# Varys
Varys, also known as Lord Varys, is a Game of Thrones character played by Conleth Hill who became a Reddit reaction image in May 2019 after a shipwreck scene showed him coughing on a beach. His execution in "The Bells" and a leaked table-read clip of Hill reacting to the script fueled a second wave of fan-appreciation memes on r/freefolk.
## Origin
Varys first appeared on August 1st, 1996 in Martin's novel A Game of Thrones, where he is the master of whispers who collects the secrets of Westeros's powerful families[1]. He was introduced to the HBO series on May 1st, 2011 in the third episode, "Lord Snow," played by Conleth Hill[2].
The meme format emerged on May 6th, 2019, the day after "The Last of the Starks" aired, when Redditor enterprise1 posted the beach shipwreck still to r/freefolk as a reaction image. The thread, which framed the Night King arc as a plot device to shrink Daenerys's army, pulled more than 51,200 upvotes in its first week[1].
- **Platform:** HBO (source scene) / Reddit (viral spread)
- **Creator:** Unknown (earliest known poster: Redditor enterprise1)
- **Date:** 2019
## Overview
Varys, also known as Lord Varys, started as a book character in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire before entering the HBO adaptation Game of Thrones in 2011[2]. The meme version has two flavors. The first is a reaction image taken from season eight episode four, "The Last of the Starks," showing Varys lying face-down on a beach and coughing up seawater after a shipwreck[3].
The second strain is fan-appreciation imagery of actor Conleth Hill, built around his visibly frustrated reaction during a cast table read filmed for the documentary The Last Watch[1]. Posts in this strain pair stills of Hill with text praising him for sticking with a script he reportedly disliked, often framing him as a stand-in for fans who felt let down by the final season[4].
## Frequently Asked Questions
### What is Varys?
Varys, also known as Lord Varys, is a Game of Thrones character played by Conleth Hill who became a 2019 reaction image after a season eight shipwreck scene[1].
### Where did Varys come from?
The reaction image comes from the May 5th, 2019 episode "The Last of the Starks"; Redditor enterprise1 posted the still to r/freefolk the next day[1].
### What does Varys mean?
As a meme, Varys stands in for exhausted or defeated reactions, and for fan appreciation of Conleth Hill after he criticized the show's final seasons in an Entertainment Weekly interview[5].
### How do you use Varys?
People typically caption the beach shipwreck still as a reaction to something draining, or pair the table-read screencap with text praising Hill for performing a script he disliked[1].
### Is Varys still popular?
The Varys reaction image peaked during the May 2019 run of Game of Thrones season eight on r/freefolk, where enterprise1's original post hit 51,200 upvotes in a week[1].
## References
1. [https://www.indiewire.com/2019/05/conleth-hill-game-of-thrones-frustrating-seasons-varys-death-1202140285/]()
2. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Varys]()
3. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Snow]()
4. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_of_the_Starks]()
5. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/varys]()
6. [https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/blg1pu/when_you_realize_the_8_seasons_big_white_walker/]()
7. [https://x.com/i/status/1132970849030549504]()
8. [https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/btm769/this_man_did_not_kneel/]()
9. [https://www.reddit.com/r/freefolk/comments/btpt81/class_acts/]()
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Source: https://meme.com/memes/varys
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