With no military might or political clout to call his own, Baelish hoped Westeros' main players would take each other out while he married into power and swooped in to claim the Throne when everyone else was defeated. Just to ensure the bloodbath happens as intended, Littlefinger makes Tyrion Lannister take the blame for attempting to murder young Bran Stark in season 1.

In the Game of Thrones TV series, it's Littlefinger who orders the poisoning of Jon Arryn, then Hand of the King, and frames the Lannisters for the assassination. Arryn's death triggers a domino effect that pits the lion of House Lannister and the wolf of House Stark against each other. Unfortunately for Westeros, Baelish had loftier ambitions and he wouldn't stop until his backside was gently caressing the seat of the Iron Throne.

The War of the Five Kings was a powder keg of political resentment and family drama. but Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish was the one spotted holding a match. Littlefinger came from humble beginnings, rising to a position of relative power in King's Landing through his own cunning intellect. Here are the figures who could be blamed for the War of the Five Kings in HBO's Game of Thrones. There are suggestions and speculative accusations about which of the many players might've started the 'game of thrones' and one villain is even put on trial, but the true culprit remains ambiguous. In between the beheadings and brothel visits, Game of Thrones doesn't fully grapple with who triggered the war in the first place. Related: Game Of Thrones: Why King Tommen Killed Himself In Season 6 But also vying for the throne were the Lannister family, the Tyrells, Daenerys Targaryen and various others, making the War of the Five Kings significantly more intricate than the moniker implies. The remaining duo are Robb Stark and Balon Greyjoy, who had declared sovereignty over their own realms - the North and the Iron Islands, respectively. The title refers to Joffrey, Stannis and Renly Baratheon, all of whom believed they were the rightful successor to King Robert. These events are known as the War of the Five Kings, although the name is somewhat deceptive. Game of Thrones chronicles a battle for control of the Iron Throne and, therefore, control of Westeros, but as the game unravels, more conspirators emerge from the shadows and secret motives are dramatically revealed. One is the battle between the living and the dead, written in the stars many years prior, and the other is the War of the Five Kings, and it's the latter that dominates the narrative of HBO's wildly successful TV series.

In the Game of Thrones, you either win or you die, but who made the first move? On a fundamental level, Game of Thrones comprises two overarching conflicts.

The war of five kings