Game of Thrones Symbolism: The Tyrells

We continue our series on the deeper meaning of the Game of Thrones house symbols with a look at the Tyrells.

Works Cited & Consulted:
* Martin, George R.R. “A Song of Ice and Fire.” Bantam Books.
* freeguess. “An Analysis of House Words.” /r/asoiaf on Reddit, 5 Jan. 2013.
* Empower Yourself with Color Psychology
* Color Wheel Pro
* Color Meanings
* Venefica, Avia. “Rose Meaning and Rose Symbolism.” Whats-your-sign.com.
* “The Rose Flower: Its Meanings and Symbolism.” Flower Meaning.
* “Symbolism of the Rose.” International Alchemy Guild.

Transcript provided by Youtube:

00:01
[Do you like it Nana?]
00:02
[Another golden rose. How original. I eat from plates stamped with roses.
00:07
I sleep in sheets embroidered with roses. I have a golden rose painted on my chamber pot.
00:12
As if that makes it smell any better. Roses are boring dear.]
00:16
The Tyrell sigil is a gold rose on a green field.
00:20
Beautiful roses on the outside, the Tyrells hide thorns if anyone tries to cross them.
00:25
As Wardens of the South, the Tyrells hold their title from their seat at Highgarden
00:28
in the Reach, the most fertile land in Westeros.
00:31
The Reach keeps the people fed, supplying less fruitful areas like King’s Landing with grain, fruit,
00:36
wine, and livestock.
00:37
It’s one of the richest lands in Westeros, second only to the Lannisters’ Westerlands.
00:42
[I have an outrageous amount of money.]
00:44
[Not as much as the Lannisters.]
00:46
[But a lot more than you.]
00:49
So for the Tyrells, tending the green field really does grow into a rose made of gold.
00:54
While the other Houses are hated by commoners, the Westerosi people love the Tyrells because
00:58
of their seemingly good nature. Margaery Tyrell is pretty much the only ruler we’ve
01:03
seen in King’s Landing who even takes a moment to pretend to care about the peasants.
01:07
But behind their charitable and poised outer temperament — like the thorny rose — the
01:11
Tyrells are cunning and ruthless.
01:13
And like a flower bending with the wind and to the sun, the Tyrells are nothing if not
01:17
flexible, taking advantage of every opportunity, making the best of every situation.
01:23
We might see the Tyrells as a cross between the Starks and the Lannisters: Like the Starks,
01:27
they love each other and project a noble code of honor. Though in the Tyrells’ case this code
01:31
is a superficial facade.
01:33
Like the Lannisters, they lead an inner life that’s a very different story from their
01:37
outer, and they are not to be messed with.
01:39
[Beware this video will contain spoilers ]
01:42
While there may be a few minor cousins remaining, most of the key Tyrells — Margaery, Loras
01:47
and Mace — were wiped out by Cersei’s wildfire at the end of Season 6.
01:51
[Cersei stole the future from me. Survival is not what I’m after now.]
01:57
Unless some of these minor Tyrell relations are still alive and come into play, Lady Olenna’s
02:02
death marks the extinction of another major house in Game of Thrones.
02:06
Overall, House Tyrell represents fertility and prosperity, outer benevolence, pragmatic
02:11
opportunism, flexible cunning, hidden strength, matriarchy, and family solidarity.
02:21
The Tyrell motto “Growing Strong” speaks to their place in the Reach, an area with
02:25
a booming population and fertile land.
02:27
The word “growing” makes us think of a closeness to nature and “strong” reminds us
02:31
their wealth is based not on currency and politics, but on a firm foundation of resources from the land.
02:37
Their knowledge of agriculture is reflected in their patience and plotting nature
02:40
both of which are necessary to reap the rewards of what you sow, whether agriculturally or politically.
02:46
Planting a seed means it’ll take a while, but it will eventually bear fruit.
02:50
Moreover, they have a very long view of the game.
02:52
“Growing strong” also means that the Tyrells have a strong familial bond at the center
02:57
of their House.
02:58
They’re a loving and tight-knit family with nothing like the Lannister
03:01
or Baratheon internal rivalries.
