13:31 An interesting point to add there: Dany is well aware of Illyrio's slaving, at least regarding his own servants. From her very first chapter, Dany already perceives that "slavery was outlawed in the Free City of Pentos, and yet they (Illyrio's servants) were slaves". That was Dany at the most naive we ever see her, long before she became the Breaker of Chains, and she already recognized that fact. Obviously she's had a lot of more pressing things on her plate since then, but she surely hasn't forgotten.
There's no way Varys truly desires a more just kingdom. Keep in mind, Varys did a lot to poison the relationship between the Mad King and Rhaegar, leading to Rhaegar's eventual death. If Varys truly wanted a better kingdom, he would have supported Rhaegar, but he didn't. He has an agenda just like everybody else: Young Griff's ascent to the throne, no matter the lives lost along the way.
I never trusted varys not even once, because a man who wants the betterment of the realm should side with thoses who would and can make it better aka Rhaegar Targaryen instead of Aerys Targaryen and Faegon
@@whitleypedia exactly yeah, unfortunately it was the case for other characters aswell - Tyrion, Jorah, Davos etc and they simped Danny into being bad too imo, if we ever get to see the end of the book series I believe we will see a well written, emotional, layered version of what we got in the end.
I feel like this secret coming out would be a far more buyable reason for his demise and Dany turning on him. I doubt he would be able to explain tongueless slave children to Dany in a way that would save him.
That would be good. They could have even played into her madness by having him unfairly investigated only to have her suspicions confirmed, sealing her belief that her cruelty is necessary
I actually think wex was placed in the story to foreshadow exactly what you described as a plot point that will eventually unravel the master of whispers
I knew it, but I hadn't fully realised how many he had, or the implications of what might happen to them as they got older. I'm actually impressed at how dark and ruthless George has written Varys to be, and then disguised him as being relatively benign as compared to other schemers in ASOIAF.
Euron Greyjoy has kindly set up an employment programme. When a "little bird" grows too big to scurry through walls and Varys kicks them out in the street, they can become rowers on the Silence!
I believe in the episode where the little birds murder for the spider that you see the little girl smile crookedly and it shows a bloodied stub for a tongue, just before the actual stabbing.
Unrelated video suggestion: A deep dive on Ser Ilyn Payne. I just got to the point in A Feast for Crows where Jaime is preparing to retake Riverrun and I was surprised by the level of depth given to Payne when Jaime goes to his home. I had never really considered what his life might have been like, but a drunken slob with living in squalor with his demons absolutely makes sense on second thought. It sorta surprised me because the show doesn't really give us anything about the man besides his ability to make everyone uncomfortable. Jaime goes on to describe the way Payne looked like he was glad he came along despite his initial reluctance and I have to assume being on the march again is probably the first time he's not been trapped in a depressing shell of a life since Gods know when. I don't know if there's enough content to make a whole 10-15 minute video about it, but I figured I should bring it up anyway. Anyway, loving your channel, keep it up
I was glad you mentioned Wex. This is a huge bit of foreshadowing that I think I have never really seen talked about. There’s another silent character who has a lot of secrets he could spill, Illyn Payne. As well, with Wex carving his name into the wooden beam I imagine there will be something to do with that, either a discovery or something else.
Man, Varys sure sounds a lot more evil under that light than in the show ! Thank you a lot for all your videos. I recently finished watching the show and am learning pretty much everything else through your videos, and they are great ! Love it
Reminds me of the theory/speculation that the episode "Bells" actually follows intended book plot beats - but because the Blackfyre plotline was completely dropped, it's mangled beyond recognition. Book version presumably has Cersei replaced with king Aegon (false or not) and Jon Connington commanding the defence. King's Landing has more realistically sided with seemingly legitimate monarch against seemingly foreign invader. Daenerys manages to overpower the defences because she has (presumably more than one) dragon and a book Tyrion instead of later seasonsTV Tyrion as an advisor. How does this explain her burning down the city that just surrendered? It doesn't. She doesn't burn down the city. Additional context: Jon Connington's lost everything when he was defeated in "Battle of the Bells" so that when city starts ringing bells, signaling surrender, he snaps and orders caches of Wildfire to be lit. Possibly, Daenerys gets blamed for it. The books are setting up some of the most hated moments in the TV show, but because they're actually *set up* they would actually work. Daenerys burning Varys on a pyre would absolutely make sense if she sentences him to it based on "hundreds of counts of child mutilation, hundreds of counts of child enslavement, hundreds of counts of child murder" instead of "suspicion."
Considering how Varys feels about magic and the fact that magic is resurging because of the birth of the Dragons, it makes no sense whatsoever that he would follow Daenerys as opposed to helping out the Mummer's dragon.
Trying to wrap my head around this, because I never realized Varys's spies were mutilated children, and mutilated at his behest. They have to be able to understand Westerosi, at the very least to be useful. But yet we find them in Essos, Qarth, Astapor, Yunkai, Meeren, Volantis, Braavos, Tyrosh. So they have to be taught each individual language, as well as a cipher to that particular message. Possibly home language > Westerosi > cipher to simplify things. Which at the very least means Old Ghiscari, Valyrian, Tyroshi, Braavosi, and Dothraki. God there is so much I need to pay attention to on my next read-through.... at least once my loaned books come back to me.... 5 friggin years later.
@michaelbayer5094 that does not solve the fact you need to be able to hear the conversations in local dialects to collect secrets. Westerosi would be the common tongue.
