House Tyrell

"Growing Strong."

"What is it? 12 000 infantrymen the Tyrell family has supplied? 1 800 mounted lancers, 2 000 in support? Provisions, so this city might survive the winter? A million bushels of wheat; half a million bushels each of barley, oats, and rye; 20 000 head of cattle; 50 000 sheep. You don't have to lecture me about wartime expenses. I'm quite familiar with them."

— Lady Olenna Tyrell

The Great House of the Reach, which is the most populous and most fertile of the Seven Kingdoms; not surprisingly, they are the richest family in Westeros after the Lannisters (eventually the de-facto richest, though this does not become public knowledge). Its lord holds the title of Warden of the South from their seat at Highgarden. The Reach is also home to: Oldtown, the oldest city in Westeros, home to the Maesters of the Citadel and the Starry Sept which was once the central cathedral of the Faith of the Seven; and the Arbor, an island off the "heel" of the continent, which is ruled by House Redwyne and hosts the best vineyards in the kingdom, as well as a powerful navy with which to fend off the Ironborn.

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In General

Adaptational Heroism: The Tyrells on the series are portrayed in a much more positive manner than in the novels. See Mace, Olenna, Margaery, and Loras's entries for specific changes to their characters.
- In A Clash of Kings, the family was directly responsible for the food shortage in King's Landing by closing off trade while they support Renly Baratheon, but in the show, Tyrion squarely puts the blame on Joffrey's inept rule during the War of the Five Kings for the famine.
- Their sustained, bitter arch-rivalry with the Martells is also removed in the show, receiving only small, historical mentions in the extras.
Adaptational Wimp: The combined field armies of House Lannister and House Tarly lay siege and take over House Tyrell in a matter of hours, with Olenna lamenting and the showrunners confirming that House Tyrell don't have a history of martial prowess and ambition. Not only is this not true of the Tyrells in the Present Day in the books (such as Loras Tyrell, Garlan Tyrell and the unseen Willas Tyrell) but it isn't true of the Tyrells historically, neither their Steward branch nor their Gardener forbears, who were fierce warriors, knights and horsemen who fought hard against the Kings of the Rock, the Stormlands and especially the Dornish.
Adaptation Dye-Job:
- Loras and Margaery from the novels have brown irises, but their TV counterparts are blue-eyed. Moreover, the forest green of the Tyrells' clothing has been replaced with teal on the show. The teal colour gives the characters a softer, gentler look onscreen, emphasizing the "silk" part of the family's Silk Hiding Steel philosophy. Michele Clapton elaborates on this chromatic change in the March 28, 2014 issue of Entertainment Weekly.
  "Usually I would use the sigil colours as a base palette," she says (which for a Tyrell would mean gold and green). But Clapton was careful not to give away the family's motives. "To be too overt would have shown their hand."
- The one major exception in the first three seasons is Loras's green-and-gold sparring outfit◊ in "Kissed by Fire." As he is simply practicing his swordplay, there isn't a need for him to disguise the fact that he is a formidable Tyrell warrior.
- This deliberate change by the Tyrells endures until "Oathkeeper", where the torso section of Margaery's dress is laurel green, while the skirt part is dark green (and she covers her shoulders and arms with a black shawl to pay her respects to the deceased Joffrey). Loras is later seen in mourning attire with dark green sleeves (although his tunic is dark grey) in "First of His Name." Mace has a pale green tunic with pale gold sleeves in "The Laws of Gods and Men".
Adaptation Relationship Overhaul:
- Tommen is aged-up and has a romantic/sexual relationship with Margaery, while his book counterpart is only eight years old and sees her more as a Cool Big Sis. Additionally, Loras's role as Tommen's Big Brother Mentor is not carried over from the books.
- As part of their Adaptational Nice Guy treatment, the Tyrells have a much closer and warmer relationship with Sansa during her stay in King's Landing. Margaery remains Sansa's friend after her forced marriage to Tyrion, while book!Margaery gave her the cold shoulder. In the books Loras is pretty aloof toward Sansa, while in the show he genuinely wants to be a good husband to her despite being gay. Also, book!Olenna is much more caustic toward her and makes it clear that she thinks Sansa is an idiot, but show!Olenna shows sympathy for the awful things Sansa has had to endure.
- As a side effect of Mace Tyrell being an Adaptational Wimp, his mother Olenna has much more control over him in the show than in the books, where she complains that he never listens to her.
Adapted Out: There were three Tyrell sons in the books; Willas and Garlan's roles have been delegated to either Loras or Margaery.
Ambition Is Evil: Downplayed. The Tyrells are very much aiming to increase their power over Westeros, and engage in some shady and dubious schemes to get it. But in-universe, the populace adores them because they go out of their way to appear as noble and honorable figures, and since their main opponents in the game of thrones are the Lannisters, by comparison alone they are more heroic.
Animal Motifs: Averted, in contrast to every other great house except the Martells. The Tyrell sigil is a golden rose.
Badass Boast: Subverted. While most other noble houses have these as their house motto, the Tyrells have "Growing Strong" as their words, referring to their bountiful lands and large populace. Played straighter when one applies it to their actions over the course of the show, rising to equal the Lannisters as the two most powerful families in Westeros, and with the revelation that the Lannisters are almost bankrupt, they're on their way to surpassing them. At least until the Season 6 finale.
The Beautiful Elite: The Tyrells, the High Lords of the Reach and some of the richest people in Westeros, are all very beautiful. The youngest generation, most especially Loras and Margaery, are considered exceptionally attractive. Hell, even their servants are quite pretty, which implies the Tyrells are explicitly pushing for this image.
Beauty Equals Goodness: The Tyrells cultivate this image as part of their PR campaign in King's Landing throughout Season 3. It's notable that their youngest and most attractive family members are also shown to be the most moral.
Big, Screwed-Up Family: Like the Starks, an aversion. Olenna, Loras and Margaery never express anything but care for each other despite the family's ambition. Olenna and Margaery are also the most accepting characters of Loras's sexuality besides Renly. Mace is also loved by his family, even if he's not shown much respect.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: What's House Lannister with clean PR. Look no further than House Tyrell, all pretenses of caring about the poor are a sham, because the moment a Tyrell member gets captured by the Faith Militant they try and get them freed as if Tyrells are more important than the smallfolk. Not to mention their willingness to back a psychopathic king if it means Margarey can become Queen.
Bread and Circuses: House Tyrell's political philosophy in a nutshell. The Reach, the domain of the Tyrells, is the chief food-providing region of Westeros, and it is also the center of chivalry and romance (the circus, as it were). Margaery wins over the smallfolk of King's Landing by personally meeting war orphans, and as Jaime Lannister attests, the people know fully well that it is she (and not Joffrey) who feeds them. When Tyrion raises doubts about the expenses of the royal wedding during wartime, Olenna points out that people need both food and "distractions," otherwise they will get restless and angry.
Break the Haughty: House Tyrell is put in dire straits when Cersei raises the Faith Militant as a weapon against them. Loras is arrested for his homosexuality, and during the holy inquiry Margaery lies to protect him. Unfortunately, when a Surprise Witness ruins their defense, Margaery is charged with perjury and both siblings are left to rot in the dungeons beneath Baelor's Sept until their trials. Olenna races back to King's Landing desperate to free her grandchildren, but the Faith can't be moved by her threats and she's forced to team up with Littlefinger. Then Season 6 comes along and the Green Trial takes place and they are all but ruined. The only remaining Tyrell is Lady Olenna (The Queen of Thorns) and the most she can hope for now is vengeance against Cersei due to the loss of all her heirs.
Character Exaggeration: Due to being somewhat peripheral in the books, the show's writers constructed a great deal of House Tyrell's collective character whole-cloth. That which isn't invented is usually exaggerated from the source material. See Mace and Margery's entries for detail on them.
- The family's Women Are Wiser aspects are played up on account of the two most competent Tyrell sons (Willas and Garlan) being Adapted Out, Loras's character arc stalling in Seasons 3 and 4, and Mace's fecklessness being exaggerated from a blustering but tenacious man into an ineffectual and sycophantic Momma's Boy. They are described by Word of God as a "secret matriarchy". invoked
- Their Good Samaritan qualities are played much straighter or exaggerated. In the books, they are directly responsible for starving the population of King's Landing, and while Mace, Margaery, and Olenna have moments of being personable, on the whole, they come off as slimier. Their quest to obtain universal popularity also means they abandon anyone who could ever possibly be a liability to them.
Chivalric Romance: The Tyrells and other houses of the Reach put a lot of effort into making the Reach at least seem like the stereotypical Chivalric Romance setting. Chivalry is very Serious Business in the Reach, and Catelyn even calls its soldiers "the knights of summer." Highgarden is reputed to be one of the most beautiful cities on the continent, providing leisurely entertainment such as a grand Masquerade Ball on the night of the harvest moon and pleasure barges on the river Mander. Loras and Margaery work very hard on their respective Knight in Shining Armor and Princess Classic/The High Queen persona, and they were once in a three-way marriage to Renly Baratheon, who saw himself as The Good King.
Enemy Mine: The Tyrells and Martells both fought on the Targaryen side in Robert's Rebellion, though as the Martells would point out, politics is known to make strange bedfellows. After Cersei Lannister kills the majority of House Tyrell, Olenna desperately allies with the Martells (Oberyn's paramour Ellaria and bastard daughters, that is) and both Houses rejoin the Targaryens again under Daenerys.
Everybody's Dead, Dave:
- In the Season 6 finale, Margaery, Loras, and Mace die when Cersei blows up the sept with them in it. Only Olenna was left alive, but since Olenna is a Redwyne by birth, the Tyrell bloodline is extinct. With her death, the House is effectively extinct.
- In the books, there are numerous minor Tyrell cousins (through Mace's two sisters, and old Lord Luthor's younger brothers). Some of the female cousins serve as Margaery's handmaidens. Even the TV series briefly acknowledged that other Tyrell cousins exist in Season 3 — one of them even had a speaking line and outright called Olenna "Nana" (grandmother). The main branch of the family, however, is very clearly dead beyond recovery. And it's not impossible that all the Tyrell cousins were killed in the Sept of Baelor and the Fall of Highgarden. It's confirmed by Jaime that they were all massacred at Highgarden two episodes later.
Everyone Has Standards: According to Olenna, the Tyrells and the Reach in general don't see anything wrong with homosexuality, but view Brother–Sister Incest as abominable. Reinforced by their collective disgust at Renly being depicted at the Purple Wedding as a "deviant" who rides a girly-looking, curly-haired man — plainly meant to represent Loras — instead of a horse. Not even Margaery, who almost never lets her genteel mask slip, can hide her displeasure.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Of The House of Tudor — their sigil is an almost exact replication of the Tudor Rose. The Reach as a whole is in many ways an analogue of southeast England and France/Aquitaine, to the point of being the birthplace of Westerosi chivalric culture in the books.
- They also served as stewards to the previous royal family like The House of Stuart.
Fatal Flaw: Their ambition combined with an unclear leadership dooms them. Lord Mace Tyrell wants Margaery to be the Queen and she willingly goes along with it. After Renly Baratheon is killed, they form a new alliance with the Lannisters. Lady Olenna is most critical of this move and changes the plan when she discovers too late that Joffrey is a monster, so she has him killed during his wedding with Margaery. This sets in motion an uncontrollable spiral of events (including the demise of Tywin, Olenna's only reasonable counterpart) that ends up extinguishing their house.
Feuding Families:
- The Tyrells and the Martells are the two southern-most paramount houses of their respective kingdoms. They have numerous bones of contention between them, as they have been fighting border skirmishes for centuries.
- A long and bitter feud has existed since the Targaryen Conquest between House Tyrell and their vassals House Florent of Brightwater Keep, arguably deeper than their dislike of the Martells. This is explained more in the books, though Margaery summarizes it in the Season 3 Blu-ray animated featurettes. ^{From the extras...}
Fiction500: They're the second richest family in Westeros, next to the Lannisters. Analysis. By Season 4, the Tyrells are the de facto richest House because the Lannister wealth has waned during the war and their gold mines are exhausted.
Flower Motifs: The rose is the family's emblem, but they are strongly associated with flowers in general.
Foil: To the Lannisters. The Tyrells are just as ambitious, wanting to rule Westeros, but they pursue their ambitions in a mostly bloodless manner that even benefits other people (well, usually), in contrast to the Lannisters, who don't care who they have to trample over to get power for their family. The Lannisters are also extremely dysfunctional and hateful towards each other, while the Tyrells are a well-adjusted and close-knit bunch (again, usually).
Guile Hero: Both Olenna and Margaery are one of the most cunning in the show and generally on the side of the most kind-hearted characters, even if their methods are sometimes disturbing.
Hazy-Feel Turn: The Tyrells join with the Lannisters to defeat Stannis Baratheon and keep King Joffrey on the throne, but also work on ways to undermine the Lannisters and kill Joffrey.
I Fight for the Strongest Side!: One of their major Hats is that they'll side with whoever they think is most likely to win, and in turn further their own interests, rather than make an ideological stand. The entire reason they were made lords of Highgarden and rulers of the Reach in the first place was because during the Targaryen Conquest, after the last king of House Gardener and most of the Reach's army were burned to death by dragons at the Field of Fire, they voluntarily surrendered Highgarden to Aegon the Conqueror (the Tyrells being hereditary stewards of the castle at the time). In the War of the Five Kings, they sided with Renly because virtually all of the Stormlands houses chose to fight for him instead of his older brother Stannis (who only ended up controlling a few islands in Blackwater Bay). At the same time they didn't side with the Lannisters, because Robb Stark had just slaughtered half of their army, and the Lannisters seemed to be facing a war on two fronts. After Renly died, however, they switched sides to the Lannisters — despite personally loathing them — because they still had more resources than Stannis's united Storm lords, and because Stannis would never forgive them for siding with Renly. This doesn't mean they're Yes-Men, though, as they still want to subsume the Lannisters from within. Some would call this character trait cynicism, but others would call it Realpolitik.
Informed Flaw: Olenna Tyrell claims in Season 7 after Jaime sacks Highgarden that they were always a Paper Tiger and pushover in a region where Tywin could have easily annexed them. Leaving aside the legality of that, which hasn't been established in the "weak" feudalism system of Westeros, but the Histories and Lore confirm that the Tyrells were heavily involved in Daeron I Young Dragon's campaigns in Dorne, which Olenna refers to Ellaria at the end of Season 6, and in the show itself, they were the decisive players in the Kingmaker Scenario of Season 2, backing first Renly and then turning the tide at Blackwater and cementing the Lannister alliance which led Robb Stark to avoid directly charging in the Crownlands against Tywin. Tywin himself respected the Tyrells greatly in Seasons 3 and 4, noting their great numbers and power and chided Cersei for not treating them fairly. In all three cases above, Stannis, Tywin and Robb, who have been established as the finest military and political minds of their era, saw the Tyrells as a major threat and faction, none of which is consistent with Olenna claiming in S7 that they were pushovers and no great shakes in war.
Irony: One spanning centuries. House Tyrell (as noted in the notes at Feuding Families above) came to power after the former King of Highgarden burned to death against Aegon's dragons at the Field of Fire. Their main line family members (and thus their stable, clean succession) also burned to death by wildfire at the Green Trial, the next-best thing to dragon-breath at this point.
Kick The Son Of A Bitch: Their questionable loyalty, obvious scheming, and now ruthlessly deadly plans for gaining power are often excused by the fandom, specifically because the targets of their various schemes are all Lannisters.
Kingmaker Scenario: House Tyrell found themselves on this role during the War of the Five Kings, as the biggest of the Westeros houses, whoever they chose to support would gain a great advantage. They first tried to throw their lot with Renly, but after his murder, their alliance with the Lannisters ensured Joffrey's victory and kingship.
Know When to Fold 'Em: Mastery of this is why the Tyrells are still around. In the History and Lore segments, House Tyrell is said to have risen to power in the wake of Aegon's Conquest by agreeing to surrender, and they were rewarded with ownership of the Reach. They also agreed to surrender without a fight after the sack of King's Landing at the end of Robert's Rebellion, as Jon Arryn offered them amnesty in exchange for supplying food to the starved realm and paying a good portion of the war debt.
Machiavelli Was Wrong: Seems to be the general ethos of this house — Loras thinks Renly would be a good king because people like him, and in Season 3, Margaery tries to win over the smallfolk of King's Landing with kindness and even tries to sway Joffrey to her thinking, as best she can.
More Deadly Than the Male: The women in the family get the brains, and they are the ones to watch out for when it comes to politics. Dan Weiss describes the Tyrells in this featurette as: "...basically a secret matriarchy [...] where the men tend to be handsome dopes and the women are really the brains behind the operation." According to this animated history of the Reach, it was Harlan Tyrell's wife who convinced him to surrender to Aegon the Conqueror, which may suggest that the female members have been controlling the family's interests since at least the time of Aegon's Conquest.
Nouveau Riche: By comparison with the other great houses of Westeros, the Tyrells only rose to prominence after Aegon's Conquest. They were traditional castellans of the Gardeners, the previous rulers of the Reach. Since they were the only house of the Reach that did not oppose Aegon the Conqueror, they were rewarded accordingly by being made Lords Paramount of the Reach when the Gardeners were wiped out.
Palette Swap: By "Oathkeeper", the Tyrells switch from their more disarming teal-and-gold (colors that, together, aren't very regal or majestic, as intended) to their literal true colors, green and gold, to reflect the fact that the soft sell is no longer required now that the alliance between Tyrell and Lannister has been formalized, and the two houses are essentially equal partners on the Iron Throne.
Paper Tiger: They are surprisingly revealed to be one. Despite their renowned and eventually unmatched wealth, which in turns allows them to support a large army, Olenna concedes that they are militarily worthless after their former vassal House Tarly and a combined Lannister host manage to take Highgarden with ease.
Real Men Wear Pink: Whether it's armour, clothing or fashion accessories, the Tyrells deck themselves with floral patterns. The very little badassery of their sigil and motto compared to the other great houses is lampshaded by Lady Olenna.
Rule of Symbolism:
- More so than any other House, the Tyrells are frequently seen in a lush, garden environment. It's a visual reminder to the audience of the Reach's fertile lands and its culture of romanticism, the family's floral theme, their cautious nature (gardens require careful maintenance), their preoccupation with beauty, and their preference for peace.
- Roses look pretty, but people forget that they have thorns. The Tyrells give the outward appearance of beauty and harmlessness, but it's just a front. As mentioned above, Olenna scoffs that they have a bland sigil and a non-threatening motto ("Growing Strong")...but in all probability, the Tyrells seem to have intentionally chosen non-threatening symbols, so no one will suspect their true ambitions.
- Margaery, Olenna and Loras's mourning attire is dark grey and dark green instead of black (with the exception of Margaery's shawl), which signifies that their "grief" over Joffrey's passing is insincere. Mace doesn't even bother to put on dark clothing. Margaery◊ and Olenna's◊ mourning clothes for Joffrey also still have the very bright gold print that all their clothes have. Especially obvious when contrasted with what Olenna wears after Margaery, Loras, and Mace die at the end of Season 6◊.
Sigil Spam: The Tyrells don't have a single article of clothing without a floral pattern, as Lady Oleanna points out to one of her relatives:
Olenna: Another golden rose. How original. I eat from plates stamped with roses. I sleep in sheets embroidered with roses. I have a golden rose painted on my chamber pot, as if that makes it smell any better. Roses are boring, dear.
Silk Hiding Steel: Not very warlike in the Starks or Greyjoys sense of the word, but they're still a very dangerous house. The Tyrell women and Loras (who is an androgynous-looking gay man) play around with people's stereotypes of femininity to appear much weaker than they actually are. And it's worth remembering that Loras is still counted as being one of the most dangerous knights on the continent. Heck, it's in their logo: a rose's beauty hides its dangerous thorns.
Social Climber: The Lannisters and especially Cersei regard them as this, with the latter even comparing them to the Reynes of Castamere for trying to rise above second best. ^{From the books...} In the History and Lore videos, Margaery even admits this as being the real meaning of their house words ("Growing Strong"):
Margaery: Other houses take wolves and lions for their sigils, and draw their power from the gold in their mountains or the cold of their winters. But mountains run dry, winter yields to spring, and the rose blooms once more.
Something about a Rose: Like a rose, the family may look gorgeous and delicate on the surface, but the outward petals conceal very sharp thorns.
The Starscream:
- Possibly. Unlike the Starks, the Lannisters and the Arryns, the Tyrells did not rule as kings before Aegon's conquest of Westeros, and they may have manipulated their former overlord into getting himself killed during Aegon's conquest, allowing them to usurp the Reach. ^{From the books...} This ambition carries into the present series, where the Tyrells are consistently undermining House Lannister in an attempt to wrestle the Iron Throne away.
- As of Season 4, they have managed to become equal partners with the Lannisters. The Kingdom is deeply in debt to the Iron Bank of Braavos, and the formerly filthy rich Lannisters are increasingly strapped for cash due to an expensive war, needing the Tyrells to foot half the bill for the royal wedding. The Tyrells are vital allies to Tywin as he keeps hold of the very fragile peace in the realm after the main part of the War of the Five Kings is over. Olenna Lampshades the same to Margaery, describing the power shift:
  Olenna: Our alliance with the Lannisters remains every bit as necessary to them as it is unpleasant for us.
Succession Crisis: After the deaths of Mace Tyrell and his two children at the Green Trial, his mother holds the title as the Lady of Highgarden, Lady Paramount of the Reach and Warden of the South. But she's a Redwyne and there was no mention of other Tyrell relatives since Mace's older sons (Willas and Garlan) do not exist in the show. Likewise, she's already old and might not last long, and indeed doesn't, with Highgarden being invaded by Jaime and the Lannisters and she herself being forced to drink a painless poison that kills her.
Tangled Family Tree: With two Tyrells marrying Lannisters Olenna points out how they will become this, with Loras, who is arranged to marry Cersei, technically becoming his own sister's stepfather-in-law.
Thicker Than Water: The family always sticks together.
Margaery: Luckily for us Tyrells our blood runs quite warm, doesn't it, Loras?
Villain with Good Publicity: Their friendly and pleasant demeanor can make you forget they once supported a monstrously cruel usurper so Margaery could be Queen.

