Varys tried to kill Daenerys in 'Game of Thrones' season 8 episode 5. Did you notice?

As Lord Varys, the Whisperer of the Seven Kingdoms, rightly said: 'The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward', his ultimate betrayal was the final nail in his coffin

This article contains spoilers for season 8, episode 5

With the release of the highly anticipated episode five of 'Game of Thrones' final season eight, a lot of characters saw their journeys culminating in death, and one of them will, of course, be the whisperer of the realms, Lord Varys. Over the years, viewers have been confused over how exactly to feel about the man with all the little birds who was behind the tightest of secrets being spilled to the worst ears. But just moments before being tried by his queen, Daenerys Targaryen, Varys helped put to rest fans' biggest confusion about how to feel for him, with one last act of treason. But the question is — were you perceptive enough to notice it?

In episode four, we saw Varys (Conleth Hill) and Daenerys' (Emilia Clarke) hand, Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), discuss who should be the rightful king to the Iron Throne now with Jon Snow's (Kit Harrington) actual lineage as a Targaryen revealed. We saw Tyrion profusely defend Daenerys, while Varys insisted Jon was the better option. And unsurprisingly enough, Varys also resorted to writing secret scrolls about Jon's ancestry to unknown recipients at the beginning of episode five, before his execution.

Yet that wasn't the last straw. We had had our doubts over Varys' loyalty to the Khaleesi ever since he expressed his concern about the betterment of the realm, but did you notice that he actually tried to poison Daenerys in the latest fifth episode? In one scene, Varys can be seen trying to send food through a little kitchen-maid to a mourning Daenerys. When the girl returns, unsuccessful at the first go, Varys asks her to try again and says "The bigger the risk, the bigger the reward."



 

It fits just right in, doesn't it? Poisoning the queen is a colossal risk in itself. But continuing to keep attempting it is an even bigger risk. The resultant reward would, of course, be Jon sitting on the throne, and at that point in the tale, Varys saw that as the biggest reward he could ask for. This should have been enough to raise an alarm about his sudden need to feed the queen despite possibly conspiring against her just moments ago, but the final nail to his coffin was him getting frustrated and telling the little girl that they will try again at dinner.

Fans have taken to social media to express what they inferred from this sudden burning concern of Varys, right before he was executed for committing high treason. Every single one of them seems shocked because, considering the recent past, we weren't expecting Varys to go back to his whispering days. Fans are even finding closure in this evident betrayal from the Khaleesi's closest person as that explains why she was coursing with such pure raging madness throughout the episode. True, Daenerys turned into the very Mad Queen she was fighting against, but can you blame her after this betrayal?

'Game of Thrones' returns with the big finale of its last season on Sunday, May 19, at 9 pm only on HBO.

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