I just saw that you've got 800 k subs! I swear that last time I checked you only had like 250k. That's awesome, keep up the good work. I never miss an episode.
Reading the first book, there's a quote by Daenerys that Illyrio would gleefully sell any friend for the right price. In Arya's chapter, Illyrio keeps calling Varys a friend. I always liked the idea Varys is unbeknownst to him, fighting for nothing.
Is there any actual evidence that Varys is actually a eunuch? His deepening of his voice in ADWD’s epilogue immediately made me think that he’s pretending to be one, as he pretends to be Rugen. I wouldn’t be surprised if the one thing we thought we knew about Varys turns out to be a lie. Very fitting for Varys.
The only evidence I would say is his story of how it happened, and how it subsequently motivated him to become who he was. A big question readers want to know is what did he hear in the flames that directed his life path. If it turns out Varys just made the whole thing up, that would be pretty lame.
@ the only motivation Varys has that we know of for sure is to place Aegon on the throne. There is no evidence that his story of what happened to him is actually true. Makes sense for it to be a lie.
Not long in from a night out at Drumsheds, need something on RUclips tohelp with sleep... thank you InDeepGeek for a new video (in the nicest way possible, not boring but calming)
Great video as usual. Also I like that you included the mistake in what you were trying to say in the last minute of the video, I always find it quite fascinating to discover peices of a youtube creators process, and hearing that you signal edits/cuts with what sounds like a snap is quite interesting.
I'm sure Varys makes sure his birds dissapear when they get too old. So that "none" of them can rat him out. If anyone survives. It's becouse Varys knows they will not talk or reveal anything. Even if they potentially could. Or maybe they can only reveal what Varys wants revealed. Or things that can not Hurt him in any way.
I do believe that he sends them to Illyrio in Pentos. It's a great way for Illyrio to resupply his slave stock, and they're far away from King's Landing that they're not a liability.
How do you know they know anything to hurt him? This is like gangsters who snitch to the cops, they don't actually know anything about the cops but they're giving up sensitive information?
The show was literally better than the books, which is super rare. Most of your favorite scenes in the show are completely.original i.e. Tywin and Arya, rob stark being an actual character with actual scenes and dialogue, the fookin legend of gin alley, I could go on. Also, the ending of the show is way better than the books' ending. Yes the ending of the show was terrible, but it was something, and something will always be better than nothing, which is the ending grrm felt u deserved.
@@BR-re7oz Imo Rob Stark was a terrible character, I disliked him back when the show was great. People just liked him because he's such a pretty guy and he seems like a noble and honorable man. But he isn't. He fucks up everything. He wants a crown, but then is not willing to do the bare minimum to actually deserve it. I was glad when he got killed, he was a fool.
Nobles always got their plots revealed because they underestimated their servants and/or slaves. Many examples of plots and coups in the Roman republic that were discovered super fast because the senators didn't pay attention to the servants when discussing their secrets
I have a theory idea that I've been trying to get covered. How did Barristan find Ilyrio and why? Is he Barristan working with the spider too? Why would they send Barristan to Dany instead of to Aegon?
I don’t think Barristan knows of Varys’s involvement with Illyrio. I get the impression that there’s nothing that would make barristan trust anything to do with Varys. Varys purposely got barristan dismissed so that he could later get him on his side but somehow manipulating him into supporting young griff would be virtually impossible. Barristan, like everyone else, knows Aegon is dead, how would varys get barristan to believe in y. griffs cause? At that point the plan had become marry y. griff to Dany who now has dragons, so getting barristan to Dany would in effect be getting him to y. griff. Barristan knows about Dany and her claim. He would also know from counsel meetings that Dany was sheltered for a time by illyrio. If varys influenced barristan to go to Dany it would have had to be indirectly, either through someone else or comments that are practically on a level with subliminal messaging. The part I can’t wrap my head around though is Jorah. Barristan knows jorah worked with Varys, and outted him to Dany. I can’t see how varys and illyrio thought that would work well. Jorah also dealt with illyrio. Did jorah not know that illyrio and Varys were working together? We know jorah didn’t trust illyrio at any rate. If he did know they were working together and had been questioned more by Dany wouldn’t that make illyrio seem suspect? Even if jorah said that line about Varys wanting her watched but not harmed I don’t think that would convince barristan. Dany has already mistrusted illyrio. How are they going to explain away her treatment vs y. griff’s? Then to send Tyrion along to Dany is insane, illyrio told him that he thought Dany would die on the Dothraki sea. They have no way of controlling what he says or does. It’s like throwing a pot of wildfire at the situation. Maybe the plan was to just to have Jon connington kill Tyrion and present his corpse to Dany like “here, we brought you a dead Lannister and a bunch of info about dragons”. Anyway, maybe I’m missing something.
Conleth Hill’s portrayal of Varys was brilliant, but his on-screen appearance did a lot to “tame” the character. Book Varys is a far more sinister and dark character than show watchers would guess.
13 дней назад+2
I think Varys understands that a new, better world of the like that he presumably wants to usher in could not abide him, given what he's done. I think he realizes making the world a better place means making a world where he and people like him are not welcome, and that he thinks it's worth it.
Where I really thought Robert was going was somewhere else entirely. Namely, that the real karmic payback here would be for Varys to end swarmed by his own little birds. I hadn't thought about this before, but I now think of it as the most likely outcome.