Lord Mace Tyrell

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mace_tyrell.png

"May you and my daughter Margaery drink deep, and live long."

Played By: Roger Ashton-Griffiths

"No great pleasure, believe me. A ponderous oaf. His father was an oaf as well. My husband, the late Lord Luthor. He managed to ride off a cliff whilst hawking. They say he was looking up at the sky and paying no mind to where his horse was taking him. And now my son is doing the same, only this time he's riding a lion instead of a horse."

— Lady Olenna Tyrell

The father of Loras and Margaery, son of Lady Olenna. Lord of Highgarden, Lord Paramount of the Reach and Warden of the South.

Adaptational Comic Relief: Mace Tyrell is a bit of an oaf in the books as well, but in the form of a haughty and tactless lord. In the show, he has an extreme case of Adaptational Dumbass that is frequently mined for comedy, as he's treated like a complete buffoon and Chew Toy by virtually every lord in King's Landing.
Adaptational Dye-Job: In the novels, Mace has the same brown hair of his children, whereas on the show his hair has already gone grey.
Adaptational Heroism: He's just as much as an oaf as he is in the books, but in the show he loses a lot of his more abrasive moments, such as pressuring his son into jousting and his unjustified hate for Oberyn Martell ^{In the books}) and comes across as dim-witted but overall kind-hearted.
Adaptational Ugliness: The actor playing Mace is far less aesthetically pleasing than his book counterpart, who is described as being fat, but still good-looking enough that one can easily see that he used to be a Hunk in his youth. When the casting news was announced, some fans had a hard time believing that this unattractive Mace could be the father of the TV versions of Margaery and Loras. HBO's Mace is also balding, while book Mace has a head full of hair. This could allude to TV Mace's nature as a Composite Character with Harys Swyft, who was bald in the books.
Adaptational Wimp: TV Mace is much more fawning and eager-to-please than his oafish, yet ambitious and demanding Book Mace.
- In the books he personally commands the left-wing on the Blackwater and constantly presses for important offices for his faction rather than happily fetching quill and parchment.
- He's also something of a Papa Wolf in the books, holding a serious grudge against Oberyn Martell for crippling his eldest son, calling for the death of the man he believes nearly poisoned his daughter, and rushing his army back to King's Landing to confront the Sparrows after they seize Margaery (though Randyll Tarly arrives first).
Adaptational Late Appearance: He's only mentioned in the first 3 seasons, while in the books, he arrives at the capital along with Tywin and remains there, taking Stannis's former place on the small council as Master of Ships. He finally shows up in Season 4 for Joffrey's wedding.
Authority in Name Only: A remarkable aversion, in some matters at least. Despite his apparent blandness and being regularly undermined by his very imposing mother, he's able to carry out some of his own policy in the Reach, as Lady Olenna complains that the alliance with the Lannisters is something implemented by Mace. Despite this, he still asks his mom what to do, even in public.
Badass on Paper: Decades as the head of an accomplished family and his Wardenship of a very prosperous region that was not very affected in the civil war despite being in the losing side would indicate that Lord Tyrell is some shrewd politician with some talents and victories under his sleeve. He proves these assumptions wrong once people get to know him better.
Cersei Lannister: I seem to recall he laid siege to Storm's End for the better part of a year.
Olenna Tyrell: All he laid siege to was the banquet table in the command tent.
Beneath Suspicion: By not overplaying his hand (or perhaps by not being competent enough to do so) he has managed to remain as the only Lord of one of the "Great Houses" of Westeros still living from his introduction. Ned Stark, Jon Arryn, the Baratheon brothers, Doran Martell, Balon Greyjoy, Tywin Lannister, Hoster Tully — all dead (though Hoster gets a pass by dying of natural causes rather than violence and Doran was killed because he played no hand). Of course, with the explosion at Baelor's Sept, he's gone as well.
Bling of War: His personal armor is heavily decorated with golden roses.
Bumbling Dad: Mace Tyrell is entirely Played for Laughs as a bumbling, sycophantic Momma's Boy gets little respect from his family.
Butt-Monkey: Despite being a Lord Paramount, a Warden and the dual Master of Ships and Coin, he is often ignored, belittled at every turn by his own mother and his more tangible contributions to the Small Council consist in doing menial tasks such as fetching quill and paper or opening and closing the door of the room.
Character Exaggeration: The series exaggerates Mace's pomposity, whereas the novels make him more proud and self-important.
The Chew Toy: The man is a walking embarrassment, but most of his misfortunes are mild and hence enjoyable and hilarious.
Composite Character: With Harys Swyft, the Lannisters resident butt-kissing toad, according to Word of God.
Cool Helmet: Wears an open-faced and crowned helmet with his personal armor, decorated with golden roses and three feathers for a plume.
Death by Adaptation: His book counterpart is still alive as of A Dance with Dragons.
Dumbass Has a Point: He calls Tycho an usurer, which is completely true as the Iron Bank is willing to finance a coup d'état to get their money back and asked to receive one-tenth of their money back right after Tywin dies (and just after two royal weddings). Mace arrived to a renegotiation thanks to having the wealthiest land as collateral.
Easily Forgiven: He fought for the Targaryens during Robert's Rebellion, and not only dealt Robert Baratheon his only defeat at the Battle of Ashford ^{From the books...}, but nearly starved Stannis and Renly to death during the siege of Storm's End before the rebels won. Yet on the advice of Jon Arryn, Robert only made him pay reparations in gold and let him remain the Lord of the Reach.
Everyone Has Standards: In "The Lion and the Rose", after Joffrey makes a cruel comment to Sansa about her dead father at the wedding breakfast, Mace lowers his head in sadness; he plainly feels bad for the girl. He's also visibly disgusted by Joffrey's "War of Five Kings" mockery and overall cruelty (although that might mainly be because the performance targeted Loras by depicting him as Renly's "mount").
Fat Idiot: According to Lady Olenna. She shuts him up the instant he tries to join in on talking shop with her and Tywin. Mace consistently shows that he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer.
The Fool: While not a protagonist he basically fits the bill. He has no clue how out of his depth he is but it's that very stupidity that keeps him alive because nobody considers him a threat so they don't bother to plot against him. He basically blends into the background as a kind of Yes-Man which gets him promoted a few times as well, and his friendliness means no one even wants him dead. It's a pretty open secret that his mother, Olenna Tyrell is his handler.
Funny Background Event: After Joffrey gets up from his seat to inspect his new Valyrian sword, Mace raises his eyebrow at Tywin, and his wordless query is, "Are you sure it's wise to give that maniac a deadly weapon?"
The Ghost: Up until Season 4, where he was finally cast.
Hidden Depths: In "A Dance with Dragons" he successfully renegotiates loan terms with the Iron Bank, surprisingly showcasing some decent diplomatic skills. He then doubles down and proceeds to show off his great voice, launching into a sudden but well executed folk song, much to the dismay of Tycho Nestoris.
Informed Attribute: An inferred ambition. Olenna complains that Mace is the one determined to crown Margaery, hence the alliance with the Lannisters after the one with Renly Baratheon falls apart. His onscreen persona doesn't display this kind of drive beyond an eager willingness to serve in the Small Council.
In-Series Nickname: Lady Olenna, his own mother, refers to him as Lord Oaf. ^{In the books...}
Large Ham: The few times he's not interrupted show that he's too pleased by the sound of his own voice and he reels in it. His body language also tends to be rather exaggerated and oafish.
Ludicrous Gibs: His body is literally blasted into a thousand pieces (possibly even to nothingness) by Cersei's bombing of the Sept.
Manchild: Mace certainly has shades of this, due to being such an easily led Momma's Boy. At the Small Council meeting, he verges on throwing a childish tantrum when Oberyn sarcastically suggests he be made Master of Ships. Mace gets very defensive, acting like a child protesting to his sibling that father gave him that toy to play with, and no, Oberyn can't play with it too, it's his.
Momma's Boy: Despite being a Lord Paramount, his mother treats him like a child and he goes along with it.
Nice Guy: Mace isn't very bright, but he's a genuinely nice person. He might be kind of naive for not suspecting others — i.e. shocked when politics involves murder, and appalled when the High Septon is secretly having sex with whores — but compared to some of the nastier characters at the Decadent Court, it's refreshing to see someone who has relatively "normal" standards of morality.
Not Now, Kiddo: He is on the receiving end of this when Olenna tells him, "Not now, Mace, Lord Tywin and I are speaking."
Papa Wolf:
- In "Blood of My Blood", he leads his army from the front in an attempt to rescue his children from the Faith.
- When the Sparrows start carving a star into Loras's forehead the crowd around Mace has to physically restrain him from rushing forwards in desperation.
Rousing Speech: He attempts one in "Blood of My Blood" to rally his army to rescue his children, but nobody is impressed and Jaime Lannister looks about to Facepalm.
Running Gag: He gets interrupted or cut off by other characters (and if not by them, then by the camera) at least once in every conversation he holds. The only notable exception was his so-called Rousing Speech before storming the Great Sept, and even then it was only barely suffered through by his troops and Jaime Lannister.
Sarcasm-Blind: When Oberyn muses over whether Tywin will assign him a title, perhaps the "Master of Ships", Mace protests that Tywin gave him that title and he can't have it. Oberyn gets surprised and can't believe Mace took him seriously.
Yes-Man: Mace is a fawner. Tyrion immediately identifies him as this.
Tyrion: He [Mace] will vote exactly as my father tells him to vote.

Lady Olenna Tyrell, née Redwyne

Lady Olenna Tyrell

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/olenna_tyrell.png

"We mothers do what we can to keep our sons from the grave, but they do seem to yearn for it."

Played By: Diana Rigg

"It was treason. I warned them. Robert has two sons and Renly has an older brother. How can he possibly have any claim to that ugly iron chair? We should have stayed well out of all this, if you ask me. But once the cow's been milked, there's no squirting the cream back up her udder, so here we are to see things through"

The paternal grandmother of Loras and Margaery and mother of Mace Tyrell, the Lord Paramount of the Reach and Warden of the South.

