WARNING: The column may contain spoilers[ Please be advised in reading any further.
April brings a bit of everything for sports and entertainment gamblers. The Final Four wraps up on Monday, followed by the start of the NBA and NHL playoffs before the Masters concludes Sunday night.
As if the Green Jacket Ceremony isn't enough, the biggest television show in history kicks off its final season a few hours after.
The world has a fever, and the only prescription is Season 8 of Game of Thrones. Maisie Williams pulled an April Fool's prank on The Tonight Show, supposedly revealing spoilers. Kit Harrington showed up on Saturday Night Live and did his best to reveal nothing. Both actors did better than Carice van Houten (Melisandre) who videoed the opening sequence from last week's premier of Episode 1 in New York. Needless to say, we need this thing to start.
As with any other entertainment platform, the one true king (love you Stannis Baratheon) of spoilers is the oddsmakers' board. As we sit inside a week of the premier, Winter is here and the Ruler of Westeros odds market has a charging newcomer.
Game of Thrones Betting Odds: Who Will Rule Westeros?
While Bran Stark (50-1 in 2015) moved to the front of the leaderboard months ago, The Action Network was keen on Gendry 75-1 last summer. Maisie Williams' revelation on social media that Arya Stark was the last woman standing drew plenty of eyeballs and betting tickets.
The odds on those characters have been stable for six months, and new side props are beginning to show in the market. I personally found a "Samwell Tarly last to speak" at 25-1. While Samwell, Jon Snow, Arya Stark and Bran Stark are the only characters with favorable odds to survive, it's a new name on the leaderboard of "Who will rule Westeros?" that draws my attention.
Petyr 'Littlefinger' Baelish: 8-1
Ladies and gentleman, Littlefinger is not only on the board, but is taking money to 8-1. We all saw the scene — he is dead by the same blade he provided in Season 1 to murder Bran Stark. With Petyr Baelish moving up the board, we must ask — was the real Littlefinger murdered? The first 30 seconds of this clip may provide a clue.
"Sorry, Your time is up" rang from the lips of the hand maiden just before an exchange of Iron. That exchange of Iron is the same thing that happened in Arya's scene before she sailed safely to Braavos to train with the Faceless Men.
The theory is the hand maiden was from the House of Black and White, and that she took the face of Petyr Baelish in Winterfell and pretended to be him when Arya cut his throat later in Season 7.
I know Death. #GameofThronespic.twitter.com/8J4TpR11Uq
— Game of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) March 5, 2019
The sigil representing Littlefinger is a mockingbird, and Baelish would mimic others just like faceless man Jaqen H'ghar. Littlefinger has mentioned on numerous occasions he was raised without parents and had to find his own way with a distant grandfather in Braavos, home of the House of Black and White.
As we get closer to the final season, it is time to dust off those Petyr Baelish theories. As news leaks from the final season of Game of Thrones, Littlefinger may not only be alive, but a threat to rule at season's end.