If any of his little birds survive to adulthood, surely some of them will come to have a pointed talk with him. It is never wise to let trained assassins live after you abuse them.
I do like the symmetry of Arya using her Faceless Men powers to free the little birds, much as the original Faceless Man/Men helped to free the Valyrian slaves from their tormentors. Whether this just means bringing The Gift to the birds or something more...*explosive* I'm not sure, but it would be a neat mirror to that story she was told in the HoBaW.
I was reading a thread the other day , the subject being the stuff we hear in passing or discussed so casually that a lot of us don't really process them. Reviewing a few of these smaller stories, the realisation was the HORROR of the barbarous, everyday violence the characters are so conditioned to barely notice. Thinking about the wider implications of the process of creating these "birds" is totally up there with the crying septon in the BC. (Really disgusting even compared to this so please use caution if you look it up)
@hathawyn I'm pretty sure it's an early Arya ASoS chapter. It begins with the BWBs launching a stealth attack on the BC that quickly becomes a slaughter. Arya has seen what those animals are capable of and takes some pleasure in seeing them die. I'll look it up!
I'm not claiming that this is Varys' reasoning, but the conclusion made me think of the Operative from Serenity. "I believe in something greater than myself: a better world. A world without sin." "So me and mine gotta lay down and die so you can live in your better world?" "I'm not going to live there. There's no place for me there, any more than there is for you, Malcolm. I'm a MONSTER. What I do is evil, I have no illusions about it, but it must be done."
I remember somewhere that the mouse/bird change was an in-universe cultural difference. In Essos, the saying is "A little mouse told me", where as in Westeros they have the saying "a little bird told me", as our real world expression for having heard a rumor & not wanting to identify the source, similar to the "I heard it through the grape vine" saying.
Hi Robert! It's been forever since we spoke. Being a book/show fan. I always felt for Varys. I just hope the show got his fate and its reasoning, DEAD WRONG, AND his lineage and secrets finally get revealed to the reader.
Most Adults ignore children that aren’t their own but in a setting like GOT and the child is small stinking and looks like a pile of rags next to a wall it’s more a case that they are purposely ignored instead of just unseen, it’s a similar thing to how in todays world most people don’t seen a homeless person on the streets, for some it’s their deep in their own problems but others just don’t want to see them so the block them out they become blind spots in their vision.
As IDG points out, 'yes' and 'no' can go a very long way. But on top of that, having your tongue cut out doesn't make you mute. It makes you really hard to understand, sure, but it doesn't mean you can't speak. On top of that, as is always the case, the more people you bring in, the bigger the risk of a breach. It would only take the conditioning of a few birds to not take, or to have them act out in unpredictable ways, for them to start practicing making word-noises. Also also, try it yourself: R is a tongue-sound, sure, but Va- is done with the lips. Bir- as well. You probably can't say Varys or birds without a tongue (I'm hardly an expert), but to repeat what is said in the video, you just need to get someone on the right track.
I love the conclusion. It´s like the Hellboy quote saying even when Hellboy has taken care of all the monsters in the world, there will still be one. Him.
Varys and his pal in Essos are the rising class of self made men, much like the merchant class they steal secrets from, before they move on the manipulating royalty. Also the whole plot to put F/Aegon on the throne smells like a bet between old friends.
It's hard to ignore cat's naivety towards her relationship with petyr at this point in time given what we know now. Last time she saw him he was beaten bleeding on the ground with a gash across his back and still expects him to help her like nothing ever happened. Oh well she's highborn.
The mice/birds thing is quite funny since one would expect it be quite the other way around. Birds are more likely to steal shiny objects and mice and more likely to unseen be within earshot of humans pretty much all the time. But I guess the bird singing is the reason behind this choice.
I just realised what you said about Varys' little birds being possible assassins... Qyburn might think he is taking over most of Varys' network just with gold but these birds could be feeding him trash and setting him up to be killed
If we accept that Varys is not lying about the Blue Flame, it would mean that Varys has some kind of power to his blood, some connection to the magic of the world. While Varys may not stare into the flames, or hold any love of flame watchers, he could still be indirectly channeling the magic of R’Lhor. The flame watcher magic, seems to be focused on prophecy and subterfuge. Varys’s connection to the flame, enhancing his abilities (in a subconscious way).
The birds obviously needs to understand the language of the people they are spying on and a lot can be done if functional communication works one-way. The main trick would be to capture one, and hide them away from where the other birds could get to.
They certainly make him much more likable in the TV show than in the books. He was one of my favorites on the the former, along with Tyrion. The books are a much different story. Jon Snow, though, would have been more likable, I think, had he had the traits he was known to exhibit in the books.
I'm not sure the Little Birds don't know how to read and write. When Arya was eavesdropping on Varys and Illyrio, Illyrio comments that kind of slave Varys wants are rare because they are "so young to know their letters" That implies he starts with slaves who are already literate, no matter what cyphers he later teaches them. I think Baelish knows about the Little Birds, because he tells Catelyn that Varys aids him because "if the pie is opened the birds begin to sing and Varys would not like that." I take that to mean that Littlefinger has threatened to reveal who Varys' informants really are.
