Every Game of Thrones fan this side of Westeros knows that Varys has got a plan.
Since the very first time we see him, we know that he’s a man whose power comes from knowledge and that he uses nothing but his cunning to survive in the ‘great game’.
So that’s why it seems a little odd that he has been thrown so far off course in recent seasons.
The Spider had served as the Master of Whispers to Aerys Targaryen before the Mad King was overthrown by Robert Baratheon, but was allowed to keep his position under the new regime.
It was eventually revealed that Varys remained loyal to the Targaryens – specifically Daenerys – throughout, as he believed her to be the only ruler who could bring peace to the Seven Kingdoms.
For all his shadiness, Varys has always been seen by fans of the show as an honourable man – which is what made it so strange when he sold out Tyrion Lannister when he was on trial for the murder of King Joffrey, even after visiting Tyrion to give him support before the trial.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYeoQZgV-Ks
But one Redditor has argued that Varys wasn’t just looking to cover his own ass by selling Tyrion up the river, he was in fact putting into place a plan to get Tyrion exactly where he wanted him – as an advisor to Daenerys.
We’ll allow gmnitsua to explain:
‘I was rewatching the trial of Tyrion after Joffrey’s assassination, and I recalled a confused feeling I had not remembered since seeing the episode. Before the trial, and after the Battle of Blackwater, Varys visited Tyrion and congratulated him. They actually spend a good deal of time developing their friendship. But when Varys is called to the stand to testify, what happens? He testifies against Tyrion.
‘He gives a damning analysis of Tyrion. And I wondered why he did that, since I heard it. I thought he was somehow doing this to protect himself, the way Bronn later refuses Tyrion’s request to be his champion. I was somewhat content with that logic. But as I watched it last night I found new logic that served that scene greater purpose.
‘He wanted Tyrion to be found guilty. And why? He wanted to give him to Daenerys. He conspired with Jaime to free him. He organized his passage to Daenerys. And he got abducted by whom? Jorah Mormont. A person who conspired with Varys from the very beginning. Deliberate or no? Definitely convenient. I don’t think anything accidentally happens to Varys. It’s all part of the Spider’s web.
‘You aren’t actually the king if you’re just playing a game of chess.’
While it’s unlikely we’ll have Varys spell it out for us in the show, it’s entirely possible he’s been secretly pulling even more strings than we thought.
