Varys the Spider survived eight seasons of Game of Thrones through his clever manipulation of the various leaders of Westeros, along with the help of his “little birds.” But the man met his end in the service of Daenerys Targaryen, with execution as the price of betraying her trust and attempting to put Jon Snow on the Iron Throne.
While speaking about the show at San Diego Comic-Con, actor Conleth Hill all but confirmed a popular fan theory about what Varys was up to in season 8. If you’ll remember, in the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, Daenerys is locked away at Dragonstone, grieving the loss of Missandei and apparently refusing food and water. Varys sends one of his little birds to check on the queen, and he seems a tad too interested in her eating and drinking habits. Many fans wondered if he was trying to poison her, and according to Joanna Robinson of Vanity Fair, he confirmed their suspicions…although I think his response could be read a couple different ways:
“Yeah… The coin, when a Targaryen is born, is going to be one side or the other,” Hill said. “And has come down a bit cray cray towards the end. I think Varys knew long ago he was going to die, and what the sorcerer might’ve said to him, might’ve been what says when he’s burnt to death.”
Man, he’s just hitting all kinds of Varys mysteries, isn’t he?
Once again, we’re not sure that Varys heard Dany’s order of execution in the flames as a child, but it’s a tantalizing idea. And now that the show is over, I choose to accept it as canon.
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Unfortunately for the people of King’s Landing, Varys doesn’t succeed in his endeavor, and is burned alive for his treason. The Spider will spin his webs no more.
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h/t Vanity Fair, Bustle