Varys Is Not a Traitor

Have a Theory? Share It Now!

Hey guys,

First off let me say that I really enjoy the work you guys do. I got hooked on your podcasts during Westworld last fall and I’m glad it’s Thrones season. However, while listening to the deep dive podcast, I needed to pause it and prove Big D wrong on this whole Varys is a traitor theory. We can do this by looking at a number of points:

Varys’ Conversation With Melissandre

When Varys looks all rattled because of what Mel told him, it most definitely has to go back to Varys’s fear of Red Priests and religion as a whole. Remember in Season 6 when Tyrion brought in the Red Priestess of Volantis, Kinvara, to make peace in Mereen, Varys was extremely skeptical and Kinvara reminded Varys of what he saw in the flames that night he had his parts cut.

Varys knows that Melissandre saw a similar, if not the same, vision about him in the flames when she says he is going to die here in Westeros. This has nothing to do with Melissandre being a force he cannot control causing him to back Cersei and the Lannisters.

The Timeline Of Euron Getting His Fleet From King’s Landing To Casterly Rock / Cersei Talking To The Iron Banker

Big D states that Euron would have had to know to send his fleet to Casterly Rock right away in order to get to the Unsullied. This is not necessarily true. Pyke, residency of the Iron Born, is literally right to the north of Casterly Rock. It is completely fair that Euron had part of his fleet that was still over at Pyke go burn the Unsullied fleet.

Also, even if Euron sailed his entire fleet from King’s Landing to Casterly Rock, Cersei specifically mentions in her conversation with Tycho (the Iron Banker) to “give her a fortnight” for her to prove she can pay back the bank. When the Lannister army sacks Highgarden, they all of the sudden have enough gold to pay back their debts, so this could easily have taken a fortnight for Jaime to reach and sack Highgarden, as well as Euron reach Casterly Rock to destroy the Unsullied fleet.

The Lannisters Actually Have Been Out-Maneuvering Tyrion

There is evidence of this from when Tywin told Cersei a few seasons ago that Casterly Rock was officially dry. No more gold in the rock = not that valuable of a place for the Lannisters to keep, which is also seen in Jaime’s conversation with Olenna at the end of the episode. It was a strategic move for Cersei and Jaime to pull their forces, knowing that Tyrion (who is unaware that the rock is dry considering he was never told) would try to take the Lannister stronghold.

Also going back to Episode 2 of this season, Euron didn’t need any intel to find Yara and the Sand’s fleet. King’s Landing (which is where he was coming from) is literally across the bay from Dragonstone (which is where Yara was coming from) and it is completely reasonable to expect him to notice an entire fleet sailing south with Greyjoy sails flying.

Varys Turning On Dany And Helping Cersei With These War Tactics Would Actually HURT The Common Folk

This is the point that I think debunks the theory that Varys is a traitor the most. Varys throughout the entire show has proven himself loyal to the realm over any individual king / queen. However, turning on Dany like this would actually cause so much death and destruction to the realm. Destroying Dany’s entire fleet essentially, along with ruining any plans for a seige of King’s Landing, is going to make her “Be A Dragon”, which is going to mean her turning her Dragon’s loose on Westeros, causing countless deaths that we can’t even fathom for the common people. This would be a complete flip of Varys’s character makeup, and something that I highly doubt the writers would want to do this late in the game.

I’m sorry for all this, but I just SHAT all over Big D’s theory.

Still love you guys and keep up the good work,

Nick from Chicago

Subscribe Now

• Android: https://shatontv.com/game-of-thrones-android
• Apple/iTunes: https://shatontv.com/game-of-thrones-itunes

Help Support the Podcast

• Support with Paypal – https://shatontv.com/paypal
• Support With Venmo – https://venmo.com/ShatPodcasts
• Shop / Merchandise: https://shatontv.com/shop
• Shop Amazon With Our Affiliate Link – https://www.amazon.com/?tag=shatmovies-20
• Sponsor’s Listener Survey – https://shatontv.com/survey
• Leave an iTunes Review – https://shatontv.com/game-of-thrones-review
• Leave a Voicemail – (914) 719-SHAT – (914) 719-7428
• Feeds & Social Media – https://shatontv.com/subscribe-and-follow/
• Checkout our Movie Podcast – http://shatthemovies.com
• Theme Song – “Seven Nation Army (Epic Orchestral Cover)” – Ciaran Burch