The real Tyrion Lannister

This video’s sponsored by Audible. To get a free audiobook, like Game of Thrones or Dune or Wheel of Time, sign up for a trial at the link below. Game of Thrones author George Martin said that he likes Tyrion Lannister. Tyrion is “the villain” of course – but there’s nothing like a good villain. The first few seasons of the Thrones TV show are a.. pretty close adaptation of the books – Tyrion is a smart, funny dwarf who uses his wits in politics, but feels rejected and unloved. When he’s condemned for a crime that he didn’t commit, he kills his father Tywin and his lover Shae. But after Season 4, Tyrion in the show becomes a totally different character to Tyrion in the books. In the show, Tyrion joins Daenerys cause he believes she will make the world better. He tries to help her take the Throne without killing innocent people, and without killing his siblings Cersei and Jaime. But Tyrion’s plans all fail. His peace in Meereen fails, his war plans fail, his Cersei deal fails [including his ludicrous wight hunt idea], and his plan for King’s Landing fails when Daenerys burns the city. Tyrion used to be a smart and ruthless political player, but he spends most of the last two seasons just standing around looking sad and helpless. In the finale he tells Jon to kill Dany, and he says Bran should be king, and everything’s sort of okay in the end. Tyrion’s story was about his use of political power, and his need for love and family. But the ending of the show doesn’t resolve these themes. He fails politically but.. still gets power. And his family dies and no one loves him, but he’s.. just kind of okay still. He doesn’t change or grow as a character, and he barely impacts the story apart from the thirty minutes. The final line of dialogue in Game of Thrones is Tyrion telling a joke, but we don’t hear the punchline. Which is a good metaphor for Tyrion’s story in the show – there’s a great set-up in the first few seasons, but there’s no punchline, no emotional payoff in the end. Because Tyrion in the show is not the real Tyrion Lannister. In the books, his story is very different, and much darker. After killing Tywin and  Shae, Tyrion is traumatised,  and angry. He doesn’t want to protect Cersei and Jaime, he wants to kill his siblings, for revenge. And he doesn’t want to protect innocent people – he wants to bring “fire and sword” to Westeros. He thinks of himself as a “vengeful ghost” coming to “haunt the Seven Kingdoms” – “They would not love me living, so let them dread me dead”. So what is Tyrion’s story in the books, and.. is Tyrion Lannister a villain? Tyrion in the books looks very different to Peter Dinklage in the show. Book-Tyrion is ugly – he has a “brutish” “squashed-in face”, he’s described as “grotesque” “like a gargoyle”. His hair is pale blond, and his eyes are two different colours – one green and one black. When Tyrion is wounded in battle, he doesn’t just get a cool scar – half his nose is cut off, leaving his face hideously “disfigured”. Tyrion’s ugliness is important because it’s part of why people reject him and see him as a monster. One of the inspirations behind Tyrion’s character is Richard the Third, who was a King of England in the Wars of the Roses. In histories and literature, Richard was portrayed as a devious villain who killed his family to gain power. And supposedly, Richard was ugly and deformed with a hunchback – his evil soul was reflected in an ugly twisted body. Modern historians doubt whether any of that was actually true about Richard. But the point is that because of Tyrion’s  ugly appearance, people  are prejudiced against him. Tyrion was rejected from the day he was born. Tyrion’s father Tywin was always proud and ambitious. But Tywin’s father Lord Tytos was weak – his lords mocked and laughed at him to his face. Young Tywin hated the humiliation and shame that this brought to their noble family. So Tywin fought “to restore the pride and power” of House Lannister, brutally exterminating whole families who rebelled against them. Tywin became Lord of Casterly Rock, and Hand of the King for Aerys Targaryen. Tywin married his cousin Joanna, and he loved her deeply – it’s said that only she saw the real Tywin beneath his cold harsh armour. They had twins, Cersei and Jaime – Tywin wanted Cersei to be queen, and Jaime a great knight – he dreamed they’d be “so strong and brave and beautiful that no one would ever laugh at them”. After the humiliation of his father Tytos, laughter was what Tywin hated most. But then, Joanna died giving birth to Tyrion – an ugly “malformed” dwarf. In the superstitious society of Westeros, people thought Tyrion’s birth was a dark omen foretelling disaster. King Aerys mocked Tywin, and said Tyrion was a punishment from the gods – that they took Tywin’s beautiful wife and gave him a monster to teach him humility. The smallfolk called Tyrion “Lord Tywin’s Doom”. So Tyrion’s birth hurt the two things Tywin loved most – it undermined the pride and dignity of House Lannister, and caused the death of his beloved wife. So Tywin always hated Tyrion, and was cold and cruel to him. Cersei copied her father and also hated Tyrion. The only immediate family who showed Tyrion any affection or respect was his brother Jaime. Jaime gave him toys, and taught him to ride a pony, and Tyrion loved and trusted Jaime more than anyone. He also liked his uncles Tygett and Gerion. Gerion taught Tyrion about the wonders of the world, and taught him acrobatics, like flips and walking on his hands. But Tywin hated Tyrion acting a fool, and being laughed at, so he stopped the acrobatics. Tywin also refused to let Tyrion travel the world with Gerion, and instead put him in charge of the drains and cisterns at Casterly Rock. So Tyrion had a lonely childhood, finding comfort in books about history and dragons. Rejected by his father and his sister, and with no mother, Tyrion desperately wanted to be loved. When Tyrion was thirteen, he met a common girl called Tysha. They fell in love, and got married, happily living as husband and wife for two weeks. But when Tywin found out, he was furious that Tyrion had shamed House Lannister by marrying an unworthy woman. Jaime told Tyrion that Tysha was a “whore” – that Jaime paid Tysha to be with Tyrion, and that she didn’t really love him. To teach Tyrion a lesson, Tywin had Tysha raped by his guards. Then he made Tyrion rape Tysha. And the marriage was ended. So the one time that Tyrion fell in love with someone, he learned that