alive. Nice to see you giving art credit.
I know, its such a weird place! However, it may just be a metaphor for the whole story with Brienne being TPTWP, the squashers being the others, the lords being distracted by war, the talking heads being the talking dead or something like that. Not sure. I hope its more than that.
Agree with most of it, except for the "fooling the gods"-angle. The reason Dontos meets Sansa in the Godswood is so that Varys "little birds" can't spy on them (they hide in the walls, so they have trouble hearing things said in larger rooms and all the trees make reading lips difficult at best).
Christian Beier I agree. Even though the way Preston is saying it, it makes sense, I think littlefinger is not that concerned with the gods. Maybe he doesn't cross them ( or their ideas ) if its not necessary, but overall they are not of primary importance to him.
Littlefinger worrying about gods, magic and prophecies? C'mon.. The similarities you see, are an example of "twin scenes", story telling device that GRRM really likes to use.
***** Might be, I mean, it's really hard to predict anything in ASOIAF, so I would not say that something is impossible... However, I don't think that's the case... Because most of the 'clever' people in Westeros don't believe in magic anymore, they are starting to process it now as the magic came back with dragons, but still... Littlefinger could not have predicted that, no matter how clever he is. Nobody knew that Daenerys will bring back dragons and magic.
Tyrkenit Could Littlefinger be trying to gain the Old God's favor for protection against the White Walkers? You'd think he'd know about them, and it makes sense why he'd give a damn at all about the Gods in the first place.
Tyrkenit If you think that littlefingers believes in Gods like something he has to obey it doesn't has a lot of sence but if you see littlefinger as a person that think he can defeat a God itself has a lot of sence
Congratulations on another wonderful, thought-provoking set of videos! I'm so grateful for the amount of time, care, & research that goes into each and every one. You make me think about ASOIAF in a different way, if not show me something that I've completely missed! Just a quick clarification: "gaol" is the English way of spelling "jail". It sounds the same. So, "GAOLER" is pronounced like "Jailer" It came up in one of your voice-overs. I don't know if you can edit it. It seems a shame, as your work is so good. I wish you the very best with your videos. I learn so much from them. Thankyou.
Extremely thought-provoking and compelling theory about Littlefinger. You are one of the best (possibly THE best) A Song of Ice and Fire theorists out there. Thank you for the time and effort for putting this information on RU-vid!
Welcome back, Preston. I had a hunch you were getting to the Ironborn, you mentioned them twice recently in videos where it wasn't necessary to. I think the fandom is the most divided when it comes to them. They feel so unimportant, yet they're everywhere. TWOW opens with four battles that we may or may not see and of varying importance, but the Ironborn are the cavalry of one, two separate Greyjoys are POVs for another, and they themselves started the third. I'm curious as to whether your videos will simply predict the future of the group as a whole by digging through information of their past or if you'll manage to tackle all the fan theories from child molestation to sellsword impersonating. I'd love to know what you think of the individual Greyjoys, the kraken spotting off the coast of the Fingers and the man Melisandre considers the most dangerous creature. ;)
I'm with you - the Ironborn seem like minor characters, yet they have the potential to be the central characters. So far, they are the most challenging mystery I've faced.
Jacobs your singling out concerning Littlefinger's seeminlgy absurd efforts to "fool the gods" is brilliant. There are several times in book 3 where LF speaks to Sansa, apparently truthfully, about his master plan. On the ship to the Fingers, at Baelysh Keep, and at the Eyrie (i.e. places where "the Old Gods have no eyes") he explains to Sansa in great detail what he's done, what he means to do and why. His dialogues with Sansa are the only insight we get into Littlefinger and there's every reason to believe he is telling the truth for once. Probably he is spilling his guts to Sansa because he is tutoring her in Game of Thrones 101... and he wants her to be not just a paramour but a crony.
Bravo(s)! I was waiting with baited breath but would have never seen this coming. It was everything I love about your videos. I think we all forget sometimes that Tyrion is nowhere near as good looking as Peter Dinklage. Great points about Penny.
I'm so happy you're back! I love Littlefinger because you never know what he's playing at until it's too late. Can't wait for the Ironborn video as they are one of my favorite Westerosi cultures.
Because I read the books only one time I get confused alot listening to your breakdowns and theories. But they are very entertaining. Thank you for all your effort :).
