House Tyrell was one of the strongest and most valuable dynasties in the world of Game of Thrones. At the end of “The Queen’s Justice,” we saw the once proud and powerful house come crashing down. With the death of Lady Olenna, the legacy of the Tyrell family has been sealed in blood.
The Tyrell family was always a cunning and devious house. Their enormous riches offered them a lot of leeway when it came to the politics of Westeros. However, it was only their fortunes that gave them such power in the realm. They were never known for being fighters or having a strong standing army. The assumption that their gold would be enough to keep them alive in such a deadly world kept them feeling safe. They thought wrong.
The Beginning of the End
The destruction of House Tyrell really began once Margaery Tyrell was betrothed to Joffrey Baratheon. The Lannisters needed to align their family with House Tyrell in order to gain access to their copious funds. The Lannisters were massively indebted to the Iron Bank and joining themselves to the most prosperous family in Westeros was the easiest way of securing their repayment. However, the Lannisters were still viewed as enemies, and Lady Olenna’s secret plot to murder Joffrey at his wedding to Margaery was further proof that the Tyrells only allegiance was to themselves.
As Margaery moved on to wed Tommen Baratheon, Cersei Lannister saw that her control over her son was being usurped by Margaery. In an effort to kill more than a few birds with one stone, Cersei detonated an enormous store of wildfire underneath the Great Sept of Baelor. This killed not only Margaery Tyrell but her brother Loras and her father Mace as well. This left Olenna as the sole figurehead of the family left alive.
Though she became an ally to Daenerys Targaryen in order to exact revenge on Cersei, she was ultimately foiled by the armies of Jaime Lannister. Though she did impart one last damaging piece of information to Jaime before her death, it was a bittersweet end to a once illustrious empire.