that love wasn’t real. He was betrayed, humiliated, and forced to violate and dehumanise his wife. Ever since Tysha, Tyrion believed that no woman would ever truly love him, that they’d only want him for his gold. So Tyrion turns to sex workers and wine. But Tyrion says that while whores will fuck you, they won’t kiss you – Tyrion craves real intimacy, and approval, and a place in the world. He’s not a warrior like Jaime. He doesn’t have power like Tywin. He’s not feared or loved. But he is smart. He’s good at strategy, and manipulating people. So Tyrion reads lots of books – he says his mind is his weapon, and his wits are all he has. When Tyrion is about 25 years old, Book 1 begins. He goes up to Winterfell with King Robert and the rest, and he makes friends with Jon Snow. In the books, Tyrion does an acrobatic jump and somersault here, which author George Martin later said he.. “could have left out” cause it’s.. kinda silly. But Jon feels rejected from his family for being a bastard, just like Tyrion feels rejected for being a dwarf. So he gives Jon advice – he says when people make fun of you and call you names, you should take that name, and make it your armour. So like when people mock Tyrion and call him the Imp, Tyrion takes on the persona of a sarcastic cynical Imp. He uses jokes and irony as a shield to deflect the hurt of rejection. And he uses his sharp tongue to make fun of people back. Tyrion slaps Joffrey for being a dick. He stands up for Jon against the bullying Alliser Thorne, and defeats him in a mighty duel with a crab fork. Tyrion gives Bran a special saddle design, so he can ride a horse after his injury – Tyrion has sympathy for cripples, bastards and broken things, he identifies with outcasts and underdogs. But Tyrion can also be cruel and vindictive. Even in small ways. Like, he dislikes Benjen Stark, so Tyrion takes Benjen’s warm clothes to make Benjen cold, just out of petty spite. When Catelyn captures Tyrion, he plots revenge on all her men. He especially hates the singer Marillion for making fun of him. So when they’re attacked, Tyrion stomps on Marillion’s hand, and breaks his fingers – just cause he’s annoyed by this guy’s singing! Lysa falsely accuses Tyrion of murder. And it’s easy to frame Tyrion, because he’s an ugly Imp, and people are biased against him. But Tyrion escapes using his wits and his words – he convinces Bronn, and the mountain clansmen to join him. Tyrion says he’ll help the mountain clansmen attack the Vale. And in the books, he’s serious about this. He plans “to reduce the Vale of Arryn to a smoking wasteland”. He thinks there’s nothing he’d enjoy more than getting revenge on Lysa, “except perhaps strangling Cersei”. He often fantasises about killing Cersei and Tywin. Even as a child, he dreamed of burning his sister and father in dragonfire. So from the beginning, book--Tyrion has a dark side that wasn’t in the TV show. Being mistreated and disrespected makes him angry, and he wants to pay his debts with violent revenge. Tyrion meets with his father Tywin as the Lannisters go to war with the Starks and Tullys. And Tywin fights this war in the most violent and destructive way possible. He orders his most brutal soldiers like the Mountain to burn and plunder the riverlands, killing and raping innocent people. And Tyrion doesn’t question this. He’s there when Tywin gives the orders. He sees villages burned, and sees innocent people killed by his family. And Tyrion has no sympathy – because Tyrion thinks like Tywin. It was Tywin who taught Tyrion that a Lannister pays his debts with brutal indiscriminate violence – “I see you have taken a few lessons from me” Tywin says. And that’s why Tyrion wants violent revenge on Marillion, the Vale, and ironically, on Tywin. Tyrion does hate Tywin, but he’s still desperate for his father’s love and approval, so he’s internalised Tywin’s brutal methods, and tries to be like him. But no matter how hard Tyrion tries, Tywin just criticises and humiliates Tyrion, saying he’s weak and useless. Tywin’s constant negging makes Tyrion feel insecure, inadequate, and unloved. Tywin orders Tyrion to fight on the front lines of a battle, and Tyrion realises that his father wants to get him killed. So before the battle, Tyrion feels lonely, and he meets a girl called Shae, who agrees to be his lover, in return for gold. Shae is just eighteen years old in the books. She’s witty and charming, and when they have sex, she acts like she enjoys it and calls him her “giant of Lannister”. Tyrion knows she’s just pretending to like him, but he’s so desperate for love that he wants to believe that it’s real. In the TV show, Shae eventually does love Tyrion for real. But not in the books. Author George Martin says Shae doesn’t give a shit about Tyrion, and is only in it for the money and status. And Tyrion knows this, but after his experience with Tysha, he feels that fake love is all he can get. At the battle, in the TV show, Tyrion gets knocked out and misses the whole thing – because the showrunners didn’t have the budget for a battle in Season 1. But in the books, Tyrion rides in and fights – he kills some blokes, and stabs a horse with his hat, and he survives this battle. So [now that Jaime has been captured] Tywin gives Tyrion a hint of praise and respect for once. He tells Tyrion to go to King’s Landing and rule as Hand of the King. But Tywin also tells Tyrion not to bring his “whore” Shae. The talk of whores brings up Tyrion’s anger and pain for what Tywin did to Tysha. So Tyrion defies his father and brings Shae to King’s Landing. So in Book 1, Tyrion is hurt and angry at world that rejects him. He wants love, and respect, and revenge. In Book 2, Tyrion takes power in King’s Landing, and he says he’s going to do “justice”. He gets rid of the corrupt [gold cloak commander] Janos Slynt, because Janos’ men killed a baby and her mother. Tyrion imprisons and humiliates Pycelle for disobeying him. Tyrion blackmails Lancel Lannister, and bribes the Kettleblacks to spy on Cersei. He sends Myrcella to marry a Martell, and makes a plan to free Jaime from the Starks. Tyrion feels very impressed with himself for his clever political plots – he thinks he “can scheme with any man”, that this is what he was made for. But he’s not really as successful he thinks. Like sure, Tyrion outsmarts Janos and Pycelle and Lancel, but those guys are small fry – the real dangerous players are Littlefinger and Varys, and Tyrion never figures out what they’re up to. And many of