When fans tuned into HBO’s documentary on the final season of Game of Thrones , many noticed Conleth Hill’s reaction to the fate of his character, Varys. But, just how did Hill feel about what happened to Lord Varys?
SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones . Please proceed with caution if you have not yet viewed all episodes in Season 8 and wish to avoid spoilers.
In Episode 5 of the final season of Game of Thrones , Lord Varys was sentenced to death by Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) after his treasonous response to Jon Snow’s (Kit Harington) true parentage as well as his growing concerns about Dany’s mental stability. Standing tall, Varys was burned alive by Daenerys’ dragon, Drogon, after Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) told their queen about Varys’ treason.
In The Last Watch , which aired the week following the Season 8 finale of Game of Thrones , Conleth Hill’s reaction to Varys’ death was recorded during the initial table read of Episode 5. And, as Digital Spy points out, it didn’t take long for fans to notice Hill’s reaction to Varys’ death.
As Daenerys reads out the line that seals Varys’ fate, Conleth is seen to abruptly close his script, putting it down, as though in frustration at the scene, and then crossing his arms. After Emilia Clarke reads the line that sentences Varys to death by dragonfire, she looks across to Conleth, and Lena Headey (who played Cersei Lannister), seated next to Conleth, grabs his hand in what appears to be a comforting gesture.
Conleth Hill was not happy when the script revealed Varys’ death. https://t.co/OlqgJ75FwZ
— Daenerys Targaryen (@Daenerys) May 28, 2019
Fans instantly took to social media to voice their opinion on how Conleth felt at his character’s death.
I love how Conleth Hill tossed his script after his last line so he didn’t even have to read along with Varys’ death scene. And totally teared up at Lena Headey and Gwendoline Christie comforting him. #TheLastWatch pic.twitter.com/JDCVMCP39U
— Jillian Sederholm (@JillianSed) May 27, 2019
And, while it could be claimed that fans are overanalyzing the situation, it has been noted in the past that Hill has shown some amount of displeasure with how Game of Thrones was shaping up in the last two seasons.
“It just felt like after season 6, I kind of dropped off the edge,” Hill previously told Entertainment Weekly .
“I can’t complain because it’s six great seasons and I had some great scenes these last two seasons. But that’s when it changed for me a little.”
Hill also said that he took Varys’ death “very personally.” And, in light of the final season, felt that his character was “losing his knowledge” as the series progressed. While he may have been disappointed with certain choices for his character, Conleth did admit that part of it was rectified — in his eyes — by his character’s death in the final season of Game of Thrones .
“If he was such an intelligent man and he had such resources, how come he didn’t know about things? That added to my dismay. It’s now being rectified with getting a great and noble ending. But that was frustrating for a couple seasons.”
Episode 6 was the final episode of HBO’s Game of Thrones Season 8 and the series overall. HBO is currently in production on a prequel series set in the same universe as Game of Thrones . However, no release date has yet been announced for this new series.
