From whispered half-truths to elaborate schemes, Game of Thrones is full of characters who will say anything to get what they want.
Some lied to survive, others to seize power, and a few just for the thrill of deception. In this ranking, we break down the six biggest liars in the series and how their web of falsehoods shaped the bloody, unpredictable game for the Iron Throne.
6. Roose Bolton
Roose Bolton's ability to play along with Robb Stark while secretly plotting against him and the rest of his Northern kin is an unforgivable lie. He fights and bleeds alongside the Northerners, but he pounces at the opportunity to form an alliance with the Lannisters and Freys to usurp the Starks.
This lie, of course, comes to fruition at the Red Wedding, when Roose delivers the killing blow to his king without a shred of remorse.
5. Margaery Tyrell
Margaery Tyrell is a formidable player for five seasons in the show. She has a great mind for the game of thrones, becoming King Renly's betrothed and disregarding his homosexuality in order to become queen. When Renly dies, Margaery and the Tyrells pivot to an alliance with the Lannisters, and she gets to work manipulating Joffrey so she can become queen.
After Joffrey dies, she weasels her way into marrying Tommen. Perhaps her biggest lie comes after Cersei gets her arrested by the Faith Militant. Margaery feigns loyalty to the faith so she can get out of prison. Although it doesn't work out for her in the end, Margaery shows a keen ability to lie and play the game of thrones in her quest to be the queen of Westeros.
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4. Olenna Tyrell
While Margaery is pretty good at playing the game of thrones, she learns everything she knows from her grandmother, Olenna. Olenna's big move in the show is conspiring with Littlefinger to murder King Joffrey at his wedding. Until Olenna confesses to Jaime about this deed, Margaery is the only person who knows about Olenna's involvement.
Olenna also helps her family gain power by ensuring Margaery's marriages to Joffrey and Tommen, and sparring with the Lannisters in her schemes to gain more power for the Tyrells.
3. Cersei Lannister
Perhaps one of the biggest lies in the entire series is pedaled by Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime. That is, of course, the fact that Jaime is the one who fathered all of Cersei's children, making them illegitimate bastards. Although this secret gets out and a lot of people suspect it to be true, Cersei's ability to lie and manipulate people keeps Joffrey and Tommen on the throne for a time.
This lie has a lot of secondary impact, like driving a wedge between Tywin and the Mad King. Cersei sets things in motion for Jaime to join the Kingsguard so he can never marry and be close to her, but Tywin perceives this as a slight, and he resigns as Hand of the King and later sacks the city during Robert's Rebellion.
Other lies spun by Cersei include blaming Tyrion for Joffrey's murder, having Lancel get Robert drunk during his fatal hunt, using the Faith Militant to arrest Margaery and Loras, and eventually getting everyone in the same place to make her big power play at the end of season 6.
2. Varys
In the early seasons, Varys is among the greatest masters of deception in the series. Nobody knows what his real goals are, who he really supports, and why he does the things he does. He uses his vast network of spies to stay informed about the political situation across the world, unlike his colleagues in King's Landing, who seem to have more limited access to information than him.
Varys also cultivates a reputation for being helpful and harmless, which lowers others’ defenses. His spies give him real information to mix with falsehoods, allowing him to manipulate events without being suspected. He is able to squirrel his way out of trouble and remain the master of whispers for Robert Baratheon, despite serving the same role for the Mad King before he dies.
Ultimately, the show fails to deliver on a lot of Varys's intriguing setups, and his character falls flat in later seasons. But the book version of Varys has much loftier goals.
1. Littlefinger
Unlike Varys, Littlefinger uses charm and flattery to climb the power ladder. He clearly wants to be the ruler of Westeros, but not many people are privy to that goal aside from Varys and a few others. Littlefinger takes the cake, however, because his lies are directly responsible for the War of the Five Kings.
He sows distrust between the Lannisters and the Starks by framing Tyrion for Bran Stark's assassination attempt. He also manipulates Lysa into poisoning Jon Arryn and makes it seem like the Lannisters are responsible. These lies lead to Ned and Catelyn Stark taking action against the Lannisters, which prompts an aggressive response from Tywin Lannister.
Throughout these events, Littlefinger convinces everyone that he is on their side, whether it be the Tyrells, Starks, Lannisters, or whoever else he needs to court to keep his schemes going. He is a master at playing the game of thrones.
Although Sansa and Arya uncover his schemes and kill him in the show, he is still active in the books and continues the exploit the chaos he creates to cultivate more power for himself.