If people in world do care about this, it’s kind of interesting to think that this could hurt Illyrio’s reputation as well. He may be a prominent member of Faogon’s court once he’s in power
Hey Robert, i am looking forward to an episode on how all the plotlines Will come together. Like, what Will move Dany towards westeros? Young griff in danger? Her dragons stolen by Victarion? And what about the North? Will the dead rise from among the dead who died in the infighting when John died? Being both sides of the Wall. WHO and why had the Reason to revive John? Mellisandre? And if so, who rallies behind him and why? How Will je meet Dany? Does Illirio being a slaver mean Tyrion moves Dany in overthrowing pentos? How does Dany make it anywhere in time if she needs to get the horse lords behind her, go to Asshai, get to westeros and Then to the wall? And when or how or even why does Arya get to leave Bravos, work on her list and make any Mark on the overall story? Where is the time for all that? Will Jamie and Brienne get away from their perdicament and how or why? Why and who Will they be off to next? Will any of the plotlines actually ever converge? We need more books Then one to make a sensible end to this I fear.
The Operative in Serenity so totally believes in his cause that he does terrible things, but also knows there's no place for him in the verse he's trying to build. I don't see Varys as being quite that principled
An interesting character for sure, good to have one such compelling figure in the realm. Liked by few, respected perhaps by even less but everyone seems to rely on him for his services of information trading.
Well, the birds can't listen to conversations and read secret messages if they don't know how to speak the language and write it. So, they definitely can pass information to anyone, not only Varys.
Varys is a character and you probably shouldn't believe anything about that sorcerer story. I mean, he offers everyone a peek, knowing full well no one will take him up on it. Remember the Jailor.
I was always curious how spies and espionage worked in fantasy settings, I do myself a disservice by imagining all fantasy as being too honorable and forward to ever act underhanded that isn't the big obvious evil uncle betrayal.
I always wondered how it worked before there was a fast communication system to verify somewhat the information that you received. the informants a traitor selling secrets for coin, he's inherently untrustworthy.
How many little birds were in the crowd that attack Joffrey’s procession? In the press of things, a few well placed dagger strikes will get around armor and the guilt too defused to be a danger to Varys’s network.
Based on the possibility that Varys may face consequences for how he "aquired" his Little Birds aand be killed by Danny or Arya i guess this is based only on what was in the books. Still, after considering this, somehow his fate in the TV series does not feel all that bad now. Odd..
![The Dragons of Middle-earth [COMPILATION]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YSUlfiQVuDg/mqdefault.jpg)
Hello Robert, This Is Everyone
No! This is Patrick!
Thanks for saving me the time of writing this :)
@@FruitSnackJesusclassic
Ditto!
Thank you for representing the rest of the planet
15:31 Robert’s rage snap ❤️
He signaled a little bird to fix it.
This is funny, but it's probably a time mark he forgot to cut out. 😊
There’s a link into my pl-🫰💅✨
@@TheVampireAzriel I appreciate when a creator has a moment like that. Mad respect for Robert all the time fr
Can't wait to see if this comment refers to IDG or Bobby Baratheon!!!!
13:31 An interesting point to add there: Dany is well aware of Illyrio's slaving, at least regarding his own servants. From her very first chapter, Dany already perceives that "slavery was outlawed in the Free City of Pentos, and yet they (Illyrio's servants) were slaves". That was Dany at the most naive we ever see her, long before she became the Breaker of Chains, and she already recognized that fact. Obviously she's had a lot of more pressing things on her plate since then, but she surely hasn't forgotten.
There's no way Varys truly desires a more just kingdom. Keep in mind, Varys did a lot to poison the relationship between the Mad King and Rhaegar, leading to Rhaegar's eventual death. If Varys truly wanted a better kingdom, he would have supported Rhaegar, but he didn't. He has an agenda just like everybody else: Young Griff's ascent to the throne, no matter the lives lost along the way.
I agree, I think the whole Varys wanting a just kingdom was something the show ran with when they couldn’t wrap up his story properly without Faegon
I never trusted varys not even once, because a man who wants the betterment of the realm should side with thoses who would and can make it better aka Rhaegar Targaryen instead of Aerys Targaryen and Faegon
In the TV show they simplified him into a good guy
@@whitleypedia exactly yeah, unfortunately it was the case for other characters aswell - Tyrion, Jorah, Davos etc and they simped Danny into being bad too imo, if we ever get to see the end of the book series I believe we will see a well written, emotional, layered version of what we got in the end.
To be fair though and don’t get me wrong, have plenty of love for my autistic dragon boy, but Rhaegar was also a legitimate nutcase
I feel like this secret coming out would be a far more buyable reason for his demise and Dany turning on him.
I doubt he would be able to explain tongueless slave children to Dany in a way that would save him.
That would be good. They could have even played into her madness by having him unfairly investigated only to have her suspicions confirmed, sealing her belief that her cruelty is necessary
It was interesting to hear the mistake at the end to get a glimpse into how you make these
Curious if the snap is to make it easier to find the mistake visually when editing
it was a magical click to raise the icons 😳
Its foreshadow for Varys
@@johnbellessaWhen I was in school for radio this was a tip told to me for the editing. It makes a fairly visable spike if you have the waveform up.
I'm reminded of the assassin from Serenity saying "Oh I'm not going to live there. I'm a Monster!"
That occurred to me as well. The question is whether Varys is as self-aware as the Operative.
I actually think wex was placed in the story to foreshadow exactly what you described as a plot point that will eventually unravel the master of whispers
I must have missed the part(s) where it was explained that the little birds had their tongues cut out. Evil stuff
I knew it, but I hadn't fully realised how many he had, or the implications of what might happen to them as they got older. I'm actually impressed at how dark and ruthless George has written Varys to be, and then disguised him as being relatively benign as compared to other schemers in ASOIAF.
