If you were taken by surprise by Littlefinger’s execution scene in the season finale of “Game of Thrones” on Sunday you weren’t alone, and it was very much intentional.

In the second to last episode of season seven, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) had an intense scene together during which Arya made it very clear that she could kill her sister and even threatened her with the knife.

In the finale, Sansa discussed her sister’s threat with Littlefinger who tried to convince her that Arya’s threat were her real intentions. But the following scene with all three characters revealed that Sansa was acting much more carefully than she let on.

Isaac Hempstead Wright, who plays Brandon Stark, revealed that “Game of Thrones” decided to cut a pivotal scene that would have spoiled the surprise for fans. In it, his and Turner’s character’s figure out what’s really going on with Littlefinger and Arya through Bran’s abilities as the “Three-Eyed Raven.”

“We actually did a scene that clearly got cut, a short scene with Sansa where she knocks on Bran’s door and says, ‘I need your help,’ or something along those lines,” Wright told Variety. “So basically, as far as I know, the story was that it suddenly occurred to Sansa that she had a huge CCTV department at her discretion and it might be a good idea to check with him first before she guts her own sister. So she goes to Bran, and Bran tells her everything she needs to know, and she’s like, “Oh, sh*t.”

Some fans might have appreciated the explainer ahead of the dramatic scene on a count of how much stress it may have caused them to think that another Stark was about to die. But that’s what “Game of Thrones” is all about and that scene was clearly better off without another one stealing the thunder.