The 50 most iconic looks from Game of Thrones

The Spider (season 3)

Varys can be seem sporting plenty of interesting costumes over the course of Game of Thrones — in fact, the number of outfits he wears can only be rivaled by the number of rulers he swears allegiance to. Viewers will find that Varys’ attire often reflects whomever he’s entrusted with the realm this week.

The Spider mostly wears robes of various colors and embroidery. He wears one of his more fascinating in season 3, when he’s sizing up the Tyrells and the contributions they could make to the realm (which, to be fair, is quite a lot). When Varys speaks with Margaery and Olenna, it seems that he believes their family might be capable of balancing out the Lannisters, who maintain order in King’s Landing but don’t genuinely care about the well-being of its people.

When Varys goes to speak with Olenna in “And Now His Watch Is Ended,” the yellow and light blue robe he wears bears a shocking resemblance to the patterns the Tyrell matriarch often wears. In this way, Varys is like Sansa, mirroring the people influencing him most through his clothing choices. But unlike Sansa at this point, he’s trying to influence them back. He even has a flowery pattern embroidered on his robe, a nod to the rose sigil of House Tyrell, which Olenna mocks moments before Varys arrives in the gardens.

The similarities between Varys’ and Olenna’s costumes in this scene can also be representative of their similar goals and values. We know that Olenna wanted Margaery to be queen, just without Joffrey as her king, and it’s obvious that many members of the court wished to see Joffrey removed from power. Could Varys have allowed it to happen? It’s certainly possible.