Euron Greyjoy has kindly set up an employment programme. When a "little bird" grows too big to scurry through walls and Varys kicks them out in the street, they can become rowers on the Silence!
I believe in the episode where the little birds murder for the spider that you see the little girl smile crookedly and it shows a bloodied stub for a tongue, just before the actual stabbing.
@@ThommyofThenn That's Euron, always thinking of the good of others!
@@Promethium666 You made that up.
Unrelated video suggestion: A deep dive on Ser Ilyn Payne.
I just got to the point in A Feast for Crows where Jaime is preparing to retake Riverrun and I was surprised by the level of depth given to Payne when Jaime goes to his home. I had never really considered what his life might have been like, but a drunken slob with living in squalor with his demons absolutely makes sense on second thought. It sorta surprised me because the show doesn't really give us anything about the man besides his ability to make everyone uncomfortable. Jaime goes on to describe the way Payne looked like he was glad he came along despite his initial reluctance and I have to assume being on the march again is probably the first time he's not been trapped in a depressing shell of a life since Gods know when. I don't know if there's enough content to make a whole 10-15 minute video about it, but I figured I should bring it up anyway.
Anyway, loving your channel, keep it up
I was glad you mentioned Wex. This is a huge bit of foreshadowing that I think I have never really seen talked about. There’s another silent character who has a lot of secrets he could spill, Illyn Payne. As well, with Wex carving his name into the wooden beam I imagine there will be something to do with that, either a discovery or something else.
Man, Varys sure sounds a lot more evil under that light than in the show !
Thank you a lot for all your videos. I recently finished watching the show and am learning pretty much everything else through your videos, and they are great ! Love it
Reminds me of the theory/speculation that the episode "Bells" actually follows intended book plot beats - but because the Blackfyre plotline was completely dropped, it's mangled beyond recognition. Book version presumably has Cersei replaced with king Aegon (false or not) and Jon Connington commanding the defence. King's Landing has more realistically sided with seemingly legitimate monarch against seemingly foreign invader. Daenerys manages to overpower the defences because she has (presumably more than one) dragon and a book Tyrion instead of later seasonsTV Tyrion as an advisor.
How does this explain her burning down the city that just surrendered? It doesn't. She doesn't burn down the city.
Additional context: Jon Connington's lost everything when he was defeated in "Battle of the Bells" so that when city starts ringing bells, signaling surrender, he snaps and orders caches of Wildfire to be lit. Possibly, Daenerys gets blamed for it.
The books are setting up some of the most hated moments in the TV show, but because they're actually *set up* they would actually work. Daenerys burning Varys on a pyre would absolutely make sense if she sentences him to it based on "hundreds of counts of child mutilation, hundreds of counts of child enslavement, hundreds of counts of child murder" instead of "suspicion."
Imagine if in season 8 this secret was the reason Danny had Varys burned alive
It could never have worked - that would have *made sense!*
Interesting to note the similarities between Varys's "little birds" and the Unsullied.
Considering how Varys feels about magic and the fact that magic is resurging because of the birth of the Dragons, it makes no sense whatsoever that he would follow Daenerys as opposed to helping out the Mummer's dragon.
Thats a different kind of magic compared to Mellisandre and her sort chopping his balls of bro
Is magic resurging because of dragons returning, or have dragons returned because magic is resurging, though?
@arturocaissut1071 The pyromancer's and Quaithe make it clear in the books that the birth of dragons means a resurgence in magic
Trying to wrap my head around this, because I never realized Varys's spies were mutilated children, and mutilated at his behest. They have to be able to understand Westerosi, at the very least to be useful. But yet we find them in Essos, Qarth, Astapor, Yunkai, Meeren, Volantis, Braavos, Tyrosh. So they have to be taught each individual language, as well as a cipher to that particular message. Possibly home language > Westerosi > cipher to simplify things. Which at the very least means Old Ghiscari, Valyrian, Tyroshi, Braavosi, and Dothraki. God there is so much I need to pay attention to on my next read-through.... at least once my loaned books come back to me.... 5 friggin years later.
GRR Martin solves the language problem with the invention of the Common Tongue, which is universally known and unchanging
@michaelbayer5094 that does not solve the fact you need to be able to hear the conversations in local dialects to collect secrets.
Westerosi would be the common tongue.
I guess it's about time for a reread for the 5th or so time now :)
I think you need to get a new set of books for yourself homie
@@vitazissel3671 no point till the next book drops.
I just saw that you've got 800 k subs! I swear that last time I checked you only had like 250k. That's awesome, keep up the good work. I never miss an episode.
Wooooo a video on Best Bro Varys
Reading the first book, there's a quote by Daenerys that Illyrio would gleefully sell any friend for the right price. In Arya's chapter, Illyrio keeps calling Varys a friend. I always liked the idea Varys is unbeknownst to him, fighting for nothing.
Best channel for lore out there. Happy i found yhis channel. Keep it up brother.
Is there any actual evidence that Varys is actually a eunuch? His deepening of his voice in ADWD’s epilogue immediately made me think that he’s pretending to be one, as he pretends to be Rugen.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the one thing we thought we knew about Varys turns out to be a lie. Very fitting for Varys.
Could be, it seems like something he would do. Pretending to be a eunuch would make him seem like far less of a threat to the others around him
@ exactly. Makes so much sense to me. He’s a mummer. Makes sense that “Varys the Eunuch” is just another role he plays.
