Let’s be real for a second. If you mention Finn Jones Game of Thrones to a die-hard fan of George R.R. Martin’s universe, you’re probably going to get a very specific, slightly annoyed reaction. It isn't because of the acting. Finn was great. He looked the part. He had that effortless, arrogant grace of a high-born reachman. But the way the show handled Ser Loras Tyrell is one of those things that still keeps book readers up at night.
It’s a weird legacy.
On one hand, you have this incredibly talented actor who became the face of one of the most famous houses in Westeros. On the other, you have a character arc that felt like it got sliced thinner and thinner until there was nothing left but a plot device for Cersei Lannister’s wildfire obsession.
The Knight of Flowers we actually got
When Finn Jones first stepped onto the screen in Season 1, he was perfect. Seriously. He had that curly hair, the smug grin, and the ornate armor that screamed "I’m richer and prettier than you." At that point, the Finn Jones Game of Thrones journey was looking bright. He was the secret lover of Renly Baratheon, sure, but in the books, he was also a terrifyingly competent warrior. He was the guy who stayed behind to hold the lines. He was a hothead, a hero, and a brother.
Then Renly died.
And honestly? That’s where the show started to lose the thread. In the novels, Loras joins the Kingsguard. He becomes this tragic, grieving figure who buries his emotions under a white cloak and a sword. In the HBO version, they kinda turned him into a punchline. He became the guy who just lounged around King's Landing talking about silks and getting tricked into marriage plots. It was a massive waste of Finn’s range.
You could see the potential in the early scenes with Margaery. The Tyrell siblings had this wonderful, sharp chemistry. Natalie Dormer and Finn Jones played off each other like actual family—people who loved each other but were constantly calculating how to survive the lions in the Red Keep. Those quiet moments in the gardens were some of the best character work in the early seasons.
Why the High Sparrow arc felt so wrong
By the time we hit Season 5 and 6, things got grim. The Faith Militant storyline is polarizing for a lot of reasons, but for Loras, it felt particularly cruel. Not just "Game of Thrones is a dark show" cruel, but "we don't know what to do with this character" cruel.
The showrunners decided to make Loras's entire identity revolve around his sexuality in a way the books never did. In the source material, the High Sparrow arrests Margaery for adultery; Loras is actually off being a badass, leading a suicidal assault on Dragonstone to help the crown. He gets horribly burned and spends his final chapters clinging to life. It’s heroic. It’s gritty.
Instead, the show threw him in a dungeon for being gay.
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It felt dated. Even back in 2015, fans were pointing out that it felt like a regression. Finn Jones did what he could with the material—his performance as a broken, traumatized man in the later seasons was genuinely painful to watch—but the writing let him down. He went from the greatest jouster in the Seven Kingdoms to a guy sobbing on the floor of a cell.
The Iron Fist of it all
You can't talk about Finn Jones Game of Thrones without mentioning what happened next. Right as he was exiting the show in that massive green explosion at the Sept of Baelor, he was cast as Danny Rand in Iron Fist.
People love to connect these two things.
The internet is a brutal place. When Iron Fist received a lukewarm (okay, frosty) reception, some people tried to blame Finn. But if you look back at his time in Westeros, the talent was clearly there. He brought a specific kind of sensitive masculinity to Ser Loras that was actually quite ahead of its time for a fantasy epic. He portrayed grief with a quiet intensity that was often overshadowed by the bigger, louder deaths like the Red Wedding.
What most people get wrong about Loras
There is a common misconception that Loras was just a "minor" character. He wasn't. In the hierarchy of Westerosi power, the Tyrells were the only ones who could actually challenge the Lannisters for wealth and influence. By making Loras a weak link, the show fundamentally changed the power dynamics of the Reach.
Think about the stakes. If Loras had been the warrior he was meant to be, would the High Sparrow have even dared to touch him? Probably not.
Finn Jones actually spoke about this in various interviews over the years. He’s been professional about it, but you can tell he understood the character's depth. He once mentioned in a 2016 interview with Entertainment Weekly that he wanted Loras to have a more "warrior-like" ending. He knew the character was being diminished.
The Sept of Baelor: A fiery exit
Let's talk about that finale. "The Winds of Winter" is arguably one of the best episodes of television ever made. The music, the tension, the payoff.
When the wildfire ignites, it’s the end of House Tyrell. Loras dies alongside his father and his sister. It’s a haunting scene. We see Loras with his hair shorn, a seven-pointed star carved into his forehead, looking like a ghost of the man he used to be. It was a mercy, in a way. The show had stripped him of his titles, his skill with a blade, and his dignity.
