31 Things We Learned from the Game of Thrones Women

Credit: Helen Sloan/HBO

17. You don’t have to wield a sword to be a hero.

Margaery Tyrell

From start to finish, Margaery played the game of thrones with the best of them. She was a master manipulator with the best of intentions. As her time came to a close, her focus shifted to her family, as they were in the most immediate danger. She sacrificed herself to get her grandmother to safety, and to keep her brother alive.

She did what she had to to survive. Most of the show is centered around people vying for power but, in reality, it is everyone doing what they need to to make sure their family is safe. They do whatever they deem fit for themselves.

Margaery’s dedication to Loras is especially heart-wrenching. (Let’s think back to that camera shot right before their death, when they turn in unison towards the High Sparrow. Chilling and heartbreaking all at once, it will haunt me forever.) She loved him fiercely and without judgment, and protected him even if that meant giving herself up for slaughter. In the end, there was no hope for either of them, but Margaery kept him close all the while. She saved her family at her own expense, and in doing so proved herself the queen she strived to be.