Adaptational Badass: Olenna in the show is made into the de facto head of the family, comparable to Tywin Lannister (and she actually bests the selfsame in one of the most badass verbal duels in the show). In the books her power is more limited to a woman of her station and she complains bitterly that her son doesn't listen to her on decisions of the household.
Adaptation Expansion: She has a number of scenes in the series that have no direct counterpart in the books.
Adaptational Heroism: Olenna is the very picture of a Cool Old Lady in the show, opposing the increasingly tyrannical Lannisters, instead of the spiteful harridan of the books who calls Ellaria Sand "the serpent's whore". She also displays sympathy for Sansa in the show rather than just seeing her as a pawn. Even her assassination of Joffrey is framed more as a Sympathetic Murderer, who didn't want her granddaughter married to a monster. While Olenna does care about her family in the books, her primary motive for killing Joffrey at his wedding was to cement the Tyrells' political strength, removing the vicious idiot king from the picture within a day of Margaery becoming his queen.
Adaptational Nice Guy:
- She's much more good-humoured than her book counterpart, who came across at times as crotchety and vindictive, to the point where Tyrion wonders if her late Henpecked Husband rode off a cliff intentionally.
- In the novels, she's often snide and derisive towards Sansa, often mocking the girl's perceived lack of intelligence. Though in a private moment to Varys, she admits that Sansa is not particularly interesting but that "she has an interesting childhood." On the show, she has more visible sympathy towards Sansa's unfortunate situation and attempts to arrange a marriage to Loras at Varys' behest as they both consider Littlefinger to be too dangerous. In the books, it is heavily implied that Olenna seeks Sansa's claim to Winterfell, although on the series Tywin Lannister regards that as the real motive behind their plot to marry Sansa to the Tyrells.
- She has no patience for the Sand Snakes, but her animosity towards the Martells is removed for the most part, as are episodes like calling Ellaria Sand "the serpent's whore."
Adapted Out: The bodyguards she calls Left and Right aren't present in the TV show.
Anti-Villain: One of the greatest schemers in the show (besting Tyrion, Varys, and Littlefinger, and challenging Tywin), murders a child, and taunts the child's father over it... and in every situation, she still seems to have the moral highground over her enemies (and usually audience sympathy).
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other:
- "Breaker of Chains" reveals that despite her complaints about her late husband's stupidity, she was nevertheless somewhat fond of him, as she is visibly upset (her eyes are even a bit wet) while reminiscing about the day he died. In "Oathkeeper", Olenna recounts to Margaery that Luthor Tyrell was supposed to marry Olenna's sister while Olenna was intended for a Targaryen. However, Olenna decided she preferred Luthor to the Targaryen and seduced him away from her sister on the eve of their betrothal. While this was likely a political move, it at least shows that Olenna had some regard for her husband, once upon a time.
- She may look down on her son for being an oaf, but she is clearly upset when he along with her grandchildren were killed by Cersei's wildfire plot.
Badass Boast: Gives a nice one to Littlefinger in "The Gift" — "If I should meet with some unfortunate accident here at your broken little flesh market... they'll never even find what's left of you."
Badass Bureaucrat: The Tyrrells are the primary food provider for the Seven Kingdoms because of the fertile lands they successfully administrate, especially since Olenna's time. Her family are richest nobles after the Lannisters (eventually the de-facto richest, though it doesn't become public knowledge). See the main quote about the House Tyrell's war expenses in Olenna's own words.
Benevolent Boss: In "Two Swords", she motivates her handmaidens by rewarding the one who finds the best necklace for Margaery with the second-best necklace.
Brief Accent Imitation: Whilst discussing the various family house mottos, she briefly adopts a Northern accent when pointing out how the Stark's "Winter is Coming" sounds inherently more badass than the Tyrells' "Growing Strong."
Brutal Honesty: Practices this because she can get away with it on account on her age and power — and encourages Sansa to speak her mind about Joffrey.
Cassandra Truth: She warned her family not to back Renly, whom she considered a terrible candidate with an unjust claim on the throne, and lamenting that it got them into a jam that they had to get out of by engaging Margaery with Joffrey, which ended up entangling House Tyrell's fortunes with those of House Lannister, whom she despises. In the end she laments being the last of her family.
Character Death: In "The Queen's Justice". Via poison that she willingly ingests.
The Chessmaster: Most definitely. When Sansa speaks her mind to Margaery and Olenna about Joffrey (the girl tells them that he's "a monster"), the wheels in Olenna's mind visibly begin to turn, figuring out how to keep her granddaughter safe. This, in turn, leads to her poisoning Joffrey, with Tyrion and Sansa framed for it. The duo worked to spirit Sansa out of King's Landing, but Tyrion escaped by other own means.
Complexity Addiction: The High Sparrow calls out how a lifetime of double-dealing and sussing out hidden motives has left her completely stymied when dealing with someone like him whose motivations really are as simple as they appear.
Composite Character: She takes over Book Mace's role of coming back to the capital and attempting to free Margaery.
The Consigliere: To her son Mace, and to her granddaughter Margaery.
The Conspiracy: Leads one, which includes Petyr Baelish, Ser Dontos Hollard, and (unknowingly) Sansa, and which resulted in Joffrey's death by poisoning and Tyrion and Sansa's framing for the deed.
Cool Old Lady: To her grandchildren, Margaery and Loras. And to Sansa, and even to some degree to Varys. And of course to the audience. Given her largely egalitarian attitudes towards gender, sexuality and use of political power, she may well be the most socially progressive person on the series besides Renly (with Tyrion Lannister running a somewhat distant third).
Country Matters: Her succinct opinion of Joffrey.
Deadpan Snarker: The Queen of Thorns is famously sharp-tongued. She gets away with these constant jibes at powerful people partly because she's Tyrell matriarch and partly because of her age.
Death by Adaptation: Her book counterpart is still alive as of A Dance With Dragons.
Death Glare: Gives a particularly vicious one to Cersei in "Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" after Loras and Margaery are arrested by the Faith Militant.
Death Seeker: It's implied in the Season 6 finale that Olenna has crossed into this after Cersei wipes out her entire family:
Olenna: Cersei stole the future from me. She killed my son. She killed my grandson. She killed my granddaughter. It is not survival I am after.
Defiant to the End: In inimitable form, Olenna spits Jaime's mercy right back in his face by admitting to Joffrey's murder in her final moments.
Despair Event Horizon: If the deaths of her family members didn't make her cross it, then the fall of Highgarden to the Lannisters did.
Demoted to Extra: While still memorable, her role in Season 5 is significantly less substantial then in the previous two seasons — she only appears in two episodes midway through the season, and doesn't even appear in the finale. This is rectified in the following season.
Didn't See That Coming: Ever since she started playing the Game, she's made one constant but fatal mistake — underestimating Cersei Lannister, or rather overestimating in this case. In all their dealings, Olenna assumes Cersei, despite her pettiness, knows when to quit. It never seems to dawn on her, even when the proof is staring her in the face, that there is no length Cersei won't go to keep herself in power, no matter how shortsighted. After Cersei murders her entire family, Olenna is no longer dismissive of her.
Olenna: Your sister has done things... I was incapable of imagining. That was my prize mistake... a failure of imagination.
Dirty Old Woman:
- Best exemplified by this conversation with Varys.
  Olenna: Are you here to seduce me?
  Varys: A little obvious perhaps...
  Olenna: Oh no please, seduce away! It's been so long. But I rather think it's all for naught; what happens when the non-existent bumps against the decrepit (Varys looks down at his groin and up again in shock)... a question for the philosophers.
- She also seems rather fond of reminiscing about how she seduced Margaery's grandfather and ended up fucking him so hard that he couldn't walk for a day, before remarking how she was "very, very good" at it. All of which she happily tells her granddaughter.
Dispense with the Pleasantries: Olenna often has no patience for pomp and circumstance, and dismisses any pleasantries or attempts at flattery. Especially from the people she doesn't like. A notable example is when she tells off Littlefinger's attempt at being courteous in "The Gift" when they meet at his brothel.
Littlefinger: [referring to his trashed brothel] I'm sorry about the locale.
Olenna: No you're not.
Littlefinger: It seemed like the safest place.
Olenna: [observing the devastation the Faith Militant left in their wake] Not for your clientele, clearly. [...]You've always been rather impressed with yourself, haven't you?
Littlefinger: The past is the past. The future is all that's worth discussing, the future of House Tyrell-
Olenna: Don't pretend to have any concern for my House, my grandchildren or me! I should have known you'd return to the capital as soon as things started to go wrong!
Driven to Suicide: When Highgarden falls to the Lannisters, Jaime hands her a painless poison, which she willingly drinks without a beat.
Dying Alone: She ends up dying alone in her chambers of a poison when Jaime storms out of her room after her Dying Moment of Awesome. She doesn't really mind.
Dying Moment of Awesome: An unusually understated case, as she lets Jaime make a big deal about how he talked Cersei out of putting her through a tortuous public death in favor of a quick and painless poison, and only after taking it reveals that she was the one responsible for Joffrey's gruesome murder, leaving Jaime robbed of any satisfaction from his act of mercy.
Entertainingly Wrong: The closest thing she has to a flaw is her occasional tendency to overestimate her opponents, which is rare for a setting with so many Smug Snakes.
- She initially assumes Margaery would be safe with Joffrey because Joffrey would have nothing to gain by hurting her, but when it turns out he's just a psychopath she's forced to move against him quickly.
- She assumes Cersei wouldn't move against the Tyrell family because she is not in a position to do so, but she does not account for Cersei being dumb enough to do it, anyways. She assumes Cersei is doing it because she has an actual plan to extort House Tyrell, but it's actually mostly just because Cersei is having a petty feud with Margaery and Cersei can't really be reasoned with.
- She assumes the High Sparrow wants wealth, but he really is just a fanatic who wants to establish a theocracy.
Everyone Has Standards: Her stern face shows that she does not hide her distaste for Joffrey's dreadful "reenactment" of the War of the Five Kings. Then again, it involves Joffrey insulting her grandson, Loras, being portrayed as Renly's mount to mock their relationship.
Face Death with Dignity: Olenna Tyrell goes out with all the composure and grace we've come to expect from her — she downs the poison offered to her, and spends her last minutes insulting Jamie and Cersei by extension, including revealing that she was the one who killed Joffrey. All while maintaining perfect regal posture in her chair. Her final moments are also not shown to the viewer to hammer the point.
Fatal Flaw: Her age - For all her intelligence, Olenna was very stubborn and never listened to anyone and only did things her way while rarely sharing her thoughts, even hiding her role in Joffrey's poisoning from Margaery, this ends up costing her house's extinction and death. As she didn't even bother sharing info on Casterly Rock being dried, came back to Highgarden herself to mobilize her troops.
First-Name Basis: Towards the end of her conversation with Tywin in "The Lion and the Rose", she calls him by his first name without his title, and Tywin doesn't even blink an eye. Who else gets away with that without receiving Tywin's signature Death Glare?
Foil:
- She is, politically, the diametric opposite of Tywin Lannister, being a powerful progressive force in Westeros as opposed to Tywin's brand of stern patriarchical conservatism. Margaery has blossomed under her grandmother's guidance, whereas Cersei has suffocated under her father's psychological abuse. While Olenna teases her son and grandson, her verbal jabs are nowhere near as cruel as Tywin's horrid treatment of Tyrion. When Olenna arranges a marriage for Loras, she betrothes him to Sansa not only for the girl's claim to Winterfell, but also because she knows that Loras's personality — if not his orientation — is compatible with Sansa's. When Tywin arranges marriages for Tyrion and Cersei, he's only concerned about political gain, and doesn't give a rat's ass about his children's objections or feelings. Whereas Tywin considers homosexuality a mental illness, Olenna believes it's perfectly natural.
- Here's what they share in common: while their offspring technically have a higher rank (Queen Regent Cersei, King Joffrey, Lord Paramount Mace Tyrell), it's Tywin and Olenna who hold all the power in the Lannister-Tyrell alliance. And both were involved in the assassination of a king at a wedding.
- She is what Cersei tried to be, but completely failed at; a matriarch who rules a family by guiding and manipulating her children. Unlike Cersei, Olenna is intelligent enough to pull it off. Also, she has the advantage that her (grand)children are sane, and, at least in the case of Margaery, smart enough to listen to her.
Frame-Up: Her conspiracy with Petyr Baelish leads to Tyrion and Sansa's framing for Joffrey's murder.
Friendly Enemy: She and Tywin have this dynamic despite his twisting of her arm over the arranged marriage between Loras and Cersei. Olenna tries to cheer up the cranky old man after Joffrey and Margaery's wedding ceremony.
Guile Hero: Olenna describes herself as decrepit, but she is easily one of the most cunning and dangerous characters in the show. She is also generally on the side of the most kind-hearted characters, even if her methods are sometimes horrifying.
Grande Dame: Lady Olenna is an elegant dame of ample physique, a widow of a Henpecked Husband and famous for her arrogance, though she is not humourless, being famous for her dry wit.
Grumpy Old Man: If she's snarking more relentlessly than usual, it either means she's pissed or losing patience.
Hypocritical Humor: A very dark example at Joffrey's wedding. "What kind of monster would murder a man at his own wedding day?" A fiercely protective grandmother, apparently. Though her motivations to save her grandchildren from a known psychopath are far more sympathetic than Tywin's rationale for the Red Wedding.
In-Series Nickname: She is known as the "Queen of Thorns" for her sarcasm and wit, combined with the rose thorns being the sigil of House Tyrell.
Insult Backfire: After a gambit to overthrow the High Sparrow fails, she mockingly asks Cersei if she plans to kill all of her enemies. While Cersei doesn't kill all of enemies, she comes pretty dang close.
I Was Quite a Looker: It's strongly implied that she was very attractive in her youth. Considering that her actress is Diana Rigg (who was a sex symbol in the 1960's), and Olenna is naturally charismatic, it's no surprise at all. This is later confirmed when she recalls seducing her future husband the night before he was supposed to propose to her elder sister.
