Lord Varys. The Master of Whisperers. The web woven by the spider in both the show and
the books is similar… until it really isn't it. Show Varys is a sympathetic
man with a simple goal… while Book Varys remains a scheming enigma. This is the Real Varys. Lemme know in the comments if you prefer the
show version or the book books version and why. Now, let's begin with the show. Varys was born a slave in Essos. He traversed the Free Cities
with a troupe of actors, until he was castrated as part
of a fiery blood magic ritual. He became a lone Pentoshi pickpocket
until he met the bravo Illyrio Mopatis, and they embarked on some
get-rich-quick schemes together. Varys would hire a network
of small orphan children, training them to steal secrets from the wealthy. Due to his growing reputation as a spymaster, he was hired by the Mad King to
serve as Master of Whisperers, and after Robert's Rebellion, continued to
serve in that role under King Bobby B himself. In Season 1, we meet the carefully
crafted character that is Lord Varys. He is a bald, fat, effeminate
man clad in fancy robes. That's how he acts on the Small Council - greeting the new Hand of the King Ned Stark, discussing the rise in crime in
the wake of the Hand's Tourney, supporting Robert's assassination plot against Daenerys Targaryen after his source
Jorah Mormont reveals her pregnancy. He is less obsequious in private -
warning Ned of Jon Arryn's poisoning and Robert's impending death, scheming
with Illyrio Mopatis beneath the Red Keep, urging Ned to confess his treason
while disguised as a gaoler. What are the motivations of this mysterious man? He warns Illyrio that Ned is close to discovering
the truth about Cersei's incestuous infidelity, thus risking a chaotic civil
war that cannot be delayed. He tells the imprisoned Ned
that he serves the Realm - although it seems like he simply wants to
keep the Realm stable for the time being. In Season 2, Varys continues
to serve on the small council. He discovers that Tyrion has
brought a prostitute with him, Shae, and visits her as a show
of… power, skill, intimidation? He becomes a pawn in Tyrion's sneaky
plot to smoke out Cersei's pet rat, falsely telling him that he wants
to marry Myrcella to Theon Greyjoy. Look how disappointed he is. Of course, the rat turns out to be Pycelle. Varys does not serve the Lannisters
- based on his alliance with Illyrio, he appears to serve the Targaryens. It is after this play that Varys
presents his famous riddle to Tyrion: Three great men sit in a room. A
King, a Priest, and a Rich Man. Between them stands a common sellsword. Each man bids the sellsword kill the other two. Who lives, who dies? As Varys says, Power Resides
Where Men Believe It Resides. After the Battle of the Blackwater, it is Varys who reveals to Tyrion that Tywin
has taken all the credit for the victory. Before the season ends he hires a new spy - Ros, a prostitute in Littlefinger's brothel. The Spider continues to weave his web in Season 3. The silent introduction to this small
council scene give some insight into Varys: Littlefinger pushes his way to sit next to
Tywin, desperate to be seen as the helpful ally; Cersei sits next to Tywin on
the other side of the table, close to him but separate
from the men of the council; while Tyrion sits at the other end of the table, furthest away from Tywin while
also challenging his authority. Varys, meanwhile, humbly places himself
in between Littlefinger and Pycelle. He is but a spider with nothing to prove. Lord Varys cooks this season. He tracks down the sorcerer who castrated him
all those years ago and orders him off amazon. He arrives in a box, bound and gagged. We never discover his fate, but it's likely
that vengeance was achieved one way or another. He also learns from his spy Ros that Littlefinger has visited Sansa a lot and wants
to smuggle her out of the city, citing the fact that Littlefinger's ship
has two feather beds instead of one. So, the Spider enters the garden and talks
to Olenna Tyrell, who sees through his act. Varys reveals Littlefinger's plan, which prompts Olenna to try to
marry Sansa to her grandson Loras. Varys' relationship with Littlefinger
in the show is interesting. They're constantly trading witty barbs. In Season 1, he raises illegalities within
Littlefinger's brothels, such as corpses. It's a Certified Meathouse Man moment. They both brag about spying
on each other - in particular, Littlefinger reveals that he knows of
Varys and Illyrio's secret meeting. "Lord Redwyne likes his boys very young." Why they gotta do my boy
Paxter like that, god damn. In Season 3, Littlefinger reveals that
he discovered Ros' treachery and gave her to Joffrey to murder, leading to
his famous 'Chaos is a Ladder' speech. "Chaosh is a ladda" At the end of the Season, he tries
to bribe Shae to leave King's Landing as she's a liability for Tyrion,
and Tyrion represents stability. Again, we can assume he wants
the Realm to be stable for now because Daenerys isn't ready to invade yet… I think. Season 4 comes along and he's still
on the council, informing them of the outlaw Sandor Clegane and bringing warning of
