Dame of Thrones: Margaery Tyrell
Dame of Thrones number one: Daenerys. Two: Sansa. I can hold back no longer. I must talk about Marg.
Name: Margaery “The Queen” Tyrell. Growing strong, fools.
Family: Grandma Murder, Lord Dingleberry, Ramen Head, and and several brothers whom George RR Martin really thinks should’ve been left in the show, whooooops. Oh, and a few husbands, but those never last.
Known Associates: Socially, Marg keeps it more or less in the family. She buddies up a bit with Sansa and Brienne, but I wouldn’t call them friends. Certainly once they leave schmoozing distance—Sansa escaping after the Purple Wedding, Brienne going to look for her—Margaery doesn’t seem to miss them or care about what happens to them. Her best friend is herself.
Weapon Of Choice: Bow chicka chicka bow chicka chicka bow. She’s sexy and she knows it.
What’s Her Deal?: Margaery is one of a relatively small number of characters who—in my mind, at least—was vastly improved in the transition from books to show. In A Song of Ice and Fire she’s a teenage girl who could be interpreted as being her family’s pawn. Since she’s not a POV character we don’t know how much of what she does—marrying Renly (RIP), marrying Joffrey (RIP), sucking up to Tommen—is what she wants to do vs what she’s told to do. Cersei thinks she’s up to something, but Cersei’s eternally paranoid as sh*t. She probably thinks Ser Pounce is plotting against her. In the show Margaery is much more politically astute. You don’t cast Natalie Dormer and not have her actively manipulate men.
Why Is She Awesome?: Did you catch the part where she’s played by Natalie Dormer? Really, I don’t know what else I need to tell you… ugh, fine. Margaery Tyrell knows what she’s about. She knows what her goals are (power), she knows the tools at her disposal (people skills, being bammin’ slammin’ bootylicious), and she knows how to use the latter to get the former. As with many of Game of Thrones‘ female characters, Margaery skates somewhat under the radar because the men who hold the power (in name, anyway) don’t view her as much of a threat. Joffrey, for example, would probably be insulted and disbelieving if you mentioned that Margaery was manipulating the hell out of him, because falling prey to womanly wiles is beneath him, a powerful king! That’s why the dynamic between Margaery and Cersei is so interesting, because Cersei knows what Margaery is up to.
Best Quote: “I want to be the queen.”
Most Badass Scene: You remember that scene where Margaery Tyrell made a pit stop at a Flea Bottom orphanage? Remember how she came prepared with toys and food? And how she told the orphans that Good King Joffrey would look after them? The toy soldier she handed out to Anonymous Cute Moppet carried a shield of yellow and black—the Baratheon family colors. She’s getting to these kids early, incepting them with the idea that she’s the epitome of kindness and her husband’s the epitome of safety and justice. She even tells the kid that whenever he looks at the Baratheon soldier he should think good memories about his father, for Christ’s sake. Margaery Tyrell is a PR master, and everyone should be scared of her.
Fan Theory Du Jour: This isn’t the same sort of fan theory I presented for Daenerys and Sansa, which were all about things that fans think might happen, but screw it, I like this one: In fannish circles there’s an increasingly popular interpretation that book Cersei’s suspicions about Margaery’s sexuality may not be that far off. Lesbiannnnn!
Merch Me Up: Shirts shirts shirts! Shoot, no, that last one is the wrong Tyrell. Sorry. Or you can get Margaery’s face on a pillow.
It Belongs in a Museum, aka Fanart:
“Margaery in mourning.” If you like Hogan McLaughlin’s style, check out his other Game of Thrones illustrations on deviantART and Tumblr.
Rebecca writes for Pajiba and is the Associate Editor at The Mary Sue. You can find her on Twitter, where you can except an increasing number of rants about Team Dragonstone as season four winds to a close. You don’t even know.
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