The only evidence I would say is his story of how it happened, and how it subsequently motivated him to become who he was. A big question readers want to know is what did he hear in the flames that directed his life path. If it turns out Varys just made the whole thing up, that would be pretty lame.
@ the only motivation Varys has that we know of for sure is to place Aegon on the throne.
There is no evidence that his story of what happened to him is actually true. Makes sense for it to be a lie.
Not long in from a night out at Drumsheds, need something on RUclips tohelp with sleep... thank you InDeepGeek for a new video (in the nicest way possible, not boring but calming)
5:12-5:34 I thought it was mice for Essos, and Birds once he flew across the water to Westeros
You rock! This is ... Deep Truth.
Great video as usual. Also I like that you included the mistake in what you were trying to say in the last minute of the video, I always find it quite fascinating to discover peices of a youtube creators process, and hearing that you signal edits/cuts with what sounds like a snap is quite interesting.
I'm sure Varys makes sure his birds dissapear when they get too old. So that "none" of them can rat him out. If anyone survives. It's becouse Varys knows they will not talk or reveal anything. Even if they potentially could.
Or maybe they can only reveal what Varys wants revealed. Or things that can not Hurt him in any way.
I do believe that he sends them to Illyrio in Pentos. It's a great way for Illyrio to resupply his slave stock, and they're far away from King's Landing that they're not a liability.
How do you know they know anything to hurt him? This is like gangsters who snitch to the cops, they don't actually know anything about the cops but they're giving up sensitive information?
The last time I was this early Dorne still had an arm
Last time I was this early Old Nan was Young Lass
Love your work, Robert! Entertaining & intriguing.
Remember when Varys and Tyrion had excellent dialogue between each other before it descended into cock jokes because D and D can’t write?
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
The North remembers.
The bigger issue is that they butchered and whitewashed them both before they even finished the source material and wrote themselves into a corner
The show was literally better than the books, which is super rare. Most of your favorite scenes in the show are completely.original i.e. Tywin and Arya, rob stark being an actual character with actual scenes and dialogue, the fookin legend of gin alley, I could go on. Also, the ending of the show is way better than the books' ending. Yes the ending of the show was terrible, but it was something, and something will always be better than nothing, which is the ending grrm felt u deserved.
@@BR-re7oz Imo Rob Stark was a terrible character, I disliked him back when the show was great. People just liked him because he's such a pretty guy and he seems like a noble and honorable man. But he isn't. He fucks up everything. He wants a crown, but then is not willing to do the bare minimum to actually deserve it. I was glad when he got killed, he was a fool.
Nobles always got their plots revealed because they underestimated their servants and/or slaves. Many examples of plots and coups in the Roman republic that were discovered super fast because the senators didn't pay attention to the servants when discussing their secrets
Congrats on 800k!
I have a theory idea that I've been trying to get covered. How did Barristan find Ilyrio and why? Is he Barristan working with the spider too? Why would they send Barristan to Dany instead of to Aegon?
I don’t think Barristan knows of Varys’s involvement with Illyrio. I get the impression that there’s nothing that would make barristan trust anything to do with Varys. Varys purposely got barristan dismissed so that he could later get him on his side but somehow manipulating him into supporting young griff would be virtually impossible. Barristan, like everyone else, knows Aegon is dead, how would varys get barristan to believe in y. griffs cause? At that point the plan had become marry y. griff to Dany who now has dragons, so getting barristan to Dany would in effect be getting him to y. griff. Barristan knows about Dany and her claim. He would also know from counsel meetings that Dany was sheltered for a time by illyrio. If varys influenced barristan to go to Dany it would have had to be indirectly, either through someone else or comments that are practically on a level with subliminal messaging. The part I can’t wrap my head around though is Jorah. Barristan knows jorah worked with Varys, and outted him to Dany. I can’t see how varys and illyrio thought that would work well. Jorah also dealt with illyrio. Did jorah not know that illyrio and Varys were working together? We know jorah didn’t trust illyrio at any rate. If he did know they were working together and had been questioned more by Dany wouldn’t that make illyrio seem suspect? Even if jorah said that line about Varys wanting her watched but not harmed I don’t think that would convince barristan. Dany has already mistrusted illyrio. How are they going to explain away her treatment vs y. griff’s? Then to send Tyrion along to Dany is insane, illyrio told him that he thought Dany would die on the Dothraki sea. They have no way of controlling what he says or does. It’s like throwing a pot of wildfire at the situation. Maybe the plan was to just to have Jon connington kill Tyrion and present his corpse to Dany like “here, we brought you a dead Lannister and a bunch of info about dragons”. Anyway, maybe I’m missing something.
Conleth Hill’s portrayal of Varys was brilliant, but his on-screen appearance did a lot to “tame” the character. Book Varys is a far more sinister and dark character than show watchers would guess.
I think Varys understands that a new, better world of the like that he presumably wants to usher in could not abide him, given what he's done. I think he realizes making the world a better place means making a world where he and people like him are not welcome, and that he thinks it's worth it.
Thank you Robert! Great break down per usual
Where I really thought Robert was going was somewhere else entirely. Namely, that the real karmic payback here would be for Varys to end swarmed by his own little birds. I hadn't thought about this before, but I now think of it as the most likely outcome.
If any of his little birds survive to adulthood, surely some of them will come to have a pointed talk with him. It is never wise to let trained assassins live after you abuse them.