Daenerys' three dragons and growing armies. The Spider speaks with the Viper
- Oberyn boasts a bout his gaydar, and assumes he was gay before being castrated, but Varys reveals he was never
interested in sexual pleasure. Which puts a question mark over what purpose
the castration serves to his character beyond simply "disliking magic" which never even
concretely affects his storyline in any way but… I'm getting distracted. During Joffrey's Wedding, Varys looks
visibly disgusted by his antics. Later when Tyrion is falsely
accused of the King's murder, he does not protect his acquaintance,
but acts as a witness against him, giving evidence of all the
times Tyrion roasted Joffrey. In the finale, Varys helps Jaime free Tyrion
and smuggle him across the Narrow Sea. We learn in the next season that he was
asked by Jaime and was too afraid to refuse. He hears the bells tolling,
and decides to join Tyrion. Wait I thought the bells meant surrender? They're surrendering Varys, where are you going? Let's jump from the first four
seasons to the first three books. Book Varys has a very similar arc,
although we don't see as much of him. He's an effeminate, powdered eunuch
wearing rich silks and velvet. On the surface, he's a mysterious, obsequious
schemer, the sly spider of the court. Is he even truly a eunuch? We don't know. He utilises more disguises in the books - a begging brother, a gaoler named
Rugen, even a woman at one point. If anyone uses the phrase "femboy
Varys" in the comments I will ban you -
It's unknown what his sexuality is - as a
eunuch, he is not driven or distracted by lust. He uses his traumatic mutilation
to his advantage - which is why the revelation about him being asexual
in the show feels completely pointless. His background is almost identical
to the show, with a few additions. Varys was born in the free city of Lys. He has no hair and his eye
colour is never described, but the Lyseni generally favour the Valyrian look. The orphan joined a troupe of travelling
mummers until one fateful day in Myr, when a man purchased him,
paralysed him with a potion, sliced off his manhood,
and threw it in the flames. According to Varys, he heard a voice. Unlike the show, we do not know if
Varys ever tracked this sorcerer down. The poor lad resorted to selling
stolen goods and himself, eventually becoming the best thief
in Myr until a rival chased him out. He fled to Pentos, where he met
a fellow sigma male grinder - the impoverished bravo Illyrio Mopatis. They concocted a scheme -
Varys would steal from thieves, and Illyrio would return the stolen items
to their wealthy owners for a small fee. Varys trained a spy network of little mice - orphans who stole letters, ledgers
and charts from the wealthy. After all, knowledge is power. King Aerys II, who was growing distrustful of his
family and Hand, hired Varys to be his spymaster. The Eunuch supposedly dripped poison into the
Mad King's ear, turning him against Rhaegar. All the while, he built up a spy network of little
birds and learned the secrets of the Red Keep. Varys pleaded for Aerys to keep
the gates shut when Tywin came - either to protect the
Crown, or save his own skin. Alas Tywin sacked the city, and Ser
Jaime Lannister murdered the Mad King. Varys, Pycelle and Ser Jaime were all pardoned by the new King Robert Baratheon,
and they kept their positions. Which brings us to the first book. Varys' story plays out very similarly to the show. He sits the council, uses Jorah as a spy,
schemes with Illyrio while in disguise, tries to alert Ned to Robert's inevitable death, reveals that Jon Arryn was poisoned,
and persuades Ned to confess to treason. Varys also suggests blaming Ser
Barristan for Robert's death, which results in the knight being removed from
the Kingsguard and fleeing to Dany's cause. At this stage, it appears as though
Varys is a secret Targaryen loyalist who wants Viserys or Daenerys
to take the Iron Throne… Likewise, Varys' story in the second
book is similar to the second season: he tracks down Shae, forms an
uneasy alliance with Tyrion, waxes poetic about the nature of power, and so on. There are some slight changes. It is he who tells Tyrion that Lancel
Lannister is sleeping with Cersei. He also recommends the honourable Ser Jacelyn
Bywater as the new Commander of the City Watch, and helps set up a secret route
from Chataya's brothel to Shae, so that Tyrion can visit his
mistress without arousing suspicion. He also procures the perfect bodyguards for Shae - big old ugly men who aren't interested in women: a braavosi daggerman, a eunuch
strangler, and two Ibbenese thugs. Furthermore, Tyrion's lie to Varys isn't
about Myrcella marrying Theon Greyjoy, but about Tommen Baratheon and Ser Gregor Clegane being sent to Sunspear - the former to
be warded, the latter to be punished. There is also the matter of Tyrek, the Lannister
cousin who does not appear in the show. He goes missing after the King's
Landing Riot, last seen ahorse, and some suspect Varys snatched
him away for future use… The third book is the final time where the
Varyses are consistent with each other. He testifies against Tyrion at the
