Game of Thrones has always been a pretty sprawling TV show, and plenty of material has ended up on the cutting room floor. But though these scenes were deleted, they’re still fascinating to explore – especially since these moments could have subtly changed the course of the story, or at least our perception of events. Let’s explore some of the more substantial moments that never made the final cut.
The execution of Littlefinger was one of the most shocking moments in the season 7 finale, but how did Sansa and Arya Stark come to learn about his whole lifetime of crimes?
In an interview with Variety, actor Isaac Hempstead Wright, who portrays Bran Stark, revealed that he shot a deleted sequence with Sophie Turner, who portrays Sansa. In the scene, Sansa reportedly consulted with Bran just ahead of Littlefinger’s trial.
As you may recall, Sansa was convinced her sister Arya was out to assassinate her in order to become the Lady of Winterfell. Arya suspected the same of Sansa, and it was all thanks to that master manipulator, Littlefinger.
Viewers were sweating buckets watching the season 7 finale, since it looked like one of the Stark sisters might kill the other. But then, Sansa and Arya flipped the script, sentencing Littlefinger to death, revealing their feud to be an elaborate ruse.
“Thank you for all your many lessons, Lord Baelish. I will never forget them.”
It was a big twist, but it seemed to leave a bit of a plot hole behind, too. How were the Stark children suddenly so certain of Littlefinger’s history of manipulation and betrayal?
According to Hempstead Wright, a deleted scene from the episode would have cleared up any ambiguity. It revealed exactly how the Stark sisters learned of Littlefinger’s schemes. And it would’ve let audiences see how Sansa and Arya arrived at the decision to execute him.
In the deleted scene, Bran uses his newfound abilities as the Three-Eyed Raven to peer into Littlefinger’s past, unearthing every underhanded thing he’d ever done in his quest for power.
Hempstead Wright told Variety:
“The story was that it suddenly occurred to Sansa that she had a huge CCTV department at her discretion and it might be a good idea to check with [Bran] first before she guts her own sister.”
Though audiences can kind of still fill in the blanks without the scene, its inclusion would have threaded the plot together with a little bit more clarity. It also would have shed more light on Bran’s immense powers, giving us a much stronger impression of how extraordinary his gifts really are.
Bran’s ability to access the history of man and the secrets of Westeros is an astonishing skill and a potentially powerful weapon. As was made clear in Season 8, Bran’s knowledge that Jon is the rightful heir to the Seven Kingdoms sparked an unfortunate chain of events, one that’s played an important part in Daenerys Targaryen’s descent into madness. Keep watching the video to see those deleted Game of Thrones scenes that would have changed everything!
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Bran and Sansa discuss Littlefinger | 0:19
Sansa stands up to Sandor | 2:23
Tormund and Ser Alliser bicker | 3:34
Bronn tells Shae to adapt | 4:39
Tywin sees through Pycelle | 5:40
Doreah kills Irri | 6:36
Tywin: Investigating White Walkers? | 7:13
Loras and Margaery | 8:07
Olenna’s calculating convo with Mace | 9:07
Jon, Ghost, and Sansa | 10:03