Summary

• Killing Jon Arryn opened political doors for Littlefinger, leading to an underground spy network in Kings Landing.
• Littlefinger's scheme to disrupt Westeros by having Jon Arryn killed set off a chain reaction in Game of Thrones.
• Littlefinger's manipulative plan, including orchestrating Jon Arryn's death, solidified his status as the most cunning in Westeros.

In Game of Thrones, Jon Arryn was killed to open political opportunities by Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish. Littlefinger's connection to House Arryn brought him to King Robert Baratheon's Small Council to control the crown's treasury, and he purchased several brothels to establish his foothold in Kings Landing, and to use as a front for his underground spy network. From there, Littlefinger climbed the political ladder, fatally betraying Jon Arryn along the way.

Whether it was speeding up Ned Stark's downfall, pushing Lysa Arryn through the moon door, or marrying Sansa to Ramsay Bolton, Littlefinger emerged as arguably one of the most conniving and Machiavellian characters — a true villain even in the morally gray world of Game of Thrones. Littlefinger's grand scheme wasn't fully set in motion, however, until he orchestrated the death of Jon Arryn. Prior to the events of Game of Thrones, the assassination of Jon Arryn — King Robert Baratheon's Hand — resulted in dire consequences for Westeros.

Why Littlefinger Had Jon Arryn Killed

Littlefinger Wanted To Throw The Seven Kingdoms Into Chaos

Littlefinger was ed for his "chaos is a ladder" speech, in which he explained his true goal of leveraging political turmoil to get closer to the Iron Throne. By killing Jon Arryn, the man holding together the uneasy cooperation between the various factions in Kings Landing and beyond, Littlefinger brought tension between numerous noble houses. Their internal conflict then opened new windows for Littlefinger's own ambitions. As the tension between the Starks and the Lannisters brewed, Littlefinger kept his head low, gathering more intelligence while he plotted his next big play.

Littlefinger's actions finally caught up with him in the penultimate season, leading to his brutal execution at the hands of the surviving Stark children.

Following Jon's death, the king's power and the small council started to shift greatly. With Lysa — who killed Jon Arryn herself — becoming a widow, it was easy for Littlefinger to get Lysa to marry him and become the Lord Protector of the Vale. Curiously, there's also evidence that Littlefinger was the real father of Robin Arryn, Lysa and Jon Arryn's son and heir to the Vale.

In the end, even Littlefinger couldn't cover up all of his crimes in his scheme to reach the Iron Throne. The Master of Coin, and the eventual Lord Protector of the Vale, was an expert manipulator, having a hand in the murders of multiple political figures. However, Littlefinger's actions finally caught up with him in the penultimate season, leading to his brutal execution at the hands of the surviving Stark children.

Littlefinger's Plan Changed The Face Of Westeros

The Death Of Jon Arrys Was The Catalyst For Everything In Game Of Thrones

Jon Arryn may not have been a significant character during the events of Game of Thrones, but his death was the catalyst that sparked the war for the Seven Kingdoms and everything that followed. Despite his role under the king, Jon was the one who took action in of governing the realm. As Littlefinger rightly predicted, having Jon Arryn killed would disrupt the status quo of Westeros in a way unseen since the days of Robert Baratheon's rebellion. However, not even Littlefinger could have predicted just serious the ramifications of the death of Jon Arryn would eventually be.

While both Daenerys and The White Walkers ensured that Westeros was always going to be a changed place by the time winter finally came, the impact of both was far greater due to the entropy Littlefinger caused by having Jon Arryn killed.

There were many factors Littlefinger didn't for when seeking to disrupt the established order of Westeros in order to get closer to the Iron Throne. The chaos following the death of Jon Arryn meant that, for example, Westeros wasn't cohesive enough to muster a cohesive force to hold back the Winter King and the White Walkers. Had Robert still been on the throne, the battle of Winterfell may have been won much more swiftly, as the armies of the Seven Kingdoms wouldn't have been mostly distracted by the in-fighting between the various factions.

What's more, it's safe to say that Littlefinger significantly underestimated the ambitions of the Lannisters. While he knew that Queen Cersei would ensure her son Joffrey reached the throne, it's highly unlikely he predicted the extreme lengths she'd go to keep her family on the Iron Throne. Daenerys was also another factor that Littlefinger likely didn't take fully into . While both Daenerys and The White Walkers ensured that Westeros was always going to be a changed place by the time winter finally came, the impact of both was far greater due to the entropy Littlefinger caused by having Jon Arryn killed.

