Game of Thrones season 6 episode 8: Where is Varys going? To Dorne? King's Landing? The Iron Islands?

Perhaps to the North of Westeros?

** Spoilers for season six episode eight of Game of Thrones **

After almost a season of not a lot happening, things finally started to heat up in Mereen (quite literally). The masters are trying to take back their city, Daenerys is there with her dragons, and Varys has gone off on a solo adventure.

It's an emotional goodbye for Tyrion and Varys: "I hope you’re right about this expedition of yours,” the dwarf says as he sends off his good friend.

“If I don’t, you will know I was wrong,” replies the Eunuch, adding: “We need friends in Westeros, and we need ships.”

So, where in Westeros is he heading? Well, he won’t have many friends in King’s Landing; with Tyrion and Varys disappearing from the city at the same time, he is likely thought to be an accomplice in killing King Joffrey all those years ago.

Perhaps, to the North, in an attempt to gather those who no longer respect the king and instead turn them towards The Queen of Dragons who will no doubt visit their lands sometime soon. However, with the Boltons in charge and civil unrest at an all-time high, this is unlikely.

To the Iron Islands, then? Euron Greyjoy has taken over as king and is already building ships for Daenerys, while his niece and nephew are also on their way with ships. But how would Varys know their allegiances to Danny? With Euron and Yara on opposing sides of the same coin, this is likely an unwise move that could lead to more negatives than positive (plus they’re already en route).

Another possible destination is Dorne, home of the Martells, and currently ruled by the Sand-Snakes. We haven’t visited Dorne since the first episode of season six, the leaders of the city currently angry over various deaths in King’s Landing. If Varys were to tell them of Daenerys, would they join her cause? They do, after all, have familiar ties with the Targaryens.

However, while Dorne does have warriors, the right allegiance, and the hatred for Lannisters, they do not have the ships; the ports of Dorne are renown for being particularly tricky to get to so there are few ships.

Some fans are speculating that Varys may actually be going on a soul-searching journey, his revealing chat with the Red Priestess in Mereen leading to him wanting to search for answers. However, with his allegiance to Daenerys, it is unlikely he’ll be looking for any of his own answers in a time of war.

From our end, money is on Varys seeking help from Dorne or the Iron Isles; both of which are plausible and would further help Danny.

Meanwhile, fans have been debating whether Arya’s storyline in espied eight was poor writing or a great send-off for the character from The Faceless Men.