Tyrion’s plots fail. The Kettleblacks were working for Littlefinger all along, not Tyrion. Myrcella’s marriage just lets the Martells use her against the Lannisters. Tyrion’s plot to free Jaime fails. And Tyrion’s insults to Pycelle, and Joffrey and Cersei and the Kingsguard and others just create enemies who turn against Tyrion in the end. So Tyrion is not as clever as he thinks he is. And he doesn’t really do justice. Like, sure, he gets rid of Janos Slynt, or just makes him Jon Snow’s problem, but the person who ordered Janos to kill a baby was Cersei, and Tyrion feels he can’t bring her to justice. Tyrion also realises that his own men, like Bronn, are just as cutthroat and immoral as Janos was. So he admits to himself that he isn’t really doing justice. Ultimately, Tyrion works as Hand of the King for King Joffrey, a cruel incompetent child tyrant. Tyrion knows that Joffrey is a terrible king. And he knows that he isn’t the rightful king – he’s a bastard of incest, making Stannis the true king. Tyrion knows that Cersei and Tywin are cruel terrible rulers. And he knows that their army commits evil atrocities in the riverlands. A river lord says that Lannister soldiers are burning, raping and killing innocent people. And Tyrion doesn’t care, he says that’s just war. Which is a bullshit excuse. The Starks and Tullys and Stannis don’t wage war like that – the Lannisters are exceptionally brutal. In between Tyrion’s chapters, we get chapters from Arya’s perspective, as she experiences the horror of Lannister atrocities – making it really clear that Tyrion is on the wrong side of this war. All his clever political plots support a brutal illegitimate government, fighting against the heroic Starks and righteous Stannis. Tyrion also mostly ignores the threat of the white walker apocalypse, even though the Night’s Watch repeatedly asks him for help. Tyrion doesn’t do justice in Book 2. It’s not about the realm. It’s about his ego. After a lifetime of being mocked and disrespected, Tyrion loves having power and status. He thinks “me, the dwarf, the monster, the one they scorned and laughed at”, “now I hold it all, the power, the city, the girl”, and “I do love it”. Tyrion’s humiliation of Lancel and Pycelle isn’t about political strategy. It’s about making himself feel powerful, making himself feel tall. Tyrion’s feelings of resentment are understandable and sympathetic. But he uses his power to bully and humiliate, to feed his ego, and to fight on the wrong side of this war. That’s why Tyrion is “the villain” in Book 2. Throughout the book, Tyrion struggles for power with Cersei. They’re both on team Lannister. But they each want the power for themselves. So they undermine and lie and insult and spy on each other. There is one moment when Tyrion and Cersei celebrate and are happy together, but Tyrion uses this opportunity to slip Cersei a mild poison, to get rid of her for a few days. And the relationship really breaks down when Tyrion gets between Cersei and her children. Tyrion sends Myrcella to Dorne. He takes Tommen away for safekeeping. And he puts Joffrey in a battle. Cersei feels that her children are threatened, so she retaliates by threatening the people Tyrion loves. She captures a sex worker called Alayaya, thinking that she’s Tyrion’s lover Shae. And she threatens to torture and kill the girl if Cersei’s children are hurt. So how does Tyrion react? He could just tell Cersei the truth – that she’s got the wrong girl, that Tyrion would never hurt her children, that they’re on the same side and shouldn’t fight – but instead, Tyrion decides to be like Tywin, and to speak with “his father’s voice”. Tyrion says if Alayaya is beaten and raped, Tyrion will beat and rape Tommen. He promises to hurt Cersei, to turn her joy to ashes in her mouth. This is the moment Tyrion and Cersei become enemies. And it happens because instead of being honest decent people, they both act like their brutal ruthless father. Their petty sibling rivalry for Tywin’s love spirals into murder, hate, and eventual disaster for their family. Tyrion defends King’s Landing from Stannis. He blows up Stannis’ ships with wildfire, and in the books he traps the burning ships with a giant chain. We see from Davos’ perspective as Tyrion’s wildfire kills his sons, and thousands of others – so from Davos’ perspective, Tyrion is totally the villain. Tyrion leads an attack, and fights amidst fiery ships like a badass. But then Tyrion’s attacked by one of his own men – Mandon Moore slashes Tyrion’s face open – possibly under Cersei’s orders, or Joffrey’s, or Littlefinger’s. But Tyrion goes down, and Tywin and the Tyrells arrive to win the battle. At the end of the book, Tyrion is badly wounded, his face is disfigured, and he’s alone. He has fever dreams and visions of the thousands of people he killed in battle, burned corpses weeping and moaning. He thinks “Why did I kill them all?” And then he dreams the answer – he dreams of a feast where everyone praises him as a hero, Jaime makes him a knight, Shae embraces him – and his father Tywin smiles with “approval”. This is why Tyrion fought this war, and played politics. It’s because he wants to be loved. But in Book 3, Tyrion gets no love. Tywin takes all the credit for winning the battle, and takes Tyrion’s power as Hand of the King. Tyrion’s allies are replaced and scattered, and Tyrion feels abandoned. So Tyrion goes to his father and asks for some “gratitude” and recognition for saving the city, and bleeding for their family. He asks to be publicly acknowledged as Tywin’s son and heir – since Jaime is a Kingsguard, Tyrion should be the next Lord of Casterly Rock. But Tywin refuses. He calls Tyrion an ill-made “creature”, “devious”, “spiteful” and full of lust. He says he’ll never let Tyrion turn Casterly Rock into his “whorehouse”. Tywin is angry that Tyrion threatened Cersei to protect Alayaya. So Tywin has Alayaya whipped, and kicked out the city gates naked. Tywin brings up Tysha, and Shae, and says he’ll kill Tyrion’s whores. So Tywin’s hatred of Tyrion is connected to Tywin’s feelings about women and sex, which goes back to Tywin’s relationship with his own father, Tytos. Cause after Tywin’s mother died, Tytos took common women as his mistresses. One mistress became proud and influential, ordering people around at the Rock. And she wore Tywin’s mother’s clothes and jewellery. Tywin was furious that a lowborn woman had power and status in House Lannister, and had impinged on the memory of his mother. So when