Game of Thrones’ Varys actor Conleth Hill voices his displeasure with how his character was written during the later seasons of the HBO show.
Conleth Hill, who played Varys on Game of Thrones, gets candid about his character’s ending and why he felt frustrated with it. The Irish actor played the role of Lord Varys, a spymaster also known as the Spider, in HBO’s massively popular fantasy series that ended in 2019. In season 5, Varys takes his talents across the Narrow Sea and joins forces with Daenerys Targaryen. However, he changes his allegiance once he discovers that Jon Snow is actually the rightful heir to the Iron Throne and is eventually executed by dragon-fire for betraying Daenerys.
Now, four years after Game of Thrones ended, Hill is continuing to voice his displeasure with how Varys was written. In an interview with The Times, the actor says he specifically started feeling frustrated during the last two seasons since “Varys wasn’t the all-knowing character he had been.” Hill also felt that Game of Thrones season 8 was “a bit rushed,” a common complaint about the final season. Read his complete comments below:
I thought I’d done something wrong. Right up until the last two series, I had no complaints at all. I just felt frustrated with the last couple of series because Varys wasn’t the all-knowing character he had been. I think the writers wanted to do one thing to end it and the studio HBO wanted to do another. I felt that last series was a bit rushed. I was inconsolable, but now I’m fine about it.
Does Varys’ Games of Thrones Ending Warrant The Frustration?
This is not the first time that Hill has demonstrated his displeasure with how his character was written. During the Game of Thrones season 8 table read, Hill appeared visibly upset during Varys’ death scene and promptly placed the script aside when he was finished reading. In 2019, he also voiced his displeasure with how Varys was sidelined during the later seasons, which he understood given the ensemble nature of the show, but ultimately found frustrating.
Hill’s complaint that Varys was no longer “all-knowing” during the last two seasons is also a valid one. In the earlier seasons of Game of Thrones, Varys was the Master of Whisperers with a vast network of spies and informants in his service in both Westeros and Essos. During the last two seasons, Varys suddenly seemed to have no idea what was going on and exerted little influence over events. However, one could argue that up until his death, Varys served the realm faithfully, as opposed to his nemesis Littlefinger, who served his own self-interest.
Hill’s feeling that Game of Thrones season 8 was “a bit rushed” is one of the most common complaints about the final season, which only consisted of six episodes as opposed to 10. This faster pace meant that many character arcs, including Varys’, had to be wrapped up quickly, which left many viewers and even cast members unhappy with their conclusion. Years after Game of Thrones ended, this remains a massive point of contention.