03:03
The members of House Tyrell genuinely love, accept and support one another
03:07
something that’s almost revolutionary in the world of Game of Thrones.
03:14
This difference may something to do with the fact that the family is really run by the women,
03:19
and has been for centuries.
03:20
[Do you know my son? The Lord of Highgarden?]
03:26
[I haven’t had the pleasure.]
03:27
[No great pleasure, believe me. Ponderous oaf.]
03:31
Show creator D.B. Weiss maintains that the House Tyrell is an unofficial matriarchy.
03:53
And Olenna’s advice to Daenerys is to never listen to a man:
03:56
[I’ve known a great many clever men. I’ve outlived them all. You know why? I ignored them.]
04:05
Tyrell women demonstrate three secrets of growth: pragmatism, adaptability, and acceptance.
04:11
[Yes. All Lannisters are lions. And when a Tyrell farts, it smells like a rose.]
04:18
Opportunists through and through, they are prone to picking the side that is likely to win.
04:23
The Tyrells began not as rulers, but as stewards to the Gardener Kings in the Reach.
04:28
They first rose to power by voluntarily surrendering Highgarden to Aegon Targaryen, after Aegon
04:33
burned the Garderner King and his heirs alive in battle.
04:36
Aegon made the Tyrells Lords Paramount of the Reach,
04:39
passing over other families who ranked above them.
04:41
For this reason the Tyrells are always wary that other Houses in the Reach might
04:45
not respect their rule, especially House Florent who claims more direct lineage from the Gardener Kings.
04:50
[I’ve known Olenna since I was a child.]
04:53
[She was a great woman. Once. Now she’s broken.]
04:57
In Robert’s Rebellion, the Tyrells supported the likely victors the Targaryens, but surrendered
05:02
once they realized Robert would win.
05:04
In the present timeline, the Tyrells align first with Renly, then with the dominant Lannisters,
05:09
marrying Margaery off to Joffrey to become Queen.
05:11
But they soon plot to put Tommen on the throne, as he’ll be easier to control.
05:15
Margaery impressively manages to navigate marriages to Renly, Joffrey and Tommen adapting
05:20
to each with grace and manipulating the three very different men to her own purposes.
05:25
This speaks to her exceptional skill at accepting the reality that’s given to her,
05:29
which she seems to inherit from her grandmother.
05:31
[But once the cow’s been milked, there’s no squirting the cream back up her udders.
05:36
So here we are to see things through.]
05:38
Olenna and Margaery don’t hesitate to accept that Margaery’s brother Loras is gay.
05:42
They simply work with it.
05:43
[A sword swallower, through and through. But it’s a natural thing, two boys having a go at it beneath the sheets.]
05:49
This is a notable contrast to someone like Tywin Lannister who won’t face his children’s
05:53
incest even after Cersei rubs it in his face.
05:56
[Everything they say is true about Jaime and me. Your legacy is a lie.]
06:02
[I don’t believe you.]
06:05
Unlike “fire and blood” or “hear me roar, the motto “growing strong” is not
06:09
boastful or threatening.
06:10
The Tyrells aren’t making a big performance of might and power.
06:14
They take advantage of being underestimated.
06:16
No one would suspect Lady Olenna of killing King Joffrey.
06:20
Like the roots of a flower, the extent of her influence is often unseen.
06:24
Yet the “strong” in growing strong is equally accurate: the Tyrells are not the
06:28
innocent flower or pacifist farmers — but a force to be reckoned with.
06:32
[Do you want to be a Queen?]
06:34
[No.]
06:38
[I want to be THE Queen.]
06:40
Olenna’s words to Daenerys speaks to her own strength as well:
06:43
[You’re a dragon. Be a dragon.]
06:47
The Tyrell Gold and Green encapsulate the source of their power: Gold is the color of
06:51
wealth, and Green is the color of nature.
06:53
The Reach’s natural plentitude provides food for the Seven Kingdoms, which means gold
06:57
for the Tyrells.
06:58
[When House Tyrell stops sending our crops to the capitol, everyone here will starve.
07:04
And I make sure the hungry knows who’s to blame.]