But man, imagine if we’d seen him fight back.
Imagine if, instead of cowering, he’d grabbed a sword and tried to protect Margaery one last time. That’s the version of the Finn Jones Game of Thrones experience that fans deserved. We got a tragedy, but we missed out on the glory.
Breaking down the performance
If you go back and rewatch Season 2, look at the way Finn carries himself during the tourney scenes. There’s a specific kind of physical acting involved in playing a knight. He had the posture down. He had the way a person who has been told they are "the best" since birth walks.
- Season 1: The arrogant prodigy.
- Season 2: The grieving lover and ambitious soldier.
- Season 3-4: The political pawn trying to find a footing.
- Season 5-6: The broken prisoner.
That’s a hell of a range for a supporting actor. Most people in the show got to pick one lane and stay in it. Finn had to evolve through four completely different psychological states, often with very little screen time to bridge the gaps. That’s not easy.
The impact of the Tyrells
Without the Tyrells, Game of Thrones would have been a lot more boring. They brought the color. They brought the "Southern" sensibility that contrasted so sharply with the grim, snowy vibe of the Starks. Finn Jones was a huge part of that aesthetic. When you think of the Reach, you think of his gold-and-green armor.
It’s also worth noting that Loras was one of the few prominent LGBTQ+ characters in a massive mainstream hit. While the writing for his sexuality was often clumsy and relied on tropes, Finn played the relationship with Renly with genuine sincerity. It didn't feel like a caricature when he was on screen; it felt like a man who had lost his world when his King fell.
Where is Finn Jones now?
Since leaving the Seven Kingdoms and hanging up the Dragon Heart (metaphorically), Finn has kept busy. He’s moved into more varied roles, including the second season of Dickinson and various indie projects. He’s also a pretty prolific DJ, which is a fun bit of trivia.
But for a huge portion of the population, he will always be the Knight of Flowers.
Whenever a new spin-off like House of the Dragon comes out, people start comparing the new knights to the old ones. And honestly? Nobody has quite captured that specific Tyrell "vibe" yet. There was a lightness Finn brought to the role that made the eventual darkness hit much harder.
What we can learn from Ser Loras
The story of Ser Loras is a cautionary tale about adaptation. When you take a complex character from a 1,000-page book and try to fit them into a 10-episode season, things get lost. Usually, it’s the nuance.
If you’re a writer or a creator, the lesson here is simple: don’t let a character’s identity become their only trait. Loras was a brother, a son, a knight, and a hero. He was also gay. The show focused so hard on the last part that they forgot all the others.
Taking action: How to dive deeper
If you actually want to see the "real" Ser Loras, here is what you should do:
- Read "A Storm of Swords": This is where Loras really shines. You get to see him in the Kingsguard, interacting with Jaime Lannister. The dynamic between them is fascinating—Jaime sees a younger, cockier version of himself in Loras, and it leads to some of the best dialogue in the series.
- Watch the "Histories and Lore" features: On the Game of Thrones Blu-rays (or YouTube), there are animated segments narrated by the actors. Finn Jones narrates the history of House Tyrell. It’s a great way to hear him inhabit the character's pride and history without the baggage of the later season scripts.
- Compare the trial scenes: Watch Loras's trial in Season 6 and then read about Margaery's trial in the books. The differences tell you everything you need to know about how the TV show prioritized shock value over character consistency.
Ultimately, Finn Jones Game of Thrones remains a highlight of the early seasons. He was a perfect casting choice who got caught in the gears of a show that eventually outpaced its own source material. He deserved a better ending, but he made the one he got count.
Next time you’re rewatching the series, pay attention to his face in the background of the royal weddings. He’s always acting, always reacting, and always reminding us that the Knight of Flowers was more than just a pretty face in a crowd. He was a Tyrell, and in Westeros, that used to mean something.
Stick to the early seasons if you want to remember him at his peak. That's where the magic was. Ser Loras might have fallen, but Finn Jones certainly made his mark on the history of television fantasy.
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Check out the "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" prequel if you want to see more of the chivalry and tourney culture that Loras Tyrell was supposed to represent. It’s a different era, but it carries that same spirit of Westerosi knightly tradition that the Tyrells held onto until the very end.
Next Steps:
If you're looking for more behind-the-scenes context, search for the "Game of Thrones: The Last Watch" documentary. It offers a raw look at the production of the final seasons, though Finn had already departed by then. To see his best work, revisit the Season 2 episode "Blackwater"—his entrance in Renly's armor (though technically Garlan in the books, the show keeps the focus on the Tyrell intervention) is a pivotal moment for the series' power balance.