Which is why I'm seriously doubting that any live to adolescence.
@thing_under_the_stairs in fact I think Illyrio alludes to their treatment leading to many premature deaths
I do like the symmetry of Arya using her Faceless Men powers to free the little birds, much as the original Faceless Man/Men helped to free the Valyrian slaves from their tormentors. Whether this just means bringing The Gift to the birds or something more...*explosive* I'm not sure, but it would be a neat mirror to that story she was told in the HoBaW.
15:31 Bobby Deep left an edit point in the final cut. Feels like I'm peeking behind the curtain
There a fun little voice editing mistake right at the end
Like my sainted mum used to say: Get 'em young enough and the possibilities are endless.
- Unleashed
I was reading a thread the other day , the subject being the stuff we hear in passing or discussed so casually that a lot of us don't really process them. Reviewing a few of these smaller stories, the realisation was the HORROR of the barbarous, everyday violence the characters are so conditioned to barely notice. Thinking about the wider implications of the process of creating these "birds" is totally up there with the crying septon in the BC. (Really disgusting even compared to this so please use caution if you look it up)
Well now I am curious 😅 where can I find more info on that one?
@hathawyn I'm pretty sure it's an early Arya ASoS chapter. It begins with the BWBs launching a stealth attack on the BC that quickly becomes a slaughter. Arya has seen what those animals are capable of and takes some pleasure in seeing them die. I'll look it up!
@hathawyn Should be Arya VII, chapter 39** ASOS
Love this channel 💕 got me into the books
I would love a prequel chapter written from the PoV of one of Varys' little birds.
I'm not claiming that this is Varys' reasoning, but the conclusion made me think of the Operative from Serenity.
"I believe in something greater than myself: a better world. A world without sin."
"So me and mine gotta lay down and die so you can live in your better world?"
"I'm not going to live there. There's no place for me there, any more than there is for you, Malcolm. I'm a MONSTER. What I do is evil, I have no illusions about it, but it must be done."
Such a terrifying character. Curious if he gets too bold in Winds.
Yeah well they sure pecked Lord Kevan! 🤓😎✌🏻
In Westeros, birds quite literally carry information, and they symbolize communication, knowledge and insight.
I absolutely adore your videos
Awesome! Perfect video for a boring rainy day in Texas
I remember somewhere that the mouse/bird change was an in-universe cultural difference. In Essos, the saying is "A little mouse told me", where as in Westeros they have the saying "a little bird told me", as our real world expression for having heard a rumor & not wanting to identify the source, similar to the "I heard it through the grape vine" saying.
Hi Robert! It's been forever since we spoke.
Being a book/show fan. I always felt for Varys.
I just hope the show got his fate and its reasoning, DEAD WRONG, AND his lineage and secrets finally get revealed to the reader.
There's really no way he could have the same reasoning for his fate, given he's so linked to Young Griff.
@@dawn4383 agree
I appreciate your content
Most Adults ignore children that aren’t their own but in a setting like GOT and the child is small stinking and looks like a pile of rags next to a wall it’s more a case that they are purposely ignored instead of just unseen, it’s a similar thing to how in todays world most people don’t seen a homeless person on the streets, for some it’s their deep in their own problems but others just don’t want to see them so the block them out they become blind spots in their vision.
As IDG points out, 'yes' and 'no' can go a very long way. But on top of that, having your tongue cut out doesn't make you mute. It makes you really hard to understand, sure, but it doesn't mean you can't speak.
On top of that, as is always the case, the more people you bring in, the bigger the risk of a breach. It would only take the conditioning of a few birds to not take, or to have them act out in unpredictable ways, for them to start practicing making word-noises.
Also also, try it yourself: R is a tongue-sound, sure, but Va- is done with the lips. Bir- as well. You probably can't say Varys or birds without a tongue (I'm hardly an expert), but to repeat what is said in the video, you just need to get someone on the right track.
I love the conclusion. It´s like the Hellboy quote saying even when Hellboy has taken care of all the monsters in the world, there will still be one. Him.
I like to imagine Varys saved Robert’s life before he was to be executed eg stopped a poisoner and that’s why he was pardoned.
Dark shadow more like light. Love you all.
Shame on you, "first" commenters
Agreed LOL if you look at the time some of them that think they were first absolutely were not first
SHAME 🔔
Why? They're only showing off EVERYTHING They know about the Subject. I used to chastise Them but what's the use?
Shame 🔔
@@paulsarnik8506 because maybe one day it will be pounded into their brain enough to know more than the number one as you so eloquently put it LOL
Varys and his pal in Essos are the rising class of self made men, much like the merchant class they steal secrets from, before they move on the manipulating royalty.
Also the whole plot to put F/Aegon on the throne smells like a bet between old friends.
With this being the truth about how Varys operates, it makes more sense for Dany to snap and burn him once ahead finds out.
It's hard to ignore cat's naivety towards her relationship with petyr at this point in time given what we know now. Last time she saw him he was beaten bleeding on the ground with a gash across his back and still expects him to help her like nothing ever happened. Oh well she's highborn.
I've heard the saying "A little bird told me" my entire life.
You almost sound like him.. love you videos man.
The mice/birds thing is quite funny since one would expect it be quite the other way around. Birds are more likely to steal shiny objects and mice and more likely to unseen be within earshot of humans pretty much all the time. But I guess the bird singing is the reason behind this choice.