Tytos died, Tywin stripped the woman, and walked her naked through the streets to show the world she was a “whore”. Now, Tywin does the same thing with Alayaya, and did something similar with Tysha. So because of his own daddy issues, Tywin is paranoid and insecure about lower-class women undermining his pride, so he uses brutal sexual violence and public humiliation to put women beneath the dignity of his noble house. So Tywin hates that Tyrion openly has sex with lowborn women like Tytos did. He hates that Tyrion is mocked and laughed at, like Tytos was. Tywin says “I was made to suffer my father’s follies. I will not suffer yours”. Tyrion reminds Tywin of all  his deepest insecurities  about his father and women and his grief for his wife. And it’s not fair, or rational, but that’s why Tywin hates Tyrion, and rejects him so brutally. Tyrion knows that Shae is in danger from Tywin, and it’d be safer to send her away. But she’s the only person who makes him feel loved. Even though he knows she’s just using him for his money. Shae is not a nice person in the books. She says cruel things about Lollys, a disabled rape victim. And Tyrion isn’t nice to Shae sometimes. He slaps her, he isolates and controls her, he risks the life of this teenage girl for his gratification. And then Tyrion gets in  another shitty relationship  with a teenager. Tywin tells Tyrion to marry Sansa Stark, so that the Lannisters can use her claim to take over the north. And Tyrion has mixed feelings. He says Sansa is “too young” to marry – cause she’s just twelve years old in the books – but Tyrion would like to rule Winterfell, and get away from his family. Tyrion offers for Sansa to marry Lancel instead, but Sansa remembers that Tyrion was kind to her once, and she hasn’t really got a choice, so they go along with the wedding. Sansa refuses to kneel for the wedding cloak though, so Tyrion has to stand on the back of a jester. The wedding is humiliating and depressing for them both. Tyrion gets drunk and threatens King Joffrey. Then they go to bed. Tywin told Tyrion to have sex with Sansa to consummate the marriage and secure her claim on the north. And at first, Tyrion intends to have sex with her. But Sansa doesn’t want him, so he relents, and they settle into their distant uncomfortable marriage. Tyrion tries to connect with her – he’s so desperate for love and validation, but she doesn’t want him, cause she’s twelve, and she’s a political prisoner, and Tyrion’s family killed her family. So their marriage is “a daily agony”. Tywin keeps telling Tyrion to have sex with Sansa, and Tyrion’s angry that his father keeps trying to control his sex life. A singer blackmails Tyrion, so Tyrion has him killed and made into soup. Tyrion’s stressed – he has a shitty job as master of coin, there’re Martells and Tyrells to deal with. His child wife hates him, his dad wants to kill his girlfriend, the queen hates him, the king hates him, the common people hate him and think he’s “a twisted little monkey demon”. House Lannister is more powerful than ever, but Tyrion feels miserable and alone. At Joffrey’s wedding, there’s a performance by some dwarfs, who ride a dog and a pig and joust for entertainment. Joffrey tells Tyrion to ride the pig, and Tyrion refuses, so they get angry and insult each other publicly. Then Joffrey dies of poisoned wine, and Cersei accuses Tyrion of the murder. At the trial, Tyrion has no friends to defend him – Bronn gets bribed by Cersei, and Podrick is just a boy. What Tyrion does have is a lot of enemies. All the people Tyrion threatened and humiliated over the last two books come back to condemn him. And they make a strong case that Tyrion poisoned Joffrey, because Tyrion did steal poison, and he did threaten Joffrey – he publicly swore to geld Joffrey. Of course, Tyrion didn’t really intend to cut off his nephew’s penis. Just like he didn’t really want to hurt Tommen. He only made these threats because he was angry and hurt, and cause he thought that acting like Tywin, and playing the role of a monster would protect him, like armour. But it doesn’t work. Tyrion says he’s been “on trial for being a dwarf” all his life. And it’s true that people are horribly prejudiced against him for the way he looks. But it’s also true that Tyrion’s villainous behaviour – his threats manipulation and lies – are part of why people treat him like a villain. Finally, Shae testifies against Tyrion, after being bribed and pressured by Cersei. Shae says Tyrion is guilty, and humiliates him by talking about their sex life. This betrayal breaks Tyrion, and all his hatred pours out. He says he wants to poison everyone, that he wishes he was the monster they think he is. Tyrion demands trial by combat, but the Mountain kills Oberyn, so Tywin condemns his son to death for a crime he didn’t commit. Before his execution, Tyrion is saved by Jaime. And this is the moment when Tyrion in the show and Tyrion in the books go in completely different directions. Cause in the show, Tyrion thanks Jaime, and they hug lovingly, then Tyrion leaves. But in the books, Jaime  makes a terrible revelation. After Tyrion married Tysha, Jaime had told him that Tysha was a whore – that Jaime paid her to be with Tyrion, and she didn’t really love him. But now Jaime reveals that that was a lie that Tywin made him tell. Jaime didn’t pay Tysha, she was just a random peasant girl who really did love Tyrion. All these years, Tyrion thought that no woman would ever love him. But now he finds out that his wife, who was gang-raped by Tywin’s men, and by Tyrion, was the only woman who ever loved him. Tyrion is devastated, and furious that Jaime kept to this lie. It feels like the ultimate betrayal from the one person Tyrion thought he could trust. All Tyrion’s pain becomes rage, and he swears to get revenge on his family, to punish the world by becoming the villain they think he is – he says “I am the monster they all say I am”. Just to hurt Jaime, he says he did kill Joffrey, and tells him that Cersei’s been cheating on him. So Tyrion leaves Jaime not as a loving brother, but as his enemy, a monster wanting revenge. And it’s because of the revelation about Tysha that Tyrion goes after Tywin. And in Tywin’s bed, Tyrion finds Shae. Tywin had always criticised Tyrion for having sex with “whores”. He says it’s a weakness, and a shame on their family. After Tywin’s wife died, he supposedly never touched a woman – he “had no use for whores”. Tywin acted like he had no lust, no emotions, just cold