Jerkass Has a Point: While telling Daenerys to ignore Tyrion's advice was a bit of a dick move, Olenna did have a point especially in hindsight. A lot of Tyrion's advice for Dany only served to screw her over in the long run. His advice to besiege Casterly Rock instead of King's Landing cost Dany her allies (including Olenna herself). His suggestion to establish a truce with Cersei by capturing a wight cost Dany her dragon Viserion, whom the Night King uses to destroy the wall that kept the armies of the dead at bay, ensuring that the invasion comes ahead of schedule. Not to mention that the entire plan was All for Nothing as Cersei secretly proceeds to violate the truce anyway.
Kick the Dog: Killing Joffrey? fair enough. Making Tyrion and Sansa The Scapegoat? Probably necessary, but still not cool, Olenna.
Laser-Guided Karma:
- At the end of Season 6, she laments about how Cersei murdered her son and her grandchildren and ended the House Tyrell. Two seasons earlier, Olenna murdered Cersei's son Joffrey and had the innocent Tyrion Lannister as The Scapegoat, which quickly led to the effective end of House Lannister in King's Landing, with Tywin and Tyrion eliminated and Cersei pushed further into madness. So while Cersei and the Lannisters, in general, are more villainous than Olenna and the Tyrells in general, Cersei in a way serves Olenna an appropriate response for her actions - with bonus Irony points for not even knowing it.
- Her death also has an ironic flavor: she dies with poison (albeit a painless one, unlike the Strangler which was used to kill Joffrey) handed by his own father Jaime. The difference is that he had no idea she was the one to have killed him, which she tells him just before dying.
Last of Their Kind: After the destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor, Olenna became the last surviving member of House Tyrell, and even then only in name as she is a Redwyne by birth. After her death by poison in Season 7, House Tyrell is officially dead, with Wardenship of the South and Lord Paramountship of the Reach set to fall to Randyll Tarly - though the end of Season 8 reveals that it falls to Bronn, of all people.
Like an Old Married Couple: Briefly has this dynamic with Tywin Lannister, of all people, during "The Lion and the Rose".
Mama Bear:
- She killed Joffrey because he would have treated Margaery badly. To a lesser extent, she was also shielding Loras from future harm, as it was only a matter of time before Joffrey would enact a law that would make homosexuality a capital crime ^{From the books...} In Season 5, despite her advanced age, she's descended to the capital, getting into fights to protect her grandchildren. It's actually quite touching.
- She refuses to leave Margaery and Loras behind, even as the High Sparrow seeks to "convert" her like he did with Margaery. It's only when Margaery reveals to her that she's still playing the game that Olenna decides to return to the Reach.
- After Cersei kills Mace, Margaery, and Loras in the Wildfire explosion, Olenna decides to ally herself with House Martell and, presumably, Queen Daenerys as well in order to get revenge on Cersei.
The Mentor: To her granddaughter Margaery.
Mercy Kill: Her death, compared to what Cersei originally had in store for her (such as public whipping and torture), is provided by Jaime Lannister, who gives her a mere painless poison she takes without hesitation. She proceeds to spit on his mercy by revealing she was the one to have killed his son's Joffrey, making him regret having given her mercy in the first place.
My Beloved Smother: Sees nothing wrong with running her son's life; subverted in that she actually is more competent than him.
My Greatest Failure: Underestimating Cersei and being unable to imagine, let alone anticipate, the horrible things Cersei would be capable of.
Never Bareheaded: She’s always seen wearing some sort of head covering.
Never Got to Say Goodbye: Lord Mace, Margaery, and Loras died when she was home at the Reach.
Never Mess with Granny: Throughout Seasons 3 and 4, she proves herself to be a tough and uncompromising old lady... but her most jaw-droppingly awesome moment came in "Oathkeeper" where she reveals she had poisoned Joffrey in order to protect her granddaughter from his sadistic excesses. She is also ready to have an all out war against the Sparrows to prevent Margaery to make a walk of penance. After Cersei blows up the Great Sept of Baelor, killing Mace, Margaery, and Loras, she doesn't need much convincing to join the Targaryen-Martell-Greyjoy alliance against Cersei, sending the entirety of the Tyrell fleet to Meereen to join Dany's invasion armada.
Olenna: [to Margaery] You didn't think I'd let you marry that beast, did you?
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- In her understandable concern for Margaery's well-being, she has Joffrey killed, which triggers the demise of the rational Lannister leadership (Tywin and Tyrion) and the empowerment of Cersei. This brings major disaster.
- One could argue that she had a hand in Tyrion's poor choice to have the Unsullied invade Casterly Rock as an opening gambit to Danerys' war with Cersei. See Teeth-Clenched Teamwork below.
Nice to the Waiter: Played with. She is often shown to be very cheeky to her household (and frankly, to anybody), but always in a benevolent way.
No Historical Figures Were Harmed: It's probably not a coincidence that Olenna's fashion sense, behavior, and mastery of Realpolitik harkens a lot to portrayals of Eleanor of Aquitaine, the matriarch of The House of Plantagenet (all during her husband King Henry II's rule, and even as regent to her kingly sons, Richard I and John). Olenna's outfit even echoes Eleanor's tomb effigy◊ quite a bit.
Obfuscating Stupidity: Surrounds herself with simpering girls (or "hens" as she calls them) to seem harmless, when she's really a dangerous chessmaster on the level of Tyrion, Tywin, Varys, or Petyr Baelish, a fact which all of them are fully aware of and respect accordingly. Indeed, she and Littlefinger team up to take out Joffrey with Tyrion taking the blame; not only does nobody suspect them, no one even knows of their secret alliance.
Out-Gambitted: After the plot to marry Loras to Sansa is discovered, she's able to put up some resistance against a new arrangement with the Lannisters. Lord Tywin trumps her with Royal prerogatives, anyway; if she doesn't cave in, Loras will be made a member of the celibate Kingsguard, meaning the Tyrell name will wither and fade, as Joffrey's sons would inherit Highgarden instead. Being the resourceful lady that she is, the setback never comes in play because her plot to murder Joffrey disrupts the Lannisters and eventually takes Tywin down.
Outliving One's Offspring: Loses her son and grandchildren to Cersei's wildfire scheme in the Season 6 finale.
Pet the Dog:
- She is one of the very few individuals in Westeros who compliments Brienne instead of insulting her when meeting the female warrior for the first time. The only other two characters who have previously done this are Renly and Catelyn.
- She literally does this in "The Lion and the Rose" when she caresses Sansa's face as she offers her condolences for Robb's death. Olenna then tells the girl that she has an open invitation to Highgarden, which makes Sansa smile. The fact that she chooses this precise moment to unload the crystal with poison from Sansa's necklace spoils it somewhat.
Politically Incorrect Hero: Unlike the other heroic characters her views of commoners are fitting of the nobility of the time. Treating them more like mouths to feed and entertain to stop riots. The High Sparrow calls her out on it when she threatens to cut King's Landing food supply, pointing out she'll just rise them against the noble who bullies them for her whim than the man who preaches equality.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers a great one to Cersei in "The Broken Man", calling out the Lannister queen's stupidity that endangered two great houses... resulting in Cersei admitting her mistakes, possibly the first time in the series.
Cersei: Your grandson is still a prisoner. You'll leave him rotting in a cell?
Olenna: (scowling at Cersei) Loras rots in a cell because of you. The High Sparrow rules this city because of you. Our two ancient houses face collapse because of you and your stupidity!
Red Baron: "The Queen of Thorns".
Refuge in Audacity:
- Defends Loras's homosexuality to Tywin, questioning if he himself has never been guilty of the occasional spot of buggery, perhaps with some of his male cousins! She also brings up the issue of Joffrey's true parentage, and instead of a Death Glare that would have been the response for anyone else, she receives from Tywin a hasty bit of Plausible Deniability.
- When Tywin threatens her with naming Loras to the Kingsguard, thus leaving House Tyrell without an heir and Joffrey's potential children with a superior claim to Highgarden via Margaery, Lady Olenna takes Tywin's quill and breaks it.
- A retroactive example is her loudly declaring, "What kind of monster would murder a man at his own wedding day?" in earshot of the Lannisters when referencing the events of the Red Wedding. This happens not long before she poisons Joffrey's wine, causing him to die horribly at his own wedding.
- An even bigger one is her conversation with Cersei at the Sept of Baelor in "And Now His Watch Is Ended":
  Olenna: We mothers do what we can to keep our sons from the grave, but they do seem to yearn for it.
Revenge: Her only remaining motivation is to get revenge on Cersei for taking her son, grandson, and granddaughter away from her.
Right Hand Versus Left Hand: She is the de facto ruler of the Tyrell family, but strategic alliances are the one thing out of her control. She is most critical of Mace's marriage policy for Margaery, so she moves to King's Landing to do damage control, keeping the not very bright Mace in the dark.
Screw Politeness, I'm a Senior!: How she got her In Seriesnickname, the Queen of Thorns. She always says exactly what she thinks. Or at least projects this image. A reputation for Brutal Honesty makes it all the more easy to get away with lying.
Self-Deprecation: She thinks the golden rose and words of House Tyrell ("Growing Strong") are absolutely stupid and hates the family's penchant for Sigil Spamming the rose everywhere they go.
Sensing You Are Outmatched: She starts out with the assumption that the High Sparrow is as susceptible to bribery as anyone else. However, being a better judge of character than Cersei, she quickly realises that her usual tactics won't work this time.
Sex Goddess: Olenna is stated to be (possibly violent) one during her youth to the point of making her husband unable to walk for days.
Sibling Triangle: Her late husband was originally engaged to her sister until Lady Olenna seduced him.
Speak Ill of the Dead: She likes to point out how dumb her late husband was.
Surrounded by Idiots: Lady Olenna's not too shy about expressing how stupid she felt her son (Mace) and grandson (Loras) were when they threw in their lot with Renly. She doesn't speak much better of her late husband either, who it seems died in a rather unceremonious fashion whilst out hawking.
Olenna: My husband, the late Lord Luthor, managed to ride off a cliff while hawking. They say he was looking at the sky and paying no mind to where his horse was taking him. Now my son is doing the same, only this time he's riding a lion instead of a horse.
Mirth to Power: Her acidic quips and one-liners tend to point out the hypocrisy and fallacious thinking to whoever she's speaking to. She gets away with saying things that others would be beheaded for.
Sympathetic Murderer: She poisons King Joffrey so her granddaughter won't be married to a sadistic monster. He really is that, so the murder isn't hard to sympathize with.
Taking You with Me: Olenna notes that she has a strong defense against Littlefinger (stronger than any other character's) openly or secretly moving against her: if she finds House Tyrell falling, she can simply reveal how they plotted with Littlefinger to kill Joffrey. Littlefinger looks furious when she makes this claim.
Olenna: I promise you, Lord Baelish, that our fates are joined. Together, we murdered a King. If my House should fall, I will have nothing to hide. And if I should meet with some "accident" here at your broken little flesh-market, they'll never even find what's left of you.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: In Season 7, despite being on the same side as Tyrion as they are both allied with Daenerys, she shows him no respect at all. She tells Daenerys to ignore his advice, and outright neglects to inform him of what's been going on in Westeros during his absence, including how House Lannister is now bankrupt, which leads to Tyrion's strategy for Daenerys' army to conquer Westeros falling apart because it was based off of outdated intel - which could've been easily corrected if Olenna had been more open with her allies.
Too Much Information: Proudly tells her granddaughter the story of how she seduced her late husband, including how they had sex.
Underestimating Badassery: Before leaving King's Landing, Olenna thought for sure that Cersei was finished, pointing out that she was surrounded by thousands of enemies and mockingly asked if she was going to kill them all. While it weren't all of her enemies, Cersei did indeed kill a large number of them in the season finale, including Olenna's son and her two grandchildren. In her final moments, she admits to Jaime that Cersei did things that not even Olenna would imagine doing herself.
Unusual Euphemism: Refers to Loras as a "sword swallower" when Tywin asks about her grandson's proclivities.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Although done to protect Margaery and to weaken House Lannister even more, assassinating Joffrey in hindsight was a very bad idea since it sets off a chain of dominos that lead to the death of Tywin Lannister, the main stabilizing force in Westeros and a power vacuum which the High Sparrow steps into, weakening the power and influences of the Great Houses. And then Ceresi kills the High Sparrow along with most of the Tyrells, claiming the Iron Throne.
The Woman Behind the Man: She's the true head of House Tyrell. She casually dismisses Mace when she's talking to Tywin.
Women Are Wiser:
- If someone asks Olenna, the men of Tyrell family tend to be popular but rather dense — perfect for effective figureheads if the women are smart and assertive enough. She might have a point. Olenna sees directly through Tywin's bold boasts, including his 'apparent' lack of worry about the Iron Bank, to which she reminds him that he isn't that stupid. Ironically, however, her decisions to do damage control, help accelerate the decline of her house more than her son's and grandson's.
- In what would be her last words of advice to Daenarys, Olenna told the Queen that the way she had gotten to be around as long as she had was by ignoring all the 'clever men' that advised her what to do. Given the context, it was primarily a warning against putting too much stock in Tyrion's advice, but the broader message was that Dany should trust herself more than any man.
Worthy Opponent:
- Praises Tywin Lannister on living up to his reputation. While she admits to Cersei after Tywin's death that she doesn't like Tywin on a personal level, she at the very least respects him. Tywin himself seemed to consider her this, treating Olenna as his intellectual equal, and recognizing her as the true head of House Tyrell, dealing with her directly when arranging a marriage between their two families, and not with her son Mace, who is technically the Lord of Highgarden.
- Subverted when she meets Tyrion to plan the funding of the Royal Wedding. She was expecting more from him in terms of his intelligence and licentiousness. She lampshades the fact that he now behaves like a proper gentleman (which disappoints her) and is an easily bullied accountant, rather than the lustful and clever schemer that he used to be.^note
Would Hurt a Child: The revelation that she is Joffrey's murderer shows she is just as ruthless when it comes to sentiment as Tywin, Littlefinger, and others. Of course, Joffrey is an Asshole Victim and she was protecting Margaery from a horrible fate and Olenna admits she did not expect the poison to kill him in such a gruesome manner, but she still killed a child who died in his mother's arms.