Littlefinger's Plan Cements His Position As The Most Cunning Person In Westeros

Even Though It Backfired, There's No Denying The Brilliance Of Littlefinger's Plan

There was no shortage of cunning characters in Game of Thrones. Varys, Tyrion, Olenna Tyrell, and even Cersei Lannister all showed they were adept and playing the games of political intrigue that ensured they'd always be one step ahead of characters like Ned Stark. However, the sheer intricacy of Littlefinger's plan and having Jon Arryn killed cements his position as the most cunning person in Westeros.

Littlefinger knew that, by having Jon Arryn killed, there were many secrets that would come to light. For example, he correctly predicted that the honorable Ned Stark (for example_ would be quick to act. Once Hand of the King himself, Ned Stark vowed to investigate Jon's murder after Jon's widow, Lysa, accused the Lannisters of poisoning him.

Not wanting to have blood on his hands, Littlefinger had Arryn killed by the one person nobody would suspect — Arryn's own wife, Lysa.

Littlefinger knew that Jon had unearthed the truth about Jamie and Cersei's incestuous relationship. However, Littlefinger also knew that accusing them himself would be career suicide. He knew that having Jon Arryn killed would prompt Ned Stark to investigate, unearth the truth himself, and — due to Ned being incredibly honorable — would make self-defeating accusations that would plunge the realm into turmoil, damage the reputation of the Lannisters, and create a vacuum Littlefinger could then fill.

Even the way Littlefinger had Arryn killed demonstrated his genius. Not wanting to have blood on his hands, Littlefinger had Arryn killed by the one person nobody would suspect — Arryn's own wife, Lysa. To prove her love for Littlefinger, she killed her own husband and falsely accused House Lannister. The idea was planted in Lysa's mind by the manipulative Littlefinger, and it was all part of his grander scheme. With the death of the only man in court pinning the Seven Kingdoms together via practical governance, Jon Arryn, Game of Thrones' War of the Five Kings was set into motion.

For Viewers, Killing Jon Arryn Wasn't The Worst Thing Littlefinger Did

Littlefinger's Greatest Crime Was Sexposition

Game of Thrones' Littlefinger, who killed Jon Arryn without raising a sword, is actually most notorious among audiences for his greatest crime, one that the entirety of the show has received criticism for — gratuitous and unnecessary sexposition. Specifically, the season 1 scene in which Littlefinger provides the earliest hints at his grand plan.

Littlefinger's dialogue, while engaging, was for some reason decided best suited to a scene in which he's also teaching two sex workers how to convincingly fake an orgasm. It is scenes like this that differentiate Petyr "Littlefinger" Baelish from similar characters like Lord Varys or House of the Dragon's Otto Hightower and Larys Strong, who aren't nearly as comfortable wielding power as Littlefinger was, but also weren't used as an opportunity to shoehorn in unnecessary sexual content.

A factor that has made the Littlefinger brothel scene age particularly badly is that Esmé Bianco, who played Game of Thrones' Ros (one of the sex workers Littlefinger is instructing) has since opened up about how filming this scene and others like it negatively impacted her mental health (via Huffpost).:

"Honestly, I was probably so mentally tapped out about my own past experiences at that point that I didn’t really think about it. It didn’t even cross my mind that that should be traumatic to me,"

She then went on to discuss similar scenes she filmed and experiences she had while playing Ros, such as when her character was beaten almost to death by Joffrey Lannister for sexual gratification:

"When I was filming that [Joffrey] scene, I being super uncomfortable with it. ... It was pretty tense and everyone was squirming a bit."

Other actresses on the show have since come out about their lack of comfort while filming the many narratively unjustified sex scenes in Game of Thrones, and the Littlefinger brothel sexposition scene has become synonymous with the issue whenever it's discussed by fans. Sex and Game of Thrones have an incredibly intertwined and complex relationship that's caused no end of controversy, and while he's not broken any laws of Kings Landing, many viewers consider gratuitous and unnecessary sexposition to be a much greater crime than the murder of Jon Arryn.