trial but later frees his ally. However, instead of being asked to help by
Jaime, he is actively threatened at knifepoint. He drugs the gaolers with
sweetsleep and frees the dwarf, taking him past a ladder which
leads to the Hand's chambers. Whether he did this intentionally or not,
Tyrion is provoked into killing his father. It's worth noting that the biggest
difference has to be the verbal sparring matches with Littlefinger
- they don't exist in the books. Season 5, baby. Now things are really diverging. Varys & Tyrion arrive at Illyrio's Manse,
although Illyrio himself is not there. Turns out Varys is a Daenerys
loyalist and always has been, and believes Tyrion would
make a good advisor for her. The 'good of the Realm' shtick seems
to be legitimate, with Varys acting as though Daenerys has proven herself to be
especially fit to rule the Seven Kingdoms. She is stronger than Tommen, gentler
than Stannis, loved by millions, etc etc. If that's the case then… why was he
previously supporting Viserys Targaryen? Either he knew of the young man's cruelty and
mental instability, or he knew nothing about him? Or did he predict that the
Dothraki would inevitable kill him? Firstly, that's stupid, and secondly,
why would Dany be any better? At the start of Season 1,
she's just a meek teenage girl? Varys is acting like he's
suddenly decided to root for Dany, but he's been a Targ loyalist since Season 1. We never actually find out why. This, of course, is a result of the show
eradicating the Young Griff storyline, but we'll get into that later. So the dynamic disabled duo depart for
Meereen by way of Volantis via carriage. After Tyrion is kidnapped by Jorah Mormont, Varys vanishes from the story until the
finale, when he rolls up to Meereen. The city is a powderkeg, and
Tyrion needs his old ally's help. So naturally, Varys yeets
out of there in Season 6. Well, not before walking through the city without
any guards, encountering convenient Common Tongue graffiti, and watching Dany's fleet burn
along with the hopes of a faithful adaptation. He also questions the prostitute Vala, who has been murdering Unsullied soldiers
on behalf of the Sons of the Harpy. He generously bribes her with
silver and a safe passage, and in return learns that the Sons of the
Harpy are funded by Astapor and Meereen. Varys has always been more sympathetic in the
show, but now we can see he's turned soft. Before leaving the city for good
to seek allies for Daenerys, Varys meets with the greatest Game of
Thrones character since Tyene Sand. Kinvara is the High Priestess
of the Red Temple of Volantis, and the magic-hating Varys is naturally
suspicious and sceptical of her. She references the spymaster's
castration, and he does one of his faces. He does a Varys face - you know what I mean. Varys later appears in Dorne to persuade
Olenna Tyrell to declare for Team Targ, because apparently she's
now in charge of the Reach. There are no - House Tyrell is
extinct everyone, it's genuinely over. He then transports back to
Essos onto Daenerys' ship. In Season 7, the Spider
serves on Dany's war council. She waits until the entire fleet has arrived at Dragonstone before raising the fact
that Varys tried to assassinate her. Whoops. Varys' defence is that he had to do what
Robert asked him to, he was playing the role. He will be loyal to Dany, but
that loyalty won't be blind. Varys later confronts Melisandre - is it just
me or does his face look weird in this scene? Is this the only scene where he
doesn't have a powdered face? Anyway, Melisandre decides to be a bitch and
tells Varys it is his fate to die in Westeros… I mean that's where he lives, so I
don't know why he looks so shocked. So yeah, Varys being scared of magic
basically results in him disliking two sexy red priestesses and… that's it. It
doesn't really take his character anywhere. After the execution of Randyll and
Dickon Tarly, Varys seems concerned by Dany's growing ruthless streak, and
this concerns carries him into Season 8. Hold onto your bald powdered
head, it's gonna get messy. "At least your balls won't
freeze off." *Audience cheer.* During the One Night Stand -
sorry, I meant the Long Night - Varys hides with the women and children. In the crypt. With the dead bodies - After the Battle, Varys is informed by Tyrion
that Jon Snow is in fact Aegon Targaryen, the last living son of Rhaegar, not to be confused with the other
Aegon Targaryen, also a son of Rhaegar. Varys can see a darkness in Dany and believes
that actually, no, Jon should take the Throne. Can this issue be resolved by having
Jon and Dany marry and jointly rule? No shut up. Ok I've put this off long enough. Varys, why are you spooked by Dany? Your original plan was to put discount
Joffrey on the Throne, you can't complain. You act like you genuinely care about the Good
of the Realm, you act like you suddenly decided to support Dany after Season 4, but you've
been rooting for Team Targ since Season 1. How would a crazy tyrant invading with
an army of savage looters help anything? Why not just focus on making
the Crown as stable as possible? Why upend it by supporting a crazy
