This election has been stressful, but you can always count on memes to make it better, especially when Olenna Tyrell is involved.
Unquestionably one of the best scenes from the final two seasons of Game of Thrones comes in the third episode of season 7, “The Queen’s Justice.” The Lannister army has defeated the Tyrell army in battle, and Jaime Lannister confronts Olenna Tyrell in her home castle of Highgarden. Both of them know she must die, so Jaime offers her poison. With her dying breath, Olenna tells Jaime that it was she who conspired to murder his vile son King Joffrey Baratheon, and now it’s too late for him to do anything about it.
“Tell Cersei,” she says, “I want her to know it was me.” Good stuff.
As it ends up, the scene has a lot of real-world relevance. As the 2020 US election nears an end (hopefully), it looks more and more like former vice president Joe Biden will win over current president Donald Trump. Voters have repurposed Olenna’s final words in all kinds of creative ways, starting by crediting postal workers:
When the election returns started coming in, it looked like President Trump was ahead. However, as more mail-in ballots were counted, things started to go Biden’s way. The President spent a lot of time demonizing mail-in ballots during the campaign, so for them to come back and do in his chances at a second term is ironic in a way that speaks to the Olenna in all of us.
Hug a postal worker today. #USPS #Elections2020 pic.twitter.com/mCG3bwhX8q
— Roger Roeper 🎙 (@Roger_Roeper) November 6, 2020
Tell Donald. I want him to know it was me. pic.twitter.com/CtUHXLegf6
— Lana Del Rhaenyra (@AntifaDiPalma) November 6, 2020
One of the biggest surprises of the election is that Georgia, a state that hasn’t voted for a Democratic president since 1992, may choose Biden this year. A lot of credit for that is going to Georgia politician Stacey Abrams, who worked hard to safeguard voting rights in her state. Hence…
"Tell Donald, I want him to know it was me." @staceyabrams pic.twitter.com/WFXRWPZNFc
— girlinwig (@girlinwig) November 6, 2020
A lot has been made of “the count” this election, with Trump suing to get the state of Pennsylvania to stop counting votes before Biden’s haul overtook his.
But the Count went on:
I’d like to thank the memes for getting me through this pic.twitter.com/gtKnmxjZV9
— Amanda Mullen (@peaksandpages) November 5, 2020
The first person to make an Olenna meme was Courtney Griffiths, a 47-year-old Californian currently living in London, who posted it on her Facebook page. Her meme didn’t have a particular meaning: she just swapped out Olenna’s face for the face of Gritty, the incredible meme-able Philadelphia Flyers mascot, and a revolution was started:
“I am an overseas voter so I have been watching all hours to see results … especially waiting on that Pennsylvania count,” Griffiths told Insider. “Always thought Gritty was hilarious and I just knew it would be the perfect hit to combine with this classic [‘Game of Thrones’] moment.”
Good call, that. This meme caught on instantly, to the point where there are already posters of it:
also people are SO quick, this gritty game of thrones meme is like HOURS old pic.twitter.com/1Y6W7g9M9R
— Amber Jamieson (@ambiej) November 6, 2020
Memes move at the speed of light.
Diana Rigg, the actor who played Olenna Tyrell, passed away two months ago, but obviously, she and Olenna are far too awesome to be forgotten.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels