In the final years of her career, Diana Rigg played the sharp-tongued Olenna Tyrell in Game of Thrones. Photo / Supplied
Award-winning British actress Diana Rigg has died at the age of 82.
"It is with tremendous sadness that we announce that Dame Diana Rigg died peacefully early this morning," Rigg's agent, Simon Beresford, said in a statement.
"She was at home with her family who have asked for privacy at this difficult time," he added, calling her "an icon of theatre, film and television".
Rigg's daughter, Rachael Stirling, also released a statement, saying she died in her sleep from cancer that was diagnosed in March.
"She spent her last months joyfully reflecting on her extraordinary life, full of love, laughter and a deep pride in her profession."
What better way to honour Rigg's memory than to ourselves joyfully reflect on the laughter she brought us in one of her most iconic roles?
Some of you might know her best for playing Emma Peel in The Avengers back in 1965, or for being the most indisputably badass of Bond girls in On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
More recently though, Rigg starred as a universally popular character on Game of Thrones – the sharp-tongued Olenna Tyrell, appropriately known as the Queen of Thorns.
In a show renowned for its witty dialogue (at least until its later seasons), it is remarkable just how many of the most memorable lines were uttered by Rigg, who appeared in fewer than a third of the 60 episodes.
Oh, and obviously there will be spoilers for Game of Thrones below. It's been more than a year since the finale, so I assume anyone who would care has already seen it, but we can never be too careful with these things.
1. I want her to know it was me.
I'm going to start with her final scene. Most people in Game of Thrones have to go out horribly, but Olenna got to die doing what she loved – mercilessly roasting Lannisters.
We're deep in season seven at this point, and Jaime, who has more or less completed his transformation into a Good Guy by now, has just taken the Tyrell seat of Highgarden.
He finds Olenna waiting for him in her room. They have a chat about how evil his sister/lover Cersei is. And then he hands her a glass of poisoned wine.
"Will there be pain?" Olenna asks him.
"No, I made sure of that," he replies, Good Guy that he is now.
"That's good," she says, before knocking back the whole glass in one go, like me at 6:01pm on a Thursday night.
Then Olenna turns back to him with a deliciously wicked look on her face.
"I'd hate to die like your son," she says.
That's right, Olenna orchestrated Joffrey's death, and she wants to twist the knife before going out herself.
"Clawing at my neck. Foam and bile spilling from my mouth. Eyes blood red. Skin purple," she continues, describing the scene.
"It must have been horrible for you, as a Kingsguard, as a father. It was horrible enough for me. A shocking scene. Not at all what I intended.
"You see, I'd never seen the poison work before. Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me."
2. That strikes fear in the heart.
There's going to be a lot of Olenna owning the Lannisters on this list, so let's give a special shoutout to that time she had a go at her own house.
In case you aren't nerdy enough to know this, House Tyrell's sigil is a rose, and its words are "Growing Strong".
Soon after appearing in the show, we see Olenna sitting in the gardens of King's Landing. One of her handmaids shows her a piece of embroidery she's made.
"Another golden rose, how original," Olenna says.
"I eat from plates stamped with roses, I sleep in sheets embroidered with roses, I have a golden rose painted on my chamber pot. Roses are boring, dear.
"Growing Strong. Ah! The dumbest words of any house. 'Winter is Coming.' Now that's memorable. 'We do not sow.' Strong! Strong. Those houses you watch out for. Direwolves and krakens, fierce beasts.
"But a golden rose growing strong? Ha! That strikes fear in the heart."
3. Though I rather think it's all for naught.
This actually comes from the same scene, when Olenna meets the spymaster Varys for the first time and they exchange some suitably witty banter.
And by "exchange some suitably witty banter", I mean she proceeds to verbally murder him repeatedly.
"My lady, I wanted to personally welcome you to King's Landing. The city has been made brighter by your presence," Varys tells her, in a manner he seemingly believes to be quite charming.
"The city is made brighter by my presence. Is that your usual line, Lord Varys? Are you here to seduce me?" Olenna replies, a suggestive glint in her eye.
"A little obvious, perhaps," he concedes.
"Noooo please, seduce away. It's been soooo long," she says, before returning to her usual, dry voice.
"Though I rather think it's all for naught. What happens when the non-existent bumps against the decrepit?"
Varys takes an awkward look down towards the place where his balls used to be, and then the pair proceed to do some good old fashioned plotting
3. I wonder if you're the worst person I've ever met.
Fast forward a few seasons. The High Sparrow is in charge of King's Landing, Olenna's grandkids are both in jail, Cersei is woefully short on allies, and Olenna has decided to leave the city.
The conversation starts with Olenna calling Cersei stupid.
"You're right. I made a terrible mistake, I carry it with me every single day," Cersei says.
"Good," Olenna barks.