Queen Margaery Tyrell

Played By: Natalie Dormer

Voiced By: Carla Castañeda (Latin American Spanish), Kanako Tojo (Japanese)

See Margaery Tyrell.

Ser Loras Tyrell

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/loras_tyrell.png

"It's not a gift; nobody gave it to me. I'm good because I work at it, every day of my life since I could hold a stick."

Played By: Finn Jones

"I've never fought in a war before, but I'd fight for you."

A highly-skilled knight of great renown who is known as the Knight of Flowers. He is Mace Tyrell's only son and the heir to Highgarden.

100% Heroism Rating: He is a very popular knight at tourneys, and the smallfolk always cheer and root for him. Even when he is defeated by Brienne in the melee, the crowd is still on Loras's side because they let out a disappointed "Oh!" when he yields. The onlookers then remain silent, and the sole person who applauds and smiles at Brienne's victory is Renly. ^note
Adaptational Heroism: The show omits Loras's main Kick the Dog moment of unjustly murdering two fellow Kingsguard in a fit of rage after Renly's death. Since he is also a Composite Character with his Adapted Out brothers Garlan and Willas who are both straight-up Nice Guys, Loras is actually sympathetic to Sansa's plight and motivated by the chivalrous ideal of rescuing her from King's Landing via their planned arranged marriage despite their Incompatible Orientation.
Adaptational Nice Guy:
- As he is a Composite Character with his mild-mannered brothers, Loras on the series is somewhat calmer and less rash than he is in the books. The TV version doesn't demand to Ned that he be in charge of the group that is tasked to arrest the Mountain, as the young man's pride doesn't appear to be all that wounded after Gregor attempted to kill him. ^note
- Loras in Season 3 is noticeably kinder towards Sansa than he is in A Storm of Swords. ^note On the show, Loras is never rude or cold when he's with her, and he has every intention of being a good husband once they are married (at least as much as he can considering his sexual orientation). In certain respects, HBO's Knight of Flowers may be a slightly better choice for a spouse than Tyrion — or at the very least, he's no worse. The young man also recognizes that Sansa has suffered greatly as a prisoner of the Lannisters, and is sympathetic towards her situation when he mentions that King's Landing is a terrible place. In other words, TV Loras is less self-absorbed with his own misery and is more considerate of Sansa's feelings. He even says to Cersei after being betrothed to her instead of Sansa that if they're going to be married they should at least be friends (which with it being Cersei doesn't really work).
Adaptational Wimp: Whereas in the novels he's named to the Kingsguard and becomes a sort of unofficial master-at-arms since no one bothers to name one after the death of Ser Aron Santagar in the Riots of King's Landing, the show's writers seem to have forgotten he's a glory-seeking warrior.
Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Inverted, in the novels Loras remains faithful to the late Renly's memory and there's no mention or even hint he takes on another lover. He gladly joins the Kingsguard because he doesn't believe he'll ever fall in love again, whereas the show has him take on Olyvar as a casual lover and make no mention of Renly.
Adaptation Distillation: Unlike his book counterpart, Loras never believes for a moment that Brienne is responsible for Renly's death. Despite his intense grief and his resentment of losing to her in the melee, he correctly blames Stannis.
Adaptational Dumbass: Justified; he's mourning his lover and seeking sex from random bodies for pay. Book Loras was also very careful to hide his sexuality, which is why Cersei has to frame Margaery for adultery. Here, he's easily seduced and sold out by the prostitutes that he sees.
Adaptation Expansion: Most of what we see of him in the books is through the eyes of other characters. The series actually shows quite a few scenes that focus on Loras, including explicitly showing his sexual relationship with Renly.
Age Lift: Loras is 16 years old in the first novel, but his TV counterpart is already an adult in Season 1. He looks to be around 20 in "The Lion and the Rose".
Annoying Younger Sibling: Downplayed, since he and Margaery are devoted to each other. But it's clear that his sister would prefer if Loras were more cautious and not let his lust blind him about the dangers of the life in the capital.
Arch-Enemy: There's no one in the world that he hates more than Stannis, who ordered the assassination of his lover Renly.
Arranged Marriage: In Season 3, he is initially betrothed to Sansa, but Tywin arranges a marriage with Cersei.
Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy: He's a very good swordsman — and knows it. He even laments in "Kissed By Fire" that there are no worthy opponents in King's Landing for him to spar with.
Bad "Bad Acting": Very literally in "Valar Morghulis". He only has a small role in the rehearsed scene that was enacted for the benefit of the court, but he can't be bothered do his part properly, as his body language practically oozes with contempt for Joffrey, and Loras even messes up one of his lines because he inadvertently lets out a Freudian Slip regarding his feelings for Renly. After Littlefinger hears the error, he turns his head sharply in Loras's direction and he purses his lips, annoyed that the young knight couldn't get the words right.
Beard of Sorrow: Grows one after being imprisoned by the Faith Militant.
Beauty Is Never Tarnished: A rare example with a male character. When Loras removes his helm in "Blackwater", his curly hair looks perfect despite having fought a battle. There doesn't appear to be a single scratch or bruise on him.
Beneath the Mask: Most of the time, he's the epitome of chivalry in public, but as of the midway point of Season 2, Loras becomes bitter and depressed after his boyfriend is slain. He must hide his grief from the outside world with fake smiles, as not only was he in love with a man, but Renly is viewed as a traitor by the crown. Having to swear fealty to the despicable and homophobic Joffrey also doesn't help matters, and the added strain causes Loras's figurative mask to crack on a few occasions.
Best Friends-in-Law: In addition to being motivated by politics, the arranged marriage between Renly and Margaery is also an excuse for Loras to become closer to his boyfriend, as they become in-laws. Margaery is even willing to share her husband with Loras in bed if it stimulates Renly and helps to get her pregnant with Renly's much-needed heir.
Big Damn Heroes: Comes riding to the rescue of King's Landing with Tywin Lannister — wearing Renly's armour.
Big Little Brother: Loras is several inches taller than Margaery, and book readers (and probably most viewers) naturally assumed that he is still the older sibling. However, Word of God has established that Margaery is the eldest Tyrell child on the show. invoked
Blatant Lies: When Jaime asks him if he is looking forward to his wedding to Cersei, Loras hesitates for a moment before replying, "Yes, very much."
Bling of War: His gleaming and ornate armour. It's slightly modified in Season 2 so that it's more practical for an actual battle.
Bodyguard Crush: While he was part of Renly's Kingsguard. It's an unusual reciprocal version of the trope because it involves two men.
Break the Cutie: Come Season 6, he is only a shell of what he used to be, both physically and mentally.
Broken Bird: In Season 6, it's quite clear being imprisoned has done this to him.
Brother–Sister Team: With Margaery. See her entry for examples of their teamwork.
Bunny-Ears Lawyer: His flashy style is seen as rather gaudy to most and is part of the reason almost everyone knows he's gay, something problematic in a homophobic culture like Westeros. However he's a gifted fighter and one of the few knights who lives by his vows, so he's highly respected. Even Tywin describes him as "a skilled warrior who takes his vows seriously."
But Not Too Gay: His intimate scenes with Renly are not nearly as sexually explicit as the heterosexual pairings on the show. By Season 5, he's shown engaged in explicit sex with Olyvar, complete with nudity.
Camp Gay: Borders on this in Seasons 1 and 2, especially when compared to Renly's Straight Gay. "Camped up" in Season 3.
Campy Combat: Downplayed. He's a gay, famed knight who has long hair and is well-dressed and groomed. He wears armor covered in roses, his house's symbol, and jousts against Gregor Clegane while riding a white horse.
The Cavalry: He leads the charge in "Blackwater", which turns the battle in favor of the Lannisters.
The Champion: He is this to Renly. ^note
Combat Pragmatist: He rode a mare that was in heat, knowing Ser Gregor would be riding a stallion. Characters grumble over whether it makes him this trope or a dirty cheat. One could even argue that it wasn’t very pragmatic, since Gregor attempts to kill him.
Commonality Connection: He begins to form this with Sansa in "The Climb", as they are both extremely depressed after losing a loved one (Renly for Loras and Ned for Sansa), plus they find life in King's Landing intolerable.
Composite Character:
- His words to Catelyn when she approaches Renly in "What is Dead May Never Die" were taken from Randyll Tarly in the novels, who doesn't appear onscreen until the sixth season.
- With the other two Tyrell brothers, Garlan and Willas, being Adapted Out, Loras takes over their parts in the plot:
  - In the books, it's his older brother Ser Garlan who wears Renly's armour at the Battle of Blackwater. Loras wanted the honour, but he was too short and too slender. This change is also a Pragmatic Adaptation on the show because Show!Renly has less of a Heroic Build than Book!Renly and the actors who play Loras and Renly are practically the same size, so there's no reason Renly's armor would've been ill-fitting on Loras. Loras has also taken Garlan's position as commander of the Tyrells' army.
  - In the third season, his family plots to betroth him to Sansa. In the novels, the Tyrells intend her to wed his scholarly and crippled older brother Willas. In "Kissed By Fire", he once again substitutes for Willas when Tywin orders Cersei to marry Loras after the Lannisters discover and pre-empt the aforementioned scheme by marrying Sansa to Tyrion; in the books, Tywin proposes to the Tyrells that Cersei will marry Willas (but they reject the offer, whereas in the show they don't). Loras also takes Willas's place as the heir to Highgarden.
- He replaces Sansa as the person who unwittingly spills the beans about the secret engagement to Littlefinger's agent.
Cool Helmet:
- You can look at detailed images of the Knight of Flowers's helm here.
- Loras wears Renly's antlered helm at the Battle of Blackwater as part of his elaborate disguise.
Crazy Jealous Guy: Has not had the best response to Renly making Brienne a member of his Kingsguard. He "punishes" his lover by withholding sex.
Cry into Chest: Breaks down in Margery's arms when she visits him in his cell.
The Dandy: Shiny armor, immaculately groomed, loves his flowers. The last is justified, since his House's sigil is a rose. Loras wears beautiful clothing in Seasons 3 and 4 that enhances his good looks.
Deadpan Snarker: He can be quite sassy on occasion. Also see his Stealth Insult entry for more examples.
Loras: Stannis has the personality of a lobster!
- When Jaime threatens him about marrying Cersei, Loras has this to say.
Loras: And neither will you.
Dead Person Impersonation: In "Blackwater", as a result of wearing Renly's armor in battle. Stannis' men believe it is Renly's ghost.
Death by Disfigurement: He's carved with the official star in the forehead by the Sparrows, in addition to a Traumatic Haircut, minutes before he dies.
Death Seeker: When Margaery visits him in his cell, he continuously repeats that he wants it to end, and questions when it will end.
Demoted to Extra: In Season 4. He only has a few lines of dialogue in "The Lion and the Rose", and is reduced to a background character in "First of His Name" and "The Laws of Gods and Men". And in Season 6, he only appears in two episodes.
Despair Event Horizon: Traumatized both mentally and physically due to his imprisonment.
Death by Adaptation: His book counterpart is still alive as of A Dance with Dragons.
Dirt Forcefield: He should be covered in blood, sweat and grime in "Blackwater", yet he's completely clean. Loras's flawless appearance is further highlighted after Tywin arrives to the throne room because the old man's face is coated with blood splatter and dirt.
Distracted by the Sexy: He accidentally bumps into Jaime while exchanging smouldering looks with Oberyn Martell.
Dude Looks Like a Lady:
- Jaime describes Loras as a curly-haired little girl in "Dark Wings, Dark Words".
- Joffrey clearly sees the Knight of Flowers in a similar fashion because he arranges a repugnant dwarf play at his wedding where Loras is depicted as a girly-looking, curly-haired man.
Due to the Dead: He stands vigil over Renly's body, and remains near his beloved even as Tyrell bannermen are panicking to flee the area before Stannis' fleet arrives. It's revealed in a deleted scene that Loras also buried Renly on his own, which is a detail taken from the novels. ^note
Eating the Eye Candy:
- His face shows great anticipation and excitement as Renly removes his shirt in "What is Dead May Never Die".
- At the Purple Wedding, both he and Oberyn silently communicate that they find the other to be very "delectable"; it's very obvious what they'd like to "eat" for dessert later that night...
Enemy of My Enemy: He initially viewed the Lannisters as his enemy, but he chose to side with them after Stannis murdered Renly. Loras still hates Joffrey passionately, though, as seen by his Suppressed Rage in "Valar Morghulis".
Erotic Eating: In "The Lion and the Rose", he and Oberyn sensually chew on food to signal their sexual interest towards each other.
Even the Guys Want Him:
- Two lowborn Lannister soldiers think he's prettier than Queen Cersei — and she's considered to be the most beautiful woman in the Seven Kingdoms.
- The bisexual Prince Oberyn mentally undresses Loras with his eyes at the Purple Wedding.
Flanderization: He becomes more stupid and reckless as well as a Butt-Monkey in Season 5.