PJ I love you man. When I see that you made a new video I freak out and it immediately becomes my priority. For instance, I could be at work having a really shitty shift and my friend will text me "PJ has a new vid up". The rest of my shift is automatically better because I know at the end I'll get to curl up and watch one of your videos. Pure gold they are. Thank you Ser. Or I would even go as far as to say... "My Lord"
I think you should pair up with Martin and help him with remaining books :) I mean your theories are so complex, deep and beautiful, and I enjoy watching your videos the same as I enjoy watching the TV series.
Opened my eyes to a whole new theory on Littlefinger who due to his extreme guile almost makes him my favorite character. Thanks so much for posting these!
Interesting conclusion to the series. Makes me even more pumped to see how Littlefinger's story turns out in TWOW. It was a great series. Waiting eagerly for whatever you tackle next!
Man, it's awesome how you apparently read every page between the lines. I absolutely love your videos, although sometimes it's hard to follow because it is much information in a small period of time and English is not my mother tongue. :D Please keep on posting videos like this!
Ahhhh yiiisssss. Far fetched theories.. Eh occasionally. Intriguing & thought provoking ideas I hear few others even attempting to conjure.. Always. Glad to see you back at court Lord Jacobs hahah.
I am so happy your back your videos are the best. I was so pissed off when I thought some jerk was going to get you taken down over unfounded b.s. THANK YOU for all the work you put in.
Great video, as always. As you say, it's unlikely to all hit the mark - but I love the attention to detail and it's certainly full marks for fun. Looking forward to the Ironborn video - I must admit I have found it difficult to get into them so far... After all, our main access point for the Ironborn is a castrated traitor who caused the burning down of the real 'home' of the story. I'm certain Euron is going to be a great character; we've seen so little so far.
+Dogman Many people say that GOT is so good because out of nowhere a character can get run over by a car at any point, So it may very well be a real tapestry from GOT.
the volantene widow was a former slave, not a slaver. She wants to free slaves as much as Dany does. I think she didnt trust Jorah because as a Westerosi, he's just as likely to be out to kill her for a lordship than join her. Further, 'slaying a giant above a castle made of snow' referred to her attacking Robin when he used his doll. calling it a giant, to destroy her snow recreation of Winterfell at the Eyrie.
Penny an assassin? Wowza! I didn't see that coming. Now I hope that ends up being true as it would be so surprising. (Although less surprising, as you cleverly already exposed it.) ;-) This has been a great series!
I found this very entertaining, but to complicated and "round the bush" to be true. And haha that car at 5:29 had me cracked up. I Can't wait untill the next book!
*slow clap* YES! I love it. Very well done. Thank you for finishing what you started despite haters trying to bring you down. You're a true champion at what you do.
Another great video Preston, glad to have you back. I have a feeling a lot of those who don't believe your theories are gonna be surprised when the next book comes out. Maybe not every single one of them but I think you nail more than you miss. I just hope we get the book sometime this year, I've told myself I'm gonna try to pace myself with it when it comes out but will probably read it in like 3 or 4 days like I did the other ones.
This all ties into the final book The final book will be of an epic final war. A last allegiance of men, dwarfs, giants, children of the forest, dragons and the others will fight against little finger. Little finger realized no man could ever match so de decided to challenge the Gods for an actual challenge. So the Gods woke the Dragons and the others to give the men who oppose litrle finger a chance
Hi Preston, I hope you and the family are doing well in Taiwan. I was going through your little finger debt scheme videos and at the end you mention the unanswered questions from this ice berg: Arya’s connection to Harenhall and Bravos; Who is Lothar Brun; Littlefingers eyes, which is the one that gave me pause why might this be relevant, but it seems in your Brienne series you identified Jaime, Brienne and the Hounds connection to this story so good to see you solved another piece of this amazing jigsaw puzzle!
Preston, thank you for fighting what they did to you. i love your videos, and i love that you are bringing new theories to the table. you keep making them, ill keep watching them
The Darklyns and Hollards were destroyed with the lone survivor, Dontos, who only lived due to a plea by Barristan the Bold Selmy who had singlehandedly saved king Aerys. His house was attainted of any lands and titles save for the knighthood er Dontos held.