"I delivered an army of fanatics onto our doorstep. And now we must fight them together. We need each other," Cersei argues.
Olenna takes a moment to consider that idea.
"I wonder if you're the worst person I've ever met," she muses.
"At a certain age, it's hard to recall. But the truly vile do stand out through the years.
"Do you remember the way you smirked at me when my grandson and granddaughter were dragged off to their cells. I do. I'll never forget it."
That's a no, then.
4. What is your name again? Barbara?
Did you hate the Sand Snakes with a burning passion equal to that of Dorne's sun? Yeah, a lot of fans felt that way. And so, it turns out, did Olenna Tyrell.
"You came to Dorne because you needed our help," one of the Snakes, Obara, interjects during an important meeting between Olenna and Ellaria Sand.
"What is your name again? Barbara?" Olenna replies dismissively.
"Obara," says the Sand Snake who will henceforth be known across the land as Barbara.
"Obaaaara. You look like an angry little boy, don't presume to tell me what I need," Olenna shoots back at her.
One of the other Snakes, whose name I honestly can't recall, foolishly decides to jump in.
"Forgive my sister. What she lacks in diplomacy, she makes up for-"
"Do shut up, dear," Olenna says.
"Anything from you? No. Good. Let the grown women speak," she adds, glancing contemptuously at the third sister and picking up the full hat trick of sick burns.
5. I do appreciate these things can get a bit confusing in your family.
A classic medieval aristocratic putdown, here, though I gather people are still squabbling over ridiculous titles in the United Kingdom to this very day.
Anyway, Olenna roasts Cersei for continuing to refer to herself as the Queen, even though she's technically the Queen Mother.
And she uses the presence of Cersei's twin brother/incest lover Jaime to really punctuate the humiliation.
"Margaery is the Queen. You are not the Queen, because you are not married to the King. I do appreciate these things can get a bit confusing in your family," Olenna says, gesturing towards the two Lannisters.
6. He really was a c***, wasn't he?
This is Olenna reminiscing about Joffrey. Enough said.
7. Put the pen down, dear.
This once again falls into the category of "calling Cersei out on her BS".
It's a tense moment. Cersei has orchestrated the arrest of Olenna's grandson Loras.
Olenna has come to confront her, and for a time, waits silently as Cersei scratches away pointlessly with a quill. It's the medieval fantasy equivalent of me trying to look busy by bashing the keyboard whenever my boss walks past.
"Put the pen down dear. We both know you're not writing anything," Olenna finally says.
Every day I'm relieved that Olenna is not my boss.
8. Where'd you go for them, Volantis?
We're back in the more optimistic days when Margaery thought she could marry Joffrey without it being an unmitigated monstrous nightmare.
Tyrion is the Master of Coin, and he is trying to figure out how to pay for the royal wedding. So he calls Olenna, matriarch of the realm's richest family, to his office.
We start the scene with Tyrion's faithful squire Podrick pouring Olenna a glass of wine.
"Gods, boy, that's enough. We're not in a tavern," she barks at him.
"Pardon me-" he says, starting to apologise.
"No need to speak," she interjects.
"Are there any figs? Fetch some."
He potters off, and she turns to Tyrion
"I always take figs midafternoon, they help move the bowels," Olenna deadpans.
"Thank you for seeing me, my lady. I had hoped we might discuss a few financial matters," Tyrion says, though he's clearly thrown off balance.
"I climbed all those steps to discuss financial matters?" she says exasperatedly.
Over the course of the next 90 seconds, she proceeds to thoroughly dismantle his argument before he's even made it, running through all the wonderful things the Tyrells have done for the royal family.
I'll spare you the details, but suffice to say Tyrion looks thoroughly depressed when she's finished.
"I was told you were drunk, impertinent and thoroughly debauched. You can imagine my disappointment at finding nothing but a browbeaten bookkeeper," Olenna tells him.
At this point, poor Podrick returns with the figs she asked for.
"Where did you go for them, Volanits?" she quips.
I can sense some less nerdy eyes glazing over here. For context, Volantis is in Essos, not Westeros, on the other side of the Narrow Sea. It is, in other words, a great distance away. Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
"My lady-" Tyrion says, clearly intending to mount his case.
"Oh very well. I won't have it said that House Tyrell refuses to play its part," she says, cutting him off.
"We'll pay for half the expenses, and the celebrations will go on as planned. Is that sufficient? Very good then, that's settled. Good day."
And then she marches off.
I've picked this one to finish on because it sums up Olenna's character perfectly. She never had any intention of haggling. She merely thought she would amuse herself by toying with him for a while.
I'm not sure I've ever seen an actress pull off such a scene so well. Diana Rigg was an incomparable talent, and she will be missed.
The Kiwi actor has been part of the Star Wars universe for more than 20 years.