rationality. But now Tyrion sees that’s a lie. Tywin does have sex, just like Tyrion. And it’s not just Shae. In Book 2, Tyrion uses a secret tunnel that runs into a brothel. Varys says that this tunnel was built for a Hand of the King so he could visit the brothel secretly. And inside the brothel is a “red and yellow” window, and “a globe of gilded metal and scarlet glass” – those are Lannister colours, red and gold. And Tywin Lannister was Hand of the King. So it was probably Tywin who built this tunnel to visit the brothel on the regular. Tywin even lets Shae wear his jewellery, just like his father’s mistress wore his mother’s jewellery. So there are some deep dark complicated feelings about sex and family and shame happening in Tywin. But the point is that Tyrion discovers that Tywin is a massive hypocrite who does have sex with “whores” just like he does. In the show, when Tyrion finds Shae, Shae grabs a knife, and they struggle, before Tyrion kills her. Then he cries, and apologises to her corpse. The show tries to make the scene feel tragic, almost sympathetic to Tyrion. But in the books, it’s cold-blooded murder. Shae doesn’t grab a knife. Shae cries, and says she didn’t want to betray Tyrion, that Cersei made her, and Tywin scares her. But Tyrion is angry at her betrayal, so he strangles her to death without mercy. Compared to the show, this is a much more brutal, evil murder – author George Martin calls it his “blackest deed”, “the great crime of his soul”. Then Tyrion gets a crossbow and finds his noble father on the toilet. He asks Tywin what happened to Tysha – where did she go after the gang-rape? Tywin doesn’t know and doesn’t care, he says Tysha went “Wherever whores go”. So Tyrion shoots his father. Tywin says Tyrion is “no son of mine”, but Tyrion says “I’m you writ small” – meaning ‘I’m just like you’. Cause Tywin hates Tyrion for being devious, spiteful, and lustful. But it turns out, Tywin is just as devious spiteful and lustful as Tyrion. Tywin is devious when he plots the Red Wedding. He was spiteful when he killed Elia Martell, and the Reynes and Castameres. And he’s so goddamn lustful that he roots his son’s girlfriend and builds a secret personal sex tunnel to a brothel. Tywin and Tyrion have the same insecurities about being laughed at and feeling weak and ashamed. Tywin tries to hide his feelings behind the image of a noble rational golden lion, someone who’s above the petty shameful behaviour of his dwarf son. But it’s a lie. It’s all bullshit, and that’s why Tywin dies shitting himself on the toilet. Tywin “did not, in the end, shit gold”. Because he’s not a golden lion. He is a deeply flawed man full of shame and spite and lust, just like his son Tyrion. In Book 3, Tyrion tries be loved by his family and Shae and Sansa, but he is betrayed and condemned by everyone close to him. In Book 5, Tyrion goes east, drinking his way across the sea. He is consumed with self-loathing, anger, and despair – he’s lost everything. He no longer dreams of love or justice – all he has left is hatred. He wants to kill Jaime and Cersei, and bring war to Westeros, he wants to punish the world for rejecting him. And he especially hates women. Tyrion threatens a slave, saying he’ll have sex with her and murder her, just for the pleasure of making her afraid. Tyrion’s in a very dark place, and he reacts to his trauma and pain by hurting others and himself. In Pentos, Tyrion meets Illyrio, who’s working with Varys to help Daenerys conquer Westeros. He convinces Tyrion to join Daenerys, so that Tyrion can get revenge on the Lannisters, and take Casterly Rock for himself. So Tyrion travels with a group of Illyrio’s allies, led by this guy Griff, and this kid Young Griff. There’s also a septa, and a scholar, and a knight. And Tyrion figures out that Griff and his crew are not who they seem. Griff is actually Jon Connington, who was once a lord in Westeros. And Young Griff is actually supposedly Aegon Targaryen, the son of Prince Rhaegar and Elia Martell who everyone thought was dead. Griff and Illyrio and Varys have raised Aegon to be King – they hope to marry him to Daenerys so they can conquer and rule Westeros together. So they travel downriver and see some wondrous sights – there’s a giant turtle, a naked nun, and a strange shape in the fog that may or may not be a dragon. In the Sorrows, they see the ancient ruins of the Bridge of Dream and the Palace of Love, just like Tyrion’s dreams and loves are now ruined – which is one of George Martin’s less.. subtle metaphors. The Sorrows are a strange and spooky place, said to be ruled by a dark, mystical figure called the Shrouded Lord. Their boat inexplicably magically goes through the same place twice(?!), and then they’re attacked by stone men – people infected with greyscale. Tyrion saves Aegon, Jon Connington saves Tyrion, and JonCon gets infected with greyscale, but keeps it a secret – in the TV show, Jorah gets greyscale, but in the books it’s JonCon. And the disease makes JonCon desperate to make Aegon King of Westeros ASAP – because JonCon was in love with Aegon’s father, Prince Rhaegar. He feels guilty for failing Rhaegar, and wants to redeem himself by getting Aegon on the Throne. He and his crew have spent years training and protecting Aegon in secret, and now it’s almost time to reveal him  and claim his birthright. But Tyrion.. really doesn’t give a fuck about JonCon and Aegon’s quest. He makes fun of Aegon’s story as a perfect handsome fantasy prince, and he undermines their noble heroism with his sarcasm and cynicism and hate. It’s almost.. meta how Tyrion mocks the fantasy tropes of the story that he’s in, like Rick Sanchez being so  depressed and disillusioned  and drunk that he breaks the fourth wall a little. Tyrion even dresses in motley like a jester – a villainous fool who makes fun of the world like an edgy Westerosi Joker. Tyrion hates JonCon because he reminds him of Tywin. And Aegon is an annoying hot-headed teenager. So Tyrion mischievously messes with their plans. Over a game of cyvasse, which is the Game of Thrones version of chess, Tyrion manipulates Aegon, and convinces him to change his plan. Instead of going east and joining forces with Daenerys, he tells Aegon to go west and attack Westeros by himself. And since Aegon is young and rash, and JonCon is impatient with his greyscale, the madlads actually do it. They abandon the plan, and attack Westeros without Daenerys. Tyrion doesn’t actually think this a good idea – he only suggests it to