young man and a meek teenager? What personal connection do
you have to the Targaryens? How is it related to your friendship with Illyrio? Because that's never expanded upon, the character
disappears after Season 1 for some reason. His motivations make no sense. Don't get me wrong, they're also messy in the
books, but we're given enough bits and pieces, and there are theories that
fill in the gaps for the future. The show is officially over, we have no idea
why this man was ever flying the red dragon. Just… who and what is this character? Anyway, the fleet is attacked because
Dany kinda forgot - blah blah blah and Varys swims to safety
thanks to being a merman. The ultimate flip-flopper tells Tyrion that
actually now he supports Jon Snow as King, because he's more based or something. Varys tries to poison the monarch he
spent so long scheming to serve and insists to Jon that he take the Throne instead, but of course he don't want it. Tyrion sells out his old friend
because he's a pathetic cuck now and Varys is turned into
a crispy spider by Drogon. This is a very silent death scene. It's a … it's a very …. awkward death scene. But lo and behold, he turns out to be right,
Dany is crazy, I guess Varys was based all along. Goodbye! Alright then. Book time. Varys does not accompany Tyrion
to Illyrio's manse in Pentos. Instead, the Imp spends his time drinking
and travelling with the cheesemonger himself. It is not Daenerys Targaryen
that Varys and Illyrio support, but Aegon Targaryen - the alleged son of Rhaegar, smuggled away during the Sack of King's Landing
to be raised by Jon Connington in Essos. I've spoken about this scheme in my Young Griff
video, but I'll quickly run through the basics: Varys and Illyrio want Aegon to sit
the Iron Throne in return for land, gold, and council positions. Aegon has been raised to be the
perfect monarch - learned in the ways of diplomacy, history, poetry, and so on. Of course, Aegon may in fact be Aegon
Blackfyre - there are theories that his real father is Illyrio Mopatis,
and his mother was a Blackfyre. Perhaps Varys is helping his lifelong
friend place his son on the Throne. Or perhaps Varys himself is a
Blackfyre - Illyrio's brother-in-law, trying to get his nephew on the Throne. Or maybe Varys is Aegon's
mother - ok probably not. Either way, he is crafting a perfect King, but
also may have strong personal ties to the lad. Varys stays behind in King's Landing to cause
chaos and aid Aegon's inevitable invasion. He leaves behind a House Gardener coin
in Rugen's cell - with Varys missing, so too is his gaoler alter ego. The coin makes Cersei paranoid that the Tyrells
paid off the gaoler to free Tyrion and escape. Praying on Cersei's increasingly paranoid
mental state and the growing tensions between the Lannisters and Tyrells,
Varys causes more chaos by murdering Grand Maester Pycelle and shooting the
regent Kevan Lannister with a crossbow. His motivations are threefold; for one, he
removes a competent player off the board; for two, Kevan and Pycelle could be replaced
with Tyrells, thus exacerbating the tensions; and for three, the use of a crossbow
and his little bird's daggers will make Cersei believe that Tyrion is
responsible, and hiding in the walls… What fate awaits the Spider in
the Winds of Winter and beyond? Aegon Targaryen may just take King's Landing, in which case we'll see Varys serve yet
another ruler as Master of Whisperers. If he truly did kidnap Tyrek
Lannister, perhaps he'll place the lad as the puppet Lord of Casterly Rock. The book series may end with Varys creating
his own utopia ruled by his zoomer puppets, including a perfect monarch, whether that
monarch is truly a Targaryren or Blackfyre … but that's not a very likely ending. Varys claims to serve the realm, but his
actions serve to maintain stability until the time comes to unleash chaos, and give his
chosen monarch an advantage while invading. He is willingly bringing about death
and destruction and pillaging to get someone on the Iron Throne instead of
trying to better the Crown as it is. He must see himself as a utilitarian; his
means - assassination, child mutilation, warfare - will be justified by a desired end. Will the moral of the books be
that causing chaos and inviting war is justified if your chosen guy gets to rule? Probably not. More likely, the ambitious Spider will be crushed. Perhaps by his rival Littlefinger. Perhaps by Stannis Baratheon,
who promised to put his head on a spike… or perhaps his fate
in the show is somewhat accurate. If a Second Dance of Dragons kicks off, Varys'
ambitions may literally go up in flames, along with his intricate silken spiderweb. Thanks for watching. Like the video and subscribe to Fantasy
Haven if you enjoy animated ASOIAF lore. If you're interested in exclusive content such
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out the merch store, at fantasyhavenmerch.com The links are in the description below. To watch the Real Sand
Snakes, check out this video. Special Thanks to my Lord of Light Patrons: Andres, Alex the Pagan,
Caden, Colshot, and Devcole. Lemme know in the comments which
characters I should explore next. See ya!
