Varys Takes the Crown For Game of Thrones' MVP of the Week, but It's a Bittersweet Victory

When we first meet Varys, he's a complete mystery. Is he one of the bad guys, or is he fighting for good? Does he want the Iron Throne for himself, or is he working for someone greater? Is he a merman or nah? The things we do know about him are subject to scrutiny: he's been the Master of Whisperers for a couple of sovereigns who all die in some really messed up ways; he knows everything that's going down in the Seven Kingdoms, as well as outside of them; he has his hands in all types of pies; and his spies are poor children known as Little Birds. Seems super sketch from the get-go.

But, as we learn as the series progresses, Varys's main goal has always been to protect the realm from unfit rulers. Everything he's done has been to manipulate those in power to do right by the people they're supposed to serve. He has no loyalty to houses and doesn't really care whom he has to get rid of to get the job done; his loyalty is to the entirety of the known kingdoms of Westeros. Unlike a majority of the characters on GOT, Varys has always been here for the bigger picture — the welfare of the kingdom rather than his own needs and desires.

This is why he buys into Daenerys's hype for so long. As the Breaker of Chains, she genuinely seems to want to be the benevolent ruler that Westeros desperately needs. He's seen how the people suffer under the hands of men obsessed with power, and a woman who fights for slaves is infinitely a safer bet.

Things quickly fall apart for Varys's ideal queen in the final two seasons of the series. While her "fire and blood" way of conquering works when she's up against slavers and the Meereenese nobility, it doesn't work in Westeros, where politics decide power more than wars do. Tyrion continually doles out advice that is merciful but terribly inept, because somehow he's lost the ability to read the people he's known for years. By the time Varys chooses to betray Daenerys, the dragon queen has made both her advisers question whether she's truly out to "break the wheel" or just looking to bend it to her will.

The straw that breaks the camel's back is when Daenerys decides to burn all of King's Landing after Cersei kidnaps and kills Missandei. While the idea was brought up before back in season seven, her council has always advised against it because that would kill millions of innocent people. As Daenerys herself asserts, she didn't come to Westeros to be the queen of ashes. But the death of those closest to her and her second child harden Daenerys's heart to the plight of those who have had nothing to do with her troubles.

When Daenerys reveals her plan to attack King's Landing in response to Euron attacking Dragonstone, Varys references the conversation the two had about him letting her know when she's doing wrong. "Your grace, I promised you I'd look you in the eye and speak directly if I ever thought you were making a mistake. This is a mistake," he says. "Do not destroy the city you came to save. Do not become what you have struggled to defeat."

Daenerys dismisses his advice, and, having fulfilled the promise he made to her in season seven, he moves forward to have her taken down. His duty has always been to the people of the realm, and he has no qualms about deposing one ruler for another. Of course, this ends with Drogon burning Varys alive on Daenerys's command after Tyrion rats him out, but it's an end that Varys knows is in the cards. He tells Tyrion that he hopes he's wrong, but he knows he's not.

If only he had done it sooner.

I personally cannot stand the Hound, but I will admit that his soft spot for Arya Stark is endearing. Their relationship is one of the few connections Arya has after her father's death that isn't transactional. He doesn't want anything from her, rather he just wants to keep her safe. Considering how very left Arya's adventures tend to go, it's nice that she is able to form this human connection with someone who isn't looking for anything to gain.

So to see them make this final trek into King's Landing together feels like a fitting end to their bond. The Hound is able to convince Arya not to go after Cersei, especially when the Red Keep is seconds away from fully collapsing and killing everyone inside. She leaves, but not before thanking him and calling him by his first name, a rare occasion that shows how deeply the two hold one another in regard. And then Sandor goes off and fights his zombie brother to the death.

While that's all well and good, couldn't Sandor have done that before? It seems pretty late in the game for him to suddenly turn around and tell Arya that her mission for revenge is only going to get her killed. We BEEN knew that, Sandor! That's why she says she's not going back to Winterfell in "The Last of the Starks." They had an entire journey to King's Landing for him to try to change her mind — why wait until she could be killed by dragon fire or falling debris?

I get that the Hound is probably the only person who could convince Arya to let go of her Kill List, and I get that her being in King's Landing will set her up for her grand finale. But it's still ridiculous to think that the Hound waited for that very minute to talk her down. And the fact that Arya just acquiesces so easily? When Cersei has always basically been the list? Outrageous. Do better, people.

Too little, too late is the name of the game for our dear Spider, but at least he goes out doing what needs to be done. He sees that Daenerys's rage and ambition have culminated into ruthlessness that cannot be stopped, and he sends out letters proclaiming Jon as the true heir to the Iron Throne. Regardless of his fiery end, his last act as protector of the realm is to ensure that Daenerys can never be seen as the rightful queen of the Seven Kingdoms. So at least, metaphorically, he goes down swinging.