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What Jon Snow's letter to Sansa said in 'Game of Thrones', and what it could mean for Season 8

There could be trouble in the North again

What Jon Snow's letter to Sansa said in 'Game of Thrones', and what it could mean for Season 8
30 August 2017

Lord Baelish has finally been out-Baelished.

Westeros’ greatest schemer finally met his match… at the hands of two young girls. However, you have to remember that one of those girls has spent a lot of time learning from the best – himself (as well as Cersei Lannister), the other is a faceless assassin, and they had a bit of help from a human Wikipedia who can see into the past.

Littlefinger tried to use a letter Jon sent to Sansa – about him bending the knee to Daenerys and heading north to fight the Night King – to sow doubt into her mind about Jon’s devotion to the North, as well as Arya’s intentions. 

“Sometimes, when I try to understand a person’s motives I play a little game,” he tells her, “I assume the worst.” He tried to make Sansa think that Arya wants her dead, and to be Lady of Winterfell herself, but as it turns out, Sansa is having none of it.

She, Arya and Bran see through Littlefinger’s plan to divide the Starks and seize power for himself, and his body ends up limp and bloody on the floor of Winterfell’s Great Hall.

While Baelish wasn’t able to use Jon’s letter to his advantage this season, it could still cause a problem in the North come Season 8.

HBO have released a picture of the scroll in full, and this is what it reads:

Sansa,

Cersei Lannister has pledged her forces to our cause, as has Daenerys Targaryen. And if we survive this war, I have pledged our forces to Daenerys as the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. We are both coming to organise the defence of the realm.

Jon Snow, Warden of the North

The letter Jon sends to Sansa in the Season 7 finale

From this then, it is clear to Sansa and anyone else who hears of this letter that Jon has decided to follow a southern ruler, no less a Targaryen – something many of the northern lords will no doubt have a problem with.

Most of them would have battled with Ned on behalf of Robert to overthrow the Mad King during Robert’s Rebellion, and are generally untrusting of Targaryens.

Yohn Royce, who commands the Knights of the Vale, said as much earlier in the season – “A Targaryen cannot be trusted” – not knowing, of course, that Jon is one himself.

We spent the whole of this season in minor turmoil at Winterfell, and it looks like we could be in for more in Season 8, when the northerners discover that not only has Jon pledged them to a Targaryen, but that he’s the son of Rhaegar, not Ned, and is a trueborn dragon.

With the White Walkers finally coming past the Wall, there’s going to be no more room for internal struggles – let’s hope the northern lords can see past this EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PIECE OF INFORMATION and think of the bigger picture.

(Images: HBO)