Flowers of Romance: Subverted when he gives Sansa a red rose. She believes it's a token of his affection and fails to notice that Loras is actually googly-eyed over Renly.
Foil:
- Pompous, overconfident, attractive knight, Lord Commander of a family member's Kingsguard, brother of the queen, hiding (barely) a socially unacceptable romantic relationship? He's Jaime 20 years younger. Loras is a Knight In Shining Armour who is widely admired by the smallfolk, while Jaime is a Blood Knight whom everyone (accurately) reviles as an oathbreaker and (inaccurately) a self-serving opportunist. Loras is recognized as one of the saviours of King's Landing after he helped to end Stannis's siege, but Jaime's greatest heroic deed (i.e. saving the city's population from being consumed by the Mad King's wildfire) is known by no one else besides Brienne. By Season 4, the youthful Loras is a rising star in the world of knights, whereas the middle-aged Jaime is regarded as a has-been now that he has lost his sword hand. Both characters suffer lengthy imprisonment, but whereas the idealistic Loras is broken by the experience, Jamie manages to survive it unbroken. Olenna saves Loras from becoming another Kingslayer by having Joffrey poisoned, since Joffrey's inevitable mistreatment of Margarery could have had only one outcome. Also see Loras's Good Counterpart entry for more comparisons between the two characters.
- He is also a foil to Brienne of Tarth. Both are knights in shining armor who are introduced as winners of a tourney event, earning their victory with the aid of Combat Pragmatism. They are heirs to their respective Houses, but they love Renly so much that they would rather dedicate their whole lives to serving him as a member of his Kingsguard. They are completely devastated after Renly is slain, becoming knights in sour armor, and both swear vengeance against Stannis. Although they end up with different masters, Loras and Brienne remain devoted to Renly in their own way, and have performed at least one act of Undying Loyalty. Loras is a Pretty Boy (or in some characters' opinion, a Dude Looks Like a Lady), which mirrors Brienne being perceived in-universe as a Lady Looks Like a Dude.
  - In terms of their differences, however, Loras's fighting skills are respected by virtually everyone, but Brienne's martial prowess remains largely unrecognized even after she beats the Knight of Flowers at King Renly's tourney. Loras becomes a powerless political pawn as of Season 3, while Brienne is essentially a free agent, especially after Catelyn's death. Numerous characters have derided Loras for his homosexuality, but it's usually not expressed in front of his face. Brienne, on the other hand, endures a lot verbal abuse (or worse) for her masculinity. Loras dresses ostentatiously and is perfectly coiffed (it must take some time to style the unruly curls every morning), whereas Brienne's clothing is plain and she keeps her straight hair short and simple.
- To Sansa Stark. Loras (an aspiring Knight In Shining Armour) and Sansa (an aspiring Princess Classic) have learned the hard way that life isn't a fairy tale. Both of them carried romantic ideals, believing that they would live Happily Ever After with their beloved Baratheon ("Prince Charming" Joffrey for Sansa, "The Good King" Renly for Loras). Both have been crushed emotionally when their dreams transformed into nightmares (Joffrey turned out to be a sadistic psychopath and executed Sansa's father, while Renly was murdered not long after Loras pushed him to become king). In Season 3, they are both used as political pawns by Olenna, Tywin and Littlefinger, and they end up being betrothed to someone they don't want to marry. Loras and Sansa are miserable living in King's Landing, but they maintain a Stepford Smiler persona. Both have called Joffrey a monster, and they were among the three people (the other being Tyrion) who were tormented the most by the king in "The Lion and the Rose".
  - A major distinction between the two characters is that Loras has the support of his powerful family, which managed to secure a pardon from the crown even though they once supported Renly and rebelled against Joffrey. In contrast, all of the adults in Sansa's House have been butchered by the Lannisters as punishment for their treason, which makes her a lot more vulnerable.
Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: Margaery is cautious, calculating and actually remembers she's in a Decadent Court when she arrives there. Loras tends to follow his instincts and falls into the first Honey Trap that opens before him in King's Landing.
Four-Star Badass: Leads the Tyrell contingent at Blackwater Bay. From the front. Not bad for a young man in his early twenties who has never fought a real battle before.
Freudian Slip: In "Valar Morghulis", Loras subconsciously let it slip that Renly was far more than a brother-in-law to him when he tells the court, "My sister Margaery, her husband was taken from us before..." He should've said "her husband was taken from her," or simply "her husband was taken" instead.
Freudian Trio: He is the Id in his three-way marriage to Renly (Ego) and Margaery (Superego).
Funny Background Event:
- In "Garden of Bones", he laughs merrily after Renly makes his ham joke, but as soon as Catelyn starts talking, Loras becomes annoyed and sighs heavily.
- He appears to be flirting with a young nobleman in "Second Sons" while Cersei recounts the story of the Rains of Castemere.
- In "First of His Name", when we glimpse the throne room from Margaery's perspective, Loras is chatting with Oberyn. ^note Hmm, did those two men already hook up off-screen, or are at least planning to do so soon?
Good Counterpart: To Ser Jaime Lannister. Loras has yet to do anything as heinous as pushing a kid out of a window or murdering his own cousin in cold blood. He and Margaery are a Brother–Sister Team, whereas Jaime and Cersei are engaged in Brother–Sister Incest. Although Loras is jealous of Brienne, he doesn't actually want to harm her, and even comes to her defense when Margaery accuses her of murdering Renly. Jaime attempts to kill Brienne (who was merely trying to escort him safely to King's Landing, albeit in chains) in "Dark Wings, Dark Words". Loras tries to engage in polite small talk with Jaime in "The Lion and the Rose", and the older knight suddenly escalates it to a confrontation by threatening his life.
Heartbroken Badass: He becomes this after Renly is slain.
Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: When they meet Stannis in "Garden of Bones", Loras is the only member of Renly's Kingsguard who doesn't wear a helm.
Incompatible Orientation: He is somewhat awkward while conversing with Sansa in "The Climb", but he does seem to genuinely want to help her escape King's Landing through their marriage and give her a better life in Highgarden.
Informed Attractiveness: While definitely one of the best-looking men in the cast, the comments on Loras's good looks never stop and go a bit overboard.
In-Series Nickname: The Knight of (the) Flowers. The extra "the" was used in Season 1, but it has been omitted since Season 2. ^note
Instant Seduction: It doesn't take long for him to be seduced by Olyvar. Justified, since the spy is one of Littlefinger's prostitutes, and therefore quite experienced at this, plus Loras hasn't been physically intimate with anyone since Renly's death.
In Touch with His Feminine Side: In terms of this trope's five broad categories, Loras is strongly defined by his Effeminate or Non-Masculine Appearance and Typically Feminine Interests (e.g. his enthusiasm for fashion).
Interrupted Intimacy: Margaery of all people walks in on Loras and Olyvar having sex, only to remind Loras he is still engaged to Cersei.
I Owe You My Life: He says this word-for-word to the Hound after Sandor saves him from the Mountain, and Loras decides to repay the debt by forfeiting the final round of the joust and giving the championship title (plus the substantial award money) to the Hound.
Jousting Lance: Is an expert at using this weapon. Loras has beaten notable knights such as Jaime Lannister and Gregor Clegane in jousting competitions, and is widely regarded to be the finest jouster in the Seven Kingdoms.
Knight in Shining Armor:
- Played With, as he is both willing to use underhanded tactics in a joust with Gregor Clegane, and was secretly urging Renly to overthrow the supposed rightful heir and rule as king. However in both cases the target of these shady moves were thoroughly deserving of such treatment (and in the latter example, he clearly believes Renly would be a far kinder and more noble King and thus better for the kingdom), and he remains one of the show's closest candidates to being this trope as he is chivalrous, noble, a talented fighter, and if his armor were any shinier, he would be a walking mirror. Even Tywin, who knows of Loras's "unnatural behaviour," notes that Loras is a highly-skilled warrior who takes his vows seriously.
- Although he's not romantically interested in Sansa, his adherence to knightly ideals plays a part in wanting to rescue her from the hell she's in, and he willingly enters into an Arranged Marriage with the girl so that he can whisk her away to Highgarden. Say what you will of his grandmother's and sister's ulterior motives, but Loras is more honourable than that. He understands that King's Landing is a terrible place for Sansa, and he sees her as a Damsel in Distress who is held prisoner by the "monster" Joffrey.
Knight in Sour Armour: He becomes this in Season 2, especially after Renly dies. It's even shown symbolically, as his once spotless suit of armour has become dirty and tarnished.
Lady Macbeth: Without his lips whispering encouragement in Renly's ear (and doing... other things in other places), Renly probably still would have thought he'd make a good king, but he would never have acted on those thoughts. Possibly a subversion, as other characters have implied Renly's legitimately is the best choice of all the people related to Robert, and only out of the running due to an accident of birth order.
The Lady's Favour: It initially appears to be a gender inversion of this trope when he gives Sansa a rose before his joust, but it's quickly subverted when it turns out to be an empty gesture. Renly is his true sweetheart, but Loras obviously cannot offer his favour to another man in a homophobic society, so he simply hands the rose to the young lady who happens to be seated the closest to Renly in the stands.
Lady and Knight: A same-sex variation where he is the skilled, brave warrior who is sworn to protect the handsome and gentle King Renly.
Lady Macbeth: Despite being a male character, Loras essentially fulfills this trope by planting the idea into Renly's head that he should be king.
Love Hurts: Losing the love of his life is already incredibly painful enough as it is, but what makes Loras's suffering even worse is that he cannot openly express his grief as Renly was a man and a traitor to the crown. Joffrey has informed Margaery that he would like to execute all homosexuals, so Loras can't afford to let out any of his true feelings. He is still mourning
Love Triangle: Brienne is in love with Renly, but he and Loras have already been a romantic couple for years, and she doesn't believe in any of the gossip surrounding them. While Renly is aware that Brienne is very loyal to him, it's unclear on the show if he ever suspected that she fancied him. for Renly in Season 4.
Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: His shield saves his life when the Mountain attacks him after their joust.
Ludicrous Gibs: His body is literally blasted into a thousand pieces (possibly even to nothingness) by Cersei's bombing of the Sept.
Lysistrata Gambit: A rather atypical example involving a same-sex couple. Feeling slighted by Brienne's Rank Up, Loras not only withholds sex from Renly, but he punishes his boyfriend even further by bringing Margaery to Renly's bed, knowing full well that Renly utterly dreads the prospect of having to consummate the marriage.
Machiavelli Was Wrong: He thinks Renly should be king because unlike those who came before him, he would be loved instead of hated or feared.
Mangst: Experiences a lot of this after Renly is assassinated.
Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy: Loras plays the Feminine Boy to Brienne's Masculine Girl.
Master Swordsman: His sword fighting skills have been praised by various characters.
Meaningful Look:
- He and Renly share a lingering one at the Tourney of the Hand, and it's our first clue that these two characters are more than friends.
- They exchange another look when Brienne asks to become one of Renly's Kingsguards. As Renly considers her request, Loras's expression basically reads, "Tell her no." Renly decides to disregard this quiet plea, much to Loras's irritation.
- See Margaery's entry for their examples in "Valar Morghulis" and "Valar Dohaeris".
- In "Second Sons", Tyrion raises his glass in pity to him, and his eyes say, "You're next to get married." Loras, who is already quite frustrated from the day's events, sighs and turns his head away.
Memetic Badass: In-Universe. Alongside the Kingslayer, Ser Barristan the Bold, and the Blackfish.
The Mistress: Despite being there first, Loras is Renly's, with his sister Margaery being the official spouse. She's cool with it.
Moment Killer: In "What is Dead May Never Die", the foreplay between Loras and Renly is unexpectedly interrupted after Renly starts kissing the bruises on Loras's chest. This reminds Loras of the humiliation he suffered earlier in the day, and it kills the mood.
Moody Mount: He exploits this trope when he jousts against the Mountain. He knows that his opponent has an ill-tempered stallion, so Loras brings a mare in heat to give himself an advantage.
Muscles Are Meaningless: Although Loras does possess a slender build in the books, Finn Jones' skinny physique and his lack of muscles on the show make it difficult for some viewers to believe that his character is one of the best knights in Westeros.
My Master, Right or Wrong: If it weren't for his deep-seated desire to exact some form of revenge on Stannis, Loras would never have agreed to side with the Lannisters because he loathes them (Joffrey especially). However, despite his personal feelings, Loras is dutiful to his own family's interests, and he adopts a grin-and-bear-it attitude. Despite trying to plot against Cersei with Renly in Season 1, he attempts to be nice to her in "Second Sons" after they are forcibly engaged (although his effort is quickly shot down by the Queen Regent's rudeness).