mess with them, and create chaos. But this decision could have huge consequences. Like, if Aegon takes the Throne himself, he and Daenerys could become enemies instead of allies. There are hints that Aegon is not really a Targaryen, he’s actually a Blackfyre. And Daenerys is warned of a “mummer’s dragon” or false dragon. There are hints of a war between them, a “dance of the dragons” that will cause death and destruction across Westeros. So Tyrion’s trolling might cause a terrible war. And he doesn’t care. He laughs when he finds out. In his anger and nihilism, Tyrion wants to see the world burn. Tyrion is haunted by memories of Tywin, Shae, and Tysha. Since Tysha was the one woman who truly loved him, he wants to find her again. He imagines them living together in their cottage like they did when they were young and happy. It’s not a realistic dream, but that distant memory is all he’s got. Tywin said that Tysha went “Wherever whores go”. So Tyrion repeatedly asks “Where do whores go?”. Thinking of Tysha, he visits a brothel. And he has sex with a slave prostitute who has dead eyes and a scarred back. Tyrion feels wretched, full of shame and guilt and self-hatred. He drinks til he pukes, tells the slave to kill him, and then has sex with her again, even though she clearly doesn’t want to – he rapes her. But in the TV show version of the scene, Tyrion is charming and nice. A slave offers him free sex, but Tyrion declines because he’s so sad, in like a noble kind of way. The show whitewashes Tyrion. It takes out the bad stuff he does and makes him into a generic good guy who doesn’t change as a character. But the books go deep into Tyrion’s emotional devastation, and he does terrible things. Tyrion is captured by Jorah, who wants to give him to Daenerys to get back in her favour. And they go to Volantis, an ancient slave city in a state of political unrest. Cause the rulers of Volantis plan to attack Daenerys because Daenerys is fighting against slavery. But the slaves of Volantis see Daenerys as a beacon of freedom. And the red priests preach that Daenerys is the prophesied saviour Azor Ahai. A woman called the widow of the waterfront tells Tyrion that the slaves are waiting for Daenerys to come and free them. Tyrion agrees go help Daenerys – but not for heroic reasons. He says he’ll bring Daenerys his “hate”, and the only reward he asks is to be allowed to rape and kill his sister Cersei. Tyrion embraces the role of monstrous villain. Over in Braavos, Arya’s in a play where the Tyrion character says “As I cannot be the hero, let me be the monster, and lesson them in fear in place of love”. Then, Tyrion is attacked by a dwarf girl called Penny. Penny was one of the performers back at Joffrey’s wedding. But when Tyrion escaped Westeros, Cersei put a bounty on Tyrion’s head. So a bunch of idiot bounty hunters have killed innocent dwarfs, thinking they might be Tyrion. Penny’s brother Oppo was one of those killed, and in her grief and anger, Penny blames Tyrion. Tyrion takes pity on Penny, and brings her with them as they sail east. Eventually, Tyrion and Penny reconcile, and become friends. They’ve got a lot in common. They’re both dwarfs who have lost their families and their ways of life. They’re both dealing with grief, anger, and suicidal thoughts. But unlike Tyrion, Penny moves past her anger. She forgives Tyrion for her brother’s death. And instead of wallowing in hatred and despair like Tyrion, Penny is optimistic, with hopes and dreams for the future. Penny tells Tyrion to stop his self-destructive behaviour. Like, Tyrion makes fun of Jorah until Jorah hits Tyrion. And Penny tells him he’s gotta stop provoking people or he’ll get himself killed. It used to be that Tyrion could say what he liked, cause he was a rich and powerful nobleman. But now as an exile, he’s no one, so when he talks shit he gets hit. Tyrion has always felt sorry for himself, but he was very lucky to be born into a rich noble family. He’s been protected by his privilege all his life. But Penny is a common person as well as dwarf, and she’s learned the hard way how to survive. Tyrion hates being laughed at, but Penny says making people laugh can be a good thing. In fact, if Tyrion had ridden her pig at Joffrey’s wedding like Joffrey asked, instead of insulting Joffrey, Tyrion might never have been condemned, and Penny’s brother might not have died. No one should have to put up with humiliation. But many of Tyrion’s problems are caused by his pride. When morale on their ship gets dangerously low, Penny convinces Tyrion to perform a joust with her, riding her pig against her dog. So Penny challenges Tyrion’s pride, his privilege, his self-destructive behaviour. She shows him that he’s not the only dwarf in the world who’s suffered. And that it’s possible to forgive and hope. Penny has a crush on Tyrion, and they kiss a couple of times. But Tyrion isn’t interested in her like that. The only woman he loves is his idealised memory of Tysha. So Tyrion has a complicated relationship with Penny. He’s protective of her, and kind, sometimes, but he rejects her love, and he mostly rejects her positive, hopeful attitude. Tyrion stays angry and proud and cynical. And he moves closer to power. A red priest called Moqorro has a vision of Tyrion with dragons – “Dragons old and young, true and false, bright and dark” – with Tyrion snarling in their midst, a small man with a big shadow. The old dragons could be Aemon or Bloodraven. The young and true dragons could be Daenerys and Jon Snow who is probably secretly a Targaryen. And the false, dark dragon could be Aegon – cause he might actually be a Blackfyre not a Targaryen. And through these dragons, Tyrion will have a big impact on the story. In Book 1, Tyrion cast a shadow as “tall as a king”. Aemon said Tyrion “is a giant come among us, here at the end of the world”. So there’s lots of foreshadowing that Tyrion will play a big role in the endgame of the story. Their ship is damaged in a storm, Moqorro floats off to Victarion, and Tyrion Penny and Jorah are captured by slavers outside Meereen – the city is under siege by the slavers of Yunkai while Daenerys tries to negotiate peace. Tyrion, Penny and Jorah are bought as slaves by a Yunkishman called Yezzan zo Qaggaz, or the Yellow Whale. Yezzan is enormously rich and enormously fat, and he keeps a grotesquery of slaves with unusual bodies, watched over by his cruel overseer, Nurse. Tyrion has gone from a proud powerful ruler in Westeros to a powerless humiliated