(Spoiler alert. This post contains a major spoiler for the June 5, 2016 episode of ‘Game of Thrones,” “The Broken Man.” If you aren’t ready for that, you might want to step back out of here.)
One of the most shocking developments of season 6 of “Game of Thrones” has been the apparent conversion of King Tommen and Queen Margaery to the Faith of the Seven.
In episode 6, “Blood of My Blood,” Margaery appeared to have been fully turned to the side of the High Sparrow and his Faith Militant, bringing Tommen along with her in a troubling alliance between church and state.
We assumed, of course, that it had to be some kind of ruse, but in episode 7, “The Broken Man,” Margaery continued to quote scripture and talk to the High Sparrow as if she were all in. If Margaery was putting up a facade, it was a convincing one.
But then she met with her grandmother, Olenna Tyrell, the Queen of Thorns. Margaery appeared to try to convert Olenna, but with a septa watching carefully it was still impossible to know how sincere Margaery was being.
That is, until Queen Margaery slipped her grandmother a note while encouraging her to leave the city. That note, we saw later, contained no words, but simply a hand-drawn picture of a flower.
So what does that flower mean? Well, you may recall that the sigil of House Tyrell is none other than a rose — this is why Loras Tyrell is known as the Knight of Flowers. This note, and the surreptitious manner in which she delivered it, was Margaery’s subtle way of telling her grandmother that despite all appearances, her loyalty remained with her house. It was a reassurance.
So, as we thought (and hoped?) Margaery is playing the long game with the High Sparrow. It’s a dangerous game, at that. Whether it will work out for her, however, remains to be seen.
Things are getting extra tense on “Game of Thrones” these days, and fans are hard at work trying to figure out what’s to come. You can examine some of their theories about the future of “Game of Thrones” below.