Supernatural Underground: The Year of the Villain #7 -- The Evilest of Them All!

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Ya can't talk villains in Fantasy fiction without talking A Game of Thrones (GoT) -- and for quite some time now I've thought Peter Baelish, aka Littlefinger, is among the most evil. And maybe, just maybe, the evilest of them all.

Petyr Baelish, aka Littlefinger

Spoiler Alert
It' s impossible to tell you why I think this without revelations, aka spoilers, about the GoT story, but after five books and an eight-season TV show, I think the plot is well known enough to survive it. If, however, you have not yet experienced either but intend doing so, then you may prefer not to read on.

Returning to the matter at hand, you may be thinking, "What's Helen sipping in her tea lately, to think Littlefinger's the worst villain? What about Joffrey and Cersei, Roose and Ramsay Bolton, and that ultimate in brutality, Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides"? Aren't they far more evil?"

Gregor Clegane, The Mountain That Rides

On the surface, the answer appears to be yes -- although even if we stay only on that surface, Littlefinger betrays Ned Stark to his death, seeks to seduce the barely-more-than-a-child Sansa Stark while still married, then murders his wife. Still, arguably nowhere near as sadistic and brutal as many others in the books* -- but let's look beneath that surface.

Littlefinger Betrays Ned Stark

One of the things I love most about the A Game of Thrones series (officially titled "A Song of Ice and Fire", or ASOIAF) is its multilayered storytelling, in which a multiplicity of characters have indepth backstories, often with nefarious motivations concealed.

As I read, I gradually became aware there was considerably more to Littlefinger than met the eye. In particular, that his unrequited love for Catelyn Stark, nee Tully, almost certainly led him to engineer the brutal deaths of her fiance, Brandon Stark, and his father, Lord Rickard. As a result she marries Ned Stark, whom Littlefinger also later betrays, resulting in his execution.

Catelyn Stark

It's a tale of entitlement and vengeance, as well as ambition, all manipulated and masterminded from the shadows -- because Littlefinger is not an enemy his opponents will see coming. He's certainly not one to confront his enemies, and victims, openly. Yet if it stopped there, we might agree that he's a villain, sure, but maybe not the worst of them all.

Here's the thing, though. In both cases where Littlefinger pursues his personal vengeance against the Starks, the consequence of their deaths is civil war in Westeros. The first of these is the Usurper's War, which ends Targaryen rule and sees Robert Baratheon become king.

The young Robert Baratheon

The second is the War of the Five Kings that dangerously weakens Westeros, rendering it vulnerable to the Night King, and very nearly bringing its destruction. In both cases, the civil war also gives free rein to the extremities of those like the Boltons and Gregor Clegane, resulting in widespread misery and terror.

Robb Stark - 1 of the 5 contending kings

Plus, on a far more personal level, although Littlefinger's vengeance motivation is supposedly driven by unrequited love for Catelyn, he's completely comfortable switching his "affections" (heavy use of quote marks, here) to her daughter, Sansa. "Welp, a man's gotta change with the times": that's one explanation. The other is: "What a scumbag."

Sansa Stark

All of which, weighing deeds and their consequences, is why I consider Littlefinger to be one of the greatest villains in Fantasy fiction. Feel free, though, to let me know I've gotten it completely wrong. :D

*Note: I have only read the books, not seen the HBO series, so this post is books-centric.;-)

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About the Author

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

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