slave. Inside Meereen, Daenerys tries to make peace with the slavers by marrying Hizdahr, and opening the fighting pits. Tyrion and Penny are made to perform for the crowds – so the first time Tyrion and Daenerys see each other, Tyrion is riding a pig. Though she doesn’t know he’s Tyrion, and they still haven’t met. Cause Drogon crashes the party, Daenerys flies off, and Yunkai prepares to attack Meereen. A disease called the bloody flux breaks out, and Yezzan gets sick. Yezzan was dying already from an exotic disease he got in Sothoryos. So pretty soon he’s squirting his guts out, and Tyrion takes the opportunity to escape. On the way out, Tyrion kills Nurse with some poison mushrooms – and says “A Lannister always pays his debts”. So after all the crazy stuff that happens in this book, Tyrion is still a Lannister. He’s still proud, spiteful, and murderous, like his father. The main way that Tyrion has changed since the start of Book 5 is that he’s less depressed now, he doesn’t want to die any more. He originally considered using these poisoned mushrooms to kill himself in Pentos, but now he chooses to live, and get revenge. Tyrion goes to a mercenary captain called Brown Ben Plumm, commander of the Second Sons. Tyrion convinces him to let him and Penny and Jorah join his company to escape slavery. And in return, Tyrion promises Ben money and a lordship when Tyrion gets power back in Westeros. So Tyrion Penny and Jorah escape slavery, but now they’re stuck in the middle of a battle between the slavers and Daenerys’ forces. Daenerys herself is still missing in the Dothraki Sea. So Barristan commands her army, alongside Grey Worm and the Unsullied, some sellswords, and freed slaves. Ben Plumm and the Second Sons are on the side of the slavers, but Tyrion hopes to convince them to join Daenerys instead. So Tyrion’s back in the game of thrones, playing politics, being a Lannister again. And he is as ruthless as ever – he compares himself to Tywin, and thinks about poisoning wells. Tyrion wants to join Daenerys but not because he.. believes in her or anything. He just thinks that she’s his best hope of bringing fire and sword to Westeros. So in Book 5, Tyrion loses everything, and falls deep into despair and hate. But now, he’s returning to the game of thrones. When he gets power, will he use it for violence and vengeance like Tywin would? Or will he find forgiveness and hope like Penny? Author George Martin has released sample chapters of the upcoming next book, The Winds of Winter. In the opening chapters, Tyrion convinces Ben Plumm and his men to switch sides and join Daenerys. Another sellsword company called the Windblown also join Daenerys. Victarion Greyjoy and Moqorro arrive with the ironborn and attack the slavers. The dragons Rhaegal and Viserion are loose. And Ser Barristan rides into battle. So it looks like Daenerys’ forces will defeat the slavers, leaving a very strange bunch of characters in charge of Meereen. Barristan is Daenerys’ closest ally, so Tyrion will want to win his trust – though Tyrion suspects that Barristan will hate him for being a villainous kinslayer. Victarion wants to marry Daenerys and steal her dragons, which probably won’t end well for him. But if he survives the battle, we could get some fun dialogue with Tyrion making fun of Victarion “dumb as a stump” Greyjoy. Moqorro could teach Tyrion more about magic and prophecy. Marwyn the Mage should arrive sometime, and he’s also into magic and books. Ben Plumm and the Tattered Prince will want battle and plunder, Jorah wants to get out of the friendzone with Daenerys, though he’s picked up an unfortunate face tattoo recently. Daario is still around, and he wants Daenerys. And Strong Belwas wants.. liver and onions. It’s a colourful collection of characters, and a great opportunity for Tyrion to play politics, crack jokes, rule Meereen, and set himself up as an advisor to Daenerys when she returns. Daenerys won’t trust Tyrion right away. Cause Tyrion is a Lannister, condemned as treacherous kingslayer. But Tyrion is very good at convincing people to make alliances. And Tyrion has lots of useful information that Daenerys needs. Daenerys has never been to mainland Westeros. She doesn’t know her enemies. But Tyrion intimately knows Cersei, Jaime, King Tommen, and other lords. Tyrion knows the defences of King’s Landing and Casterly Rock. And Tyrion is the only person in Meereen who knows about Aegon and JonCon. Tyrion can tell her that Aegon is on his way to take her Throne, which could convince Daenerys to get to Westeros ASAP. Tyrion could manipulate Daenerys and tell her that that Aegon is her enemy, to encourage conflict and chaos. So, like in the show, Tyrion will probably become Daenerys’ advisor or Hand of the Queen. But his advice to Daenerys may be very different to the show. In the show, Tyrion tells Daenerys to be merciful to the slavers, so instead of killing them all, they just kill some and give the rest a stern talking to. But book Tyrion, in his anger and hate, won’t want mercy for the people who just enslaved him – he’ll want revenge. Book Daenerys also wants violence. All through Book 5, she tries to rule Meereen peacefully – making compromises, marrying Hizdahr, chaining her dragons. But peace fails, so she flies off on her dragon, and she has visions reminding her that she is “the blood of the dragon”, that Meereen is not her home, that the Targaryen words are “Fire and Blood”. Daenerys is done with peace, she’s set to burn her enemies. And Daenerys once said that if Yunkai attacks her, she will raze their city to the ground. So Daenerys and Tyrion’s first act together won’t be this half-assed compromise. It might be to destroy Yunkai. George Martin said Daenerys has “embraced her heritage as a Targaryen”, and she and Tyrion are “coming home”. But it’s a long way from Meereen to Westeros. And they have unfinished business in Essos. The red priests and the widow of the waterfront want Daenerys to free the slaves of Volantis. Which might get violent – a priest prophesies that Volantis will burn. And conveniently, the ruling slavers of Volantis live within the Black Walls in the heart of the city – making them a convenient target for Daenerys to roast them all with dragonfire. Moqorro may convince Daenerys of her destiny to be “a sword of fire that will cleanse the world”, pushing her further towards violence. Daenerys also has business in Pentos. Cause the captain of the Windblown, the Tattered Prince, joins Daenerys on the condition