My God, What Have I Done?: This is written all over his face as he sits near Renly's corpse. He feels extremely guilty for convincing his lover to make a bid for the Iron Throne, as this path led to Renly becoming a target for assassination.
My Sister Is Off-Limits: A non-verbal version is featured in "Valar Morghulis" . After Loras unhappily offers his sister as a bride to Joffrey, he then stands protectively behind Margaery and stares defiantly in Joffrey's direction. The boy-king is only paying attention to Margaery at this point, so he doesn't get the message, but Loras is warning Joffrey that he had better not harm his sister^note.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
- He persuades Renly to become king, and his beloved is later killed by a monstrous Living Shadow.
- He reveals to Olyvar that he's secretly engaged to Sansa. The information is then passed on to Littlefinger, who then shares it with the Queen Regent, and the Tyrells' plan is ruined.
Open Secret: He and Renly aren't fooling anyone, except Robert (who is so neglectful of his youngest brother that he has no idea that Renly is romantically involved with Loras), and Sansa (who is generally clueless). This comes back to bite him when the Faith Militant gains power since Loras's homosexuality is so common knowledge that they arrest him for it with no evidence.
Guard #1: [Loras is] better with a sword than any of them.
Guard #2: How good could he be? He's been stabbing Renly Baratheon for years, and Renly ain't dead!
Passive-Aggressive Kombat:
- He and Margaery engage in this when they dine with Cersei and Joffrey in "Valar Dohaeris".
- Jaime initiates a verbal confrontation with him in "The Lion and the Rose", and Loras figuratively burns the older knight with only a few sharp words.
Pragmatic Adaptation: Loras is older than Margaery in the books, but it was revealed by Bryan Cogman in this interview that Margaery is Mace Tyrell's eldest child on the show. The switch in birth order was no doubt due to the fact that Finn Jones is six years younger than Natalie Dormer, the actress who plays his character's sister.
Pretty Boy: George R. R. Martin even described him as "...the teen idol of Westeros" in this HBO featurette. Sansa has a crush on him because of his good looks. In "The Climb", Olenna calls Loras "...the pride of Highgarden, the most desirable bachelor in all of the Seven Kingdoms."
- He was a Long Haired Prettyboy in Season 1. ^note
Quirky Curls: His hair is rather curly.
Red Baron: "The Knight of the Flowers".
Relationship Reveal: The scene where he is shaving Renly's chest.
Revenge: His reason to team up with the Lannisters after Renly is killed; Loras achieves partial vengeance against Stannis by helping to defeat the latter's forces at the Battle of Blackwater.
Revenge Before Reason:
- In "The Ghost of Harrenhal", Loras is ready to storm out of Renly's tent to put a sword through Stannis' righteous face, but Margaery and Littlefinger manage to convince him that it would be hopeless, as he would be killed by Stannis' men long before he ever reached his target.
- Averted with Brienne on the show. ^{From the books...} He puts 2-and-2 together and realises that she was such a Renly fangirl that she would have died before she'd ever harm Renly, thus dismissing the common rumor the she killed him out of hand.
  Margaery: Brienne of Tarth murdered Renly.
  Loras: I don't believe that. You don't believe that. Who would gain the most from our king's death?
  Littlefinger: Stannis.
Reverse Arm-Fold: He adopts this pose in Season 3 whenever he wishes to appear relaxed; examples include his greeting of Cersei and Joffrey in "Valar Dohaeris", while he walks away from Sansa in "Dark Wings, Dark Words", and Tyrion and Sansa's wedding ceremony.
Right Through His Pants: He oddly keep his pants on when he has sex with Olyvar.
Rule of Sexy:
- There is no valid reason for him to be helmet-less when he is present for Renly's parley with Stannis, other than it was the director's whim to highlight the character's physical beauty.
- For a series which prides itself on its grittiness, it's completely unrealistic for Loras to look like he had just stepped out of a Westerosi hair shampoo commercial at the end of "Blackwater".
Rule of Symbolism:
- See Margaery's entry for their example in "Valar Dohaeris".
- He is the only Tyrell in the first three seasons who sports green-and-gold attire. In "Kissed By Fire", he is sparring with various Tyrell squires, so being adorned in his house's true colours represents his honesty as a knight (as opposed to being a pawn — albeit one with a deceptive mask — in his family's political machinations) in this scene.
- The pink rose patterns on Loras's sleeves and Oberyn's wrap around belt◊ at the Purple Wedding are identical. Only the fabric's background colour is different, and in Oberyn's case, it's actually green, one of the House Tyrell colours that is missing from Loras's outfit. This subtly hints at the two characters' attraction towards each other and their similarities. (Oberyn serves as a Foil to Loras — see Oberyn's Foil entry for more details.)
  - It's probably not a coincidence that the five-petal floral design on Oberyn's necklace◊ is a simplified version of the embossed/enameled five-petal flowers on Loras's armour◊.
Ruling Couple: See Margaery's entry for the full details.
Satellite Character: His characterization tends to change to accommodate the plot.
Saying Too Much: He is guilty of this when he informs Olyvar of his betrothal to Sansa.
Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
- Flees King's Landing with Renly when it becomes evident that Joffrey will ascend to the throne.
- He also proceeds to do this with Margaery and the Tyrell armies after Renly's sudden death.
- In "The Lion and the Rose", he furiously departs from the party during the part of the dwarf performance that involved Renly riding on a caricature of himself while getting anally violated by a fake mace.
Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: While his facial features and physical build are noticeably more androgynous than Renly's, Loras is a deadly warrior; his lover on the other hand has never fought a day in his life.
Shield Bash: He is the recipient of this when Brienne hits his helm-covered head with her shield during their melee, but he recovers from the blow.
Shirtless Scene: Has a couple of these with Renly. He also has one with Olyvar in "Kissed By Fire".
Sibling Yin-Yang: Loras publicly pretends that his family's alliance with Renly is motivated by politics and ambition to conceal the fact that he is actually romantically involved with the aspiring King. See Margaery to contrast.
Something about a Rose:
- The rose he carries in "The Wolf and the Lion" hints that he is an Agent Peacock — beautiful, but dangerous. Considering that the Mountain had killed an opponent in the previous episode, viewers who haven't read the books might assume that the rather delicate-looking Knight of Flowers is destined to become Gregor's next victim. With a little Combat Pragmatism, however, Loras takes down the fearsome brute on his first jousting attempt.
- Loras has a rose brooch and roses on his sleeves in "The Lion and the Rose", and Jaime makes the mistake of believing that the young fop is harmless when he isn't jousting or wielding a sword. After the Kingslayer figuratively tries to claw at the Knight of Flowers, Loras then shoves a metaphorical thorn into Jaime's paw, and it stings.
Sore Loser: Although he doesn't do or say anything negative to Brienne after she wins their melee competition, he's shown to be bitter about his defeat when he speaks to Renly in private.
Spoiled Brat: In "The Wolf and the Lion", Renly views Loras as this.
Renly: And how much did your father pay for that armour of yours?
The Squire: Although this hasn't been explicitly mentioned on the series yet, the HBO Viewer's Guide does state that Loras had served as Renly's squire, which is faithful to the novels.
Star-Crossed Lovers: His illicit romance with Renly comes to a tragic end in "The Ghost of Harrenhal" when Renly is assassinated.
Stealth Insult: He has this in common with his sister and grandmother.
- Although he speaks only a few lines in "Valar Dohaeris", Loras (politely) rubs it into Cersei's face that he thinks very poorly of her as Queen due to her neglect/mistreatment of the smallfolk.
  Loras: (smiling directly at Cersei) Margaery does a great deal of work with the poor back in Highgarden.
- In "The Lion and the Rose", he proves that he can fight with words just as well as he fights with swords after Jaime threatens him. The older knight is even a little stunned by how easily Loras is able to hurt his feelings with a single, biting line.
  Jaime: Luckily for you, none of this will happen, because you will never marry her [Cersei].
  Loras: (smiles smugly) And neither will you. (pats Jaime on the arm)
Stepford Smiler: He's a Type A as of Season 3. He puts on a charming smile and a pleasant disposition most of the time, but his mask slips at a very public event in "Second Sons", and his misery betrays itself more subtly in "Valar Dohaeris" (Loras — who is no longer paying attention to the dinner conversation — has a melancholic expression when Joffrey says, "I'm sure she knows what she's doing"). In "The Climb", he sadly tells Sansa, "It's [King's Landing] terrible, isn't it? The most terrible place there is," which clearly indicates that Loras is suffering in silence. His genteel facade crumbles again at yet another wedding feast in "The Lion and the Rose" where Joffrey makes fun of his relationship with Renly in the worst way possible in front of several hundred guests.
Subordinate Excuse: He is the sole male heir of the second-richest family in Westeros, and presumably he has duties in Highgarden and the Reach, yet in Season 2 he chooses to devote his entire life to protecting Renly. Being the Lord Commander of his brother-in-law's Kingsguard is a very convenient way for Loras to be able to spend a lot of time with his beloved, as his frequent visits can be explained away as being job-related. (It doesn't stop the rumours about them from spreading among Renly's followers, however.)
Suppressed Rage:
- His body language cannot disguise the utter disgust and frustration that he feels at having to bend the knee to Joffrey in "Valar Morghulis".
- The abrupt and rude manner in which Loras storms away from the wedding feast in "Second Sons" is merely the tip of the iceberg in terms of the true depths of his anger over his current situation (i.e. his forced betrothal to Cersei, his inability to mourn for Renly in public, etc.).
- During Joffrey's wedding, the outrageously offensive and straight-up insulting display that Joffrey arranges (which involves a dwarf dressed as Renly riding a thinly-disguised puppet of Loras and subsequently being sodomized by an enemy's mace) forces Loras to storm away before his anger gets the best of him.
Tempting Fate: When Margaery catches Loras in bed with Olyvar, she warns him he should be more discreet. Loras points out everyone already knows he's gay anyway...then in 'Sons of the Harpy', the Faith Militant gets their hands on him.
To Be Lawful or Good: See Margaery's entry for their example in "The Laws of Gods and Men".
Too Dumb to Live: After he starts a relationship with Olyar, he lets slip his grandmother's plan for him to marry Sansa — which Olyvar promptly passes on to Littlefinger, and which ends up ruining the Tyrrels' plan. Despite the fact that it should be blatantly obvious where the leak came from, Loras continues his relationship with Olyvar, which allows his lover to sell him out to the High Septon and the Faith Militant.
Tragic Keepsake: Renly's armour. This heartbreaking deleted scene from Season 2 makes it more obvious. It's the only physical object that Loras has kept as a reminder of his lover after he buries Renly's body.
The Twink: He fits the physical description to a tee, but the trope is somewhat subverted with regards to his romance with Renly (who is an "otter" in gay slang) because Loras is the emotionally dominant partner in their relationship despite being a few years younger.
The Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter : He must have inherited his comely appearance from his mother (or possibly his grandmother, since he does closely resemble his sister), as he looks nothing like his homely father.
Underestimating Badassery: Unlike most famed fighters who are very macho, Loras puts a lot of care into his androgynous appearance, which results in him being underestimated by his foes. In keeping with his family's Machiavelli Was Wrong policy, he presents himself as an approachable gentleman to the masses (as opposed to The Dreaded like the Clegane brothers), but make no mistake, Loras is one of best swordsmen in the realm, and has proven himself to be an effective battle commander.
Undying Loyalty: While his family joined the Lannisters out of a desire to gain more political power, Loras himself only wanted to avenge Renly's murder. Commanding a cavalry charge while wearing his deceased lover's armour is quite a Grand Romantic Gesture, as it was Loras's way of honouring the vow he had made to Renly in Season 1.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Loras encouraged Renly to usurp the line of succession against Stannis, and got his family House Tyrell, involved as patrons and backers for Renly's claim to the throne. Olenna Tyrell warned the rest of the house to avoid getting involved seeing it as a terrible mistake and Renly as a weak candidate, but they went in anyway, this started a series of Disaster Dominoes that led to Renly's death, the Lannisters winning the war of the five Kings, Olenna killing Joffrey to protect Margaery, which led in time to Cersei undergoing Sanity Slippage, arming the Faith Militant, leading finally to Loras' torture by the Sparrows, and the death and ruin of their family and house.
White Stallion:
- As befitting a Knight in Shining Armor, he rode a white mare at the Tourney of the Hand.
- In "Blackwater", he charged into battle on Renly's white horse (which was seen in "Garden of Bones") to better enhance the illusion that he is King Renly's ghost.
You Monster!: He tells Renly in Season 1 that he thinks Joffrey is a monster, and it's one of the main reasons why Loras wants to crown his boyfriend as king.