14:15 - If someone says 'I have friends in high places' - "That's fine, I have friends in low places; which of us should be more concerned?!".
I just realised what you said about Varys' little birds being possible assassins... Qyburn might think he is taking over most of Varys' network just with gold but these birds could be feeding him trash and setting him up to be killed
If we accept that Varys is not lying about the Blue Flame, it would mean that Varys has some kind of power to his blood, some connection to the magic of the world.
While Varys may not stare into the flames, or hold any love of flame watchers, he could still be indirectly channeling the magic of R’Lhor. The flame watcher magic, seems to be focused on prophecy and subterfuge. Varys’s connection to the flame, enhancing his abilities (in a subconscious way).
Most likely he's a Blackfire and fAegon's uncle.
They did him dirty in the show
The birds obviously needs to understand the language of the people they are spying on and a lot can be done if functional communication works one-way. The main trick would be to capture one, and hide them away from where the other birds could get to.
They certainly make him much more likable in the TV show than in the books. He was one of my favorites on the the former, along with Tyrion. The books are a much different story. Jon Snow, though, would have been more likable, I think, had he had the traits he was known to exhibit in the books.
Funny how in the show they leave out him cutting out thier tongues.
Have you considered doing any videos on Brandon Sanderson's Cosmere?
If we have learned one thing over the past few days is that even in the real world not enough people care enough for morality & certainly not ethics
I'm not sure the Little Birds don't know how to read and write. When Arya was eavesdropping on Varys and Illyrio, Illyrio comments that kind of slave Varys wants are rare because they are "so young to know their letters" That implies he starts with slaves who are already literate, no matter what cyphers he later teaches them.
I think Baelish knows about the Little Birds, because he tells Catelyn that Varys aids him because "if the pie is opened the birds begin to sing and Varys would not like that." I take that to mean that Littlefinger has threatened to reveal who Varys' informants really are.
If people in world do care about this, it’s kind of interesting to think that this could hurt Illyrio’s reputation as well. He may be a prominent member of Faogon’s court once he’s in power
There’s a couple of channels that do shorts with a tts engine that sounds a bit like Robert from idg. It’s kinda a trip!
Hey Robert, i am looking forward to an episode on how all the plotlines Will come together. Like, what Will move Dany towards westeros? Young griff in danger? Her dragons stolen by Victarion?
And what about the North? Will the dead rise from among the dead who died in the infighting when John died? Being both sides of the Wall. WHO and why had the Reason to revive John? Mellisandre? And if so, who rallies behind him and why? How Will je meet Dany?
Does Illirio being a slaver mean Tyrion moves Dany in overthrowing pentos?
How does Dany make it anywhere in time if she needs to get the horse lords behind her, go to Asshai, get to westeros and Then to the wall?
And when or how or even why does Arya get to leave Bravos, work on her list and make any Mark on the overall story? Where is the time for all that?
Will Jamie and Brienne get away from their perdicament and how or why? Why and who Will they be off to next?
Will any of the plotlines actually ever converge? We need more books Then one to make a sensible end to this I fear.
Varys sounds so much like a failed or perhaps saved from being killed for not killing his puppy Unsullied in training.
Honestly, I think Varys has probably justified what he does to the kids because he sees it better as where they could have ended up
Rare Robert editing mistake. I feel lucky today
I rarely comment but I am such a huge fan of
The Operative in Serenity so totally believes in his cause that he does terrible things, but also knows there's no place for him in the verse he's trying to build. I don't see Varys as being quite that principled
The children would not be allowed in a brothel. The question is which courtesans were in Varys' pocket for him to know what happened there.
I am going with Vary's anti magic story. He hates it and is out to defeat it.
Oh lord Manderlay! Whose fat rolls saved him.
An interesting character for sure, good to have one such compelling figure in the realm. Liked by few, respected perhaps by even less but everyone seems to rely on him for his services of information trading.
Cats are very good at catching Little Birds.
Well, the birds can't listen to conversations and read secret messages if they don't know how to speak the language and write it. So, they definitely can pass information to anyone, not only Varys.
Varys is a character and you probably shouldn't believe anything about that sorcerer story.
I mean, he offers everyone a peek, knowing full well no one will take him up on it.
Remember the Jailor.
Why not give Varys the One Ring?
Oh sorry wrong franchise
I was always curious how spies and espionage worked in fantasy settings, I do myself a disservice by imagining all fantasy as being too honorable and forward to ever act underhanded that isn't the big obvious evil uncle betrayal.
I always wondered how it worked before there was a fast communication system to verify somewhat the information that you received. the informants a traitor selling secrets for coin, he's inherently untrustworthy.
he cut out their tongues and taught them a cipher? How did I miss this?
Hiya bj was ere !!, 24, cheers Rob, seven blessings. Aussie girl x ♥️
Last time I was this early the Westfold was ….
Wait. Wrong series.
I may have missed something but how do they communicate if they can’t talk or write? How do they tell him anything?
How many little birds were in the crowd that attack Joffrey’s procession? In the press of things, a few well placed dagger strikes will get around armor and the guilt too defused to be a danger to Varys’s network.
Based on the possibility that Varys may face consequences for how he "aquired" his Little Birds aand be killed by Danny or Arya i guess this is based only on what was in the books. Still, after considering this, somehow his fate in the TV series does not feel all that bad now. Odd..
You've got to clap a bit louder if you don't want to miss it while editing. You can flick the mic too.
15:30
He wargs into the cats in the red keep.