that he gets to take over Pentos. Daenerys hasn’t agreed to this yet – at first she says she won’t give Pentos to Tatters, because Illyrio lives in Pentos, and Illyrio is her trusted ally. But Tyrion can tell Daenerys the truth – that Illyrio has been lying and manipulating her all along. Illyrio really supports Aegon, and while Illyrio was selling Daenerys to the Dothraki, he was raising Aegon in secrecy and safety. Tyrion could convince Daenerys to burn Illyrio for his betrayal, and to give Pentos to the Tattered Prince. We don’t know what Tatters’ plans are for Pentos, but it’s probably something bad. Tatters has history with Pentos, and he’s a cruel and brutal man. One time, Tatters cut off a guy’s foot, then forced him to eat it, and then made him his cook, that’s the sort of guy Tatters is. And Daenerys and Tyrion might give him the city of Pentos. So there are strong hints in the books that Daenerys’ journey across Essos will be violent and destructive, bringing fire and blood across the continent. Will Tyrion encourage this violence? Or will he tell Daenerys to be more peaceful? Tyrion’s peaceful, compassionate side is represented by his relationship with Penny. And in his latest chapters, he rejects her optimism pretty harshly – he slaps her, tells her to stop dreaming, and to face harsh reality. There are even hints that Tyrion might hurt Penny. Tyrion dreams of shooting Penny with a crossbow. And there’s a weird dark moment when Penny reminds Tyrion of Shae, and he’s overwhelmed with rage, and Tyrion thinks about killing Penny. If Tyrion kills Penny, or just rejects or loses her somehow, that could be the breaking point that leads Tyrion to fully embrace Daenerys’ bloody conquest. And Tyrion might develop a connection with Daenerys’ dragons. Tyrion has always been fascinated with dragons, so he’s read lots of books about them. This knowledge is considered so valuable that JonCon makes him write down everything he knows about dragons in case it’s useful. So this knowledge is another way Tyrion can help Daenerys. Cause Daenerys doesn’t actually know much  about dragons, she has a  lot of trouble controlling hers in the books. They keep disobeying her, and eating children. They didn’t come with a manual. [She can’t Google it]. So Tyrion might help Daenerys control her dragons, maybe even breed them, or design dragon armour, or a dragon-riding saddle, like the saddle he designed for Bran. And maybe Tyrion will ride a dragon himself. He does dream of riding a dragon and burning his enemies. And author George Martin has hinted that Tyrion will fly. Daenerys believes that her three dragons need three riders. Jon Snow will probably ride one, like he does in the TV show. He rides the green dragon, Rhaegal, who is named after his [probable] father Rhaegar. Daenerys rides the black dragon, Drogon. So Tyrion could ride Viserion – Viserion is coloured white and gold, and his blood is “gold and red” which fits Tyrion’s Lannister colours. At the end of his latest preview chapter, Tyrion dramatically picks up a white dragon cyvasse piece, which hints at a connection between him and the white dragon Viserion. Usually, dragons are only ridden by Targaryens, people with the Valyrian “blood of the dragon”. And Tyrion isn’t a Targaryen. Or is he? There is a theory that Tyrion is not the son of Tywin Lannister, he’s actually the son of the Mad King, Aerys Targaryen. Cause for years, Aerys was sexually interested in Tyrion’s mother, Joanna Lannister. It was rumoured that he took her virginity, and that she was his mistress for a while. At Joanna’s wedding to Tywin, Aerys joked that he wanted to have sex with her, and he took “liberties” at the bedding. Aerys’ wife complained that Aerys was turning her ladies into his “whores”, so Joanna went back to Casterly Rock for a while. But then, the year before Tyrion was born, Aerys and Joanna were both at a tournament in King’s Landing. Aerys made comments about Joanna’s breasts, and Tywin got so angry that he tried to resign as Hand. The next year, Tyrion was born. So maybe, at this tournament, Aerys had sex with Joanna and fathered Tyrion. Being a Targaryen could explain Tyrion’s pale blond hair, which looks more like the Targaryen silvery blond than the Lannister golden blond. Tyrion’s green eye could be from his Lannister mother, and his black eye could actually be a very dark Targaryen purple. Targaryen blood could explain why Tyrion doesn’t catch greyscale or the bloody flux – because Targaryens tend not to get sick. It could explain Tyrion’s dreams of dragons, which are common in Targaryens. And Targaryen blood could let Tyrion ride a dragon. In Book 5, Daenerys’ dragons like Ben Plumm. And Tyrion explains that this is because Ben has some Targaryen blood in his family tree. Maybe the reason this is mentioned in the book is so that when Tyrion meets Daenerys’ dragons, they’ll like him too, hinting that Tyrion also has Targaryen blood. And then Barristan, who was Aerys’ guard for years, could reveal that Aerys is Tyrion’s father. It all fits – the white dragon, the timeline, his appearance, his dreams – Tyrion could be a Targaryen. But does the story really need another secret Targaryen? We’ve already got Jon Snow probably being a secret Targaryen, and Young Griff being a secret Targaryen or a Blackfyre. Do we really need all three main characters  to be Targaryens, whose  mothers died in childbirth, who ride dragons? And if Tyrion is Aerys’s son, what does that mean for his relationship with Tywin? The whole point of their relationship is that even though Tywin hates Tyrion, Tyrion is just like Tywin, Tyrion is Tywin “writ small”. Isn’t that ruined if Tyrion is actually Aerys’ son? You could argue that even if Aerys is Tyrion’s biological father, Tywin is the father who raised Tyrion, and his shitty parenting made Tyrion who he is. It’s like how even if Rhaegar is Jon Snow’s biological father, Ned Stark is the father who raised Jon, and made him the person who he is. And it kind of makes sense if Tywin always suspected that Tyrion was Aerys’ son. Like, he does say that Tyrion is not his son, but that he just cannot prove that Tyrion isn’t his. Cause there is no proof whether Tyrion is a Targaryen. Only hints. And maybe that ambiguity is the point. Maybe we’ll never know for sure. Like, maybe Tyrion will start to develop a connection with Viserion, but then Viserion will be killed or taken by Euron before Tyrion can fully explore his Targaryen side. So maybe he’ll always question his