In Game of Thrones, this quote is said twice. First it is said in Season 3, Episode 6 during a private conversation between Lord Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish and Lord Varys. Baelish explains what chaos really is.
Baelish being the pragmatist and opportunist that he is, sees chaos as a ladder. It is the ultimate opportunity to climb to a higher status. He says many who try to climb it fail and never get the opportunity again. And Baelish would never let a good crisis go to waste. For him, crisis is opportunity, and he uses it to advance his interests.
He notes that some who are given the chance to climb the ladder refuse to and cling to the realm, the gods, love, or illusions. The climb is all there is for Baelish. And we see Baelish’s ability to scheme and sow seeds of chaos while remaining undetected through most of the series.
In Season 7, Episode 4, Baelish is talking to Bran Stark. He’s talk to Bran and droning on and on illustrating is loyalty to the Starks. He calls Bran Brandon, which is weird because it’s the name of Bran’s uncle and the man who nearly killed Baelish. But Bran remains quiet listening to Baelish. He makes a comment about how difficult it must have been for Bran to go through all he did and come home to find such chaos in the world. Bran cuts him off and looks at him menacingly and replies, “chaos is a ladder.”
In the brief seconds before they were interrupted, you can see Baelish try to quickly assess what Bran may know about all his misdeeds. After all, Sansa is Bran’s sister, and she knows a lot about what Baelish has done. And it all ends up catching up to him in Season 7.