07:08
Like the Lannisters who also use the color gold, the Tyrells like to rule and are cunning in court
07:13
politics, but they’re even more subtle than the Lannisters, who tend to need more validation
07:17
and public shows of vengeance.
07:19
Green is harmonious, nurturing, a symbol of spring, freshness and life itself.
07:23
It’s seen as a stable color — just like the Tyrell women.
07:27
But it also has negative connotations of selfishness and greed or envy.
07:30
And Margaery and Olenna Tyrell are incredibly manipulative and unwavering in pursuing their
07:35
self-interest.
07:36
The representations of the sigil vary the intensity of the green — pale versions suggest
07:40
that they’re sometimes trying to underplay their greedy nature in favor of their generous,
07:44
kind reputation.
07:45
In the beginning the Tyrells mute the colors of their garments, sporting an understated
07:50
teal in place of a true green.
07:51
However, by “Oathkeeper,” the episode in which Olenna admits that she
07:55
played a part in Joffrey’s murder, the Tyrells start showing off their true colors.
07:59
And once Tommen becomes king, Margaery is seen more often in bright regal gold, asserting
08:04
her place as royalty.
08:05
One of the few houses without an animal, the Tyrell boasts a rose on their sigil, symbolizing
08:10
the source of their power in the growth of Highgarden.
08:13
The national flower of England, the rose makes us think of the real-life Tudor badge.
08:18
After the War of the Roses — the history that loosely inspires Game of Thrones — the
08:22
reigning Tudors combined the red & white rose symbols that the houses of Lancaster and York
08:26
were believed to have used.
08:28
While animals fight with one another, roses “grow strong” in their gardens
08:31
without openly clashing, only competing for the light.
08:33
It’s significant that this female-led house is embodied by a non-violent symbol that avoids
08:38
confrontation in favor of more productive moves.
08:42
Roses are a symbol of femininity and beauty, which not only embodies the Tyrells’ matriarchy
08:47
but also makes us think of the way they play on people’s perception of the feminine to
08:51
appear weaker and less significant than they are.
08:53
Olenna and Margaery play up their passive and docile facade — Margaery in her charitable
08:58
image, and Olenna letting others dismiss her as antiquated and peripheral.
09:02
But both understand that a captivating, love-inspiring rose beauty only
09:06
gets them so far in the ruthless game.
09:09
[Of course, I can’t remember a Queen who was better loved than my granddaughter.
09:13
The common people loved her. The nobles loved her. What is left of her now? Ashes.]
09:21
The Tyrell allure and kind demeanor is matched
09:23
by their sharp, protective thorns.
09:25
Olenna is known as the Queen of Thorns, thanks to her sharp wit,
09:28
[We both know you’re not writing anything.]
09:30
[Ah, yes, the famously tart-tongued Queen of Thorns.]
09:33
[And the famous tart, Queen Cersei.]
09:36
but the monkier also speaks to the grandmother’s talent for self-preservation and family protection.
09:41
The Tyrells are driven by protecting their own, ruthless in defending their loved ones
09:45
from danger.
09:46
Olenna isn’t going to let Margaery stay married to so unstable and violent a king as Joffrey.
09:51
[You don’t think I’d let you marry that beast, do you?]
09:54
Margaery is driven by the mission to free her brother.
09:56
And while Cersei did outsmart her, Margaery’s self-preserving intelligence showed in that
10:01
she was the only one to foresee what was about to happen in the Sept.
10:04
The fact that the Tyrells are killed by green fire has an ironic symbolism. It’s not
10:09
only their own color green, but it’s also an uncontrollable wild
10:12
force on the opposite end of the nature spectrum from their philosophy of carefully cultivating
10:17
stable growth.
10:18
In the books, the Tyrells have more siblings and minor cousins — and in the show, some
10:22
of the handmaidens we’ve seen are implied to be Tyrell relations, so it’s possible
10:26
that there are still some remaining Tyrells to continue the bloodline.
10:29
Either way House Tyrell has provided some of the most clever and cunning players in
10:34
the game, and taught us some interesting lessons about how to grow strong.
10:38
[It was horrible enough for me. A shocking scene. Not at all what I intended.]