Aidan Gillen on Littlefinger misjudging Ramsay Bolton and atoning for his actions

We don’t normally think of Peryr “Littlefinger” Baelish apologizing for much of anything, but if actor Aidan Gillen can be believed, he feels pretty rotten about leaving Sansa Stark in such a horrible situation last year. “For me, this time out, there’s a level of atonement in relation to Sansa and my misjudgment of Ramsay Bolton,” he told Entertainment Weekly, which interviewed him on the set of Season 6.

"A lot of what I’m up to is atonement and really trying to align myself the right people – though, I guess, I’m always doing that! I left Sansa married to a psychopath. It’s probably the one time we’ve seen Littlefinger slip up. He really didn’t know about him. He should have."

There were fans last season who didn’t buy that Littlefinger wouldn’t know about Ramsay’s reputation, but it happened. Personally, I can see why Littlefinger wouldn’t be schooled on Ramsay. Above all, Littlefinger wants to rise in the world, so he probably wouldn’t both learning about a bastard from the North. He ended up paying a price for his oversight, though.

"In a way, this shows a new side of him, a faltering, and I do want to make amends. I like Sansa, you know? So I’m trying to find something humane and gentle and maybe even warm in the midst of my treachery and calculation – which is pathological. That stuff is so much part of Littlefinger I barely notice it. I’m always talking to people about his “paternal warmth” and they’re like, “What are you talking about?” But you can only do what’s on the page."

We don’t know what exactly Littlefinger will be up to this season, but after sitting the first three episodes out, he’ll be back in “Book of the Stranger,” as seen in the trailer.

It sounds as though Littlefinger will try to talk the lords of the Vale into heading to the North, which is what he told Cersei he wanted to do back in Season 5. Sansa has thrown a wrench into his plans, though. Littlefinger assumed that she would be at Winterfell when he arrives, but things have gone awry.

Littlefinger is good at adapting to new situations, and odds are he’ll find some way to come out ahead. Gillen is hoping that not all of his actions are self-interested, though. “Ultimately, it always seems to be about him,” Gillen said. “He’s good at fooling people. If he had to, he’d fool himself too. I’d love to think his actions were not purely self serving.”

Head to Entertainment Weekly to read the full interview. Gillen also names his favorite scenes from past seasons (the scene where Sansa builds a snow castle in Season 4, the ladder speech in Season 3, talking to Ros in Season 2, telling Ned Stark that he was wise to mistrust him in Season 1.)