Lord Luthor Tyrell

Played By: N/A

The late Lord of Highgarden, the father of Mace and the husband of Olenna.

Henpecked Husband: It's hinted that he was this to Olenna, who is a very domineering figure. In the books, Olenna mentions that while he was an oaf, he was not without qualities endearing to her: she says he was very good in bed.
Posthumous Character: He had already passed away long before the start of the series. Mace was already the Lord of Highgarden during Robert's Rebellion.
Sex Equals Love: He was originally engaged to Lady Olenna's sister until a night with Lady Olenna before his proposal changed his kind.
They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite constantly referring to him as an oaf, Olenna indicates that she did love him to an extent and was certainly upset by his death.
Too Dumb to Live: He rode off a cliff while hawking because he didn't pay attention to his surroundings.
Upper-Class Twit: Olenna frequently criticizes him for his stupidity long after his death. However, it's clear that she carried some affection for him, as seen when she reminisces to Margaery about how she managed to avoid a betrothal to an undesirable Targaryen by seducing Luthor.

Other Tyrells and Relatives

There are other Tyrells in the family, that never appear but we hear about them. In "Eastwatch", Jaime reveals that they have all been massacred in the sacking of Highgarden.

Other Tyrell Bannermen, Retainers and Household

House Florent

Lords of Brightwater Keep, one of the major vassal Houses in the Reach. They were actually more closely related than the Tyrells to the old House Gardener kings before they went extinct in the Targaryen Conquest. The Tyrells only descend from the Gardeners through the female line, but the Florents were a cadet branch founded by a younger Gardener son. The Florents were already major lords, when the Tyrells didn't even have their own lands and were just hereditary stewards of Highgarden for their Gardener cousins. Nonetheless, Aegon the Conqueror passed over the Florents to give rule over all of the Reach to the Tyrells, because they voluntarily surrendered Highgarden (after he killed the Gardener king at the Field of Fire).

Much of this backstory is explained by Margaery Tyrell in the "Histories & Lore" animated featurettes.

Cunning Like a Fox: Averted. Their sigil is a fox, but they've displayed no great strategic cunning, unlike the Tyrells who are masters of court politics. Several of their decisions are major blunders: they want to seize the chance to break out from under the Tyrells by siding with Stannis after Renly dies, but then the Tyrells and the rest of the Reach side with the Lannisters and destroy almost all of Stannis's army at the Battle of the Blackwater. They actually seem to be more of the Book Worm — book smart but not cunning. Samwell Tarly and Shireen Baratheon are each half-Florent through their mothers, and both are very book smart, perhaps due to the Florent genes.
Pragmatic Adaptation: The Florents have barely been mentioned by name in the TV series, and not treated as a distinct political unit — because the writers have also generally avoided confusing the audience by expanding on too many sub-vassals of the Great Houses, except for the North. Other major vassals of the Lannisters or the Tyrells have also not been mentioned in great detail (save for the odd winking reference to book-names that TV-first viewers could not possibly understand). This unfortunately has led to:
- Compressed Adaptation: The TV show has really screwed up the Florent family tree, not keeping good track of it from the books (in which it was admittedly very complex). Instead, they'd just make stray mentions about "my cousin" or "my brother" to refer to characters who were actually an uncle or brother-in-law in the novels — it isn't clear if the writers actually kept track of these changes, or simply wrote themselves into a corner by making contradicting statements over the seasons.
The Resenter: Florents consider themselves to have a better claim to Highgarden than the Tyrells as they descend from House Gardener through the male line and not the female line like the Tyrells. Fitting, as the women are the reason House Tyrell is still in power.
The Starscream: To House Tyrell, having only reluctantly followed them in supporting Renly and jumping ship to Stannis the first chance they got. Given that Stannis is married to a Florent, they can equally be seen as traitors from the other camp, as Stannis has an objectively stronger claim to the Iron Throne.
Tangled Family Tree: The Reach's hat is that it is filled with the most sophisticated courts in Westeros, with political intrigues sealed with marriage-alliances (though the same could be said for the Tullys: marriage-alliance is a common political tool). The upshot is that the Florents have intermarried with almost every other major vassal House from the Reach. One of the main reasons that the Florents have even technically "appeared" in the TV series is because multiple major characters are part-Florent due to how heavily intermarried with other powerful Houses they are. Specifically:
- Stannis Baratheon's wife Seylse was actually born Selyse Florent.
- Stannis's daughter Shireen Baratheon is therefore half-Florent.
- Many of Stannis's background spear-carriers are actually Florents, because after Renly died they continued to side with him even though all the other Reach Houses followed the Tyrells in siding with the Lannisters. They're more fleshed out in the books but few have speaking lines in the TV series. The ship captain that Stannis speaks to when boarding a landing boat at the Battle of the Blackwater is (apparently, anyway) Imry Florent — Selyse's brother and his own brother-in-law.
- Samwell Tarly is also half-Florent on his mother's side: his mother is Selyse's first cousin who married into House Tarly, one of the other major vassal Houses in the Reach. Thus Samwell and Shireen are second cousins.

Characters / Game of Thrones - House Tyrell

See also the book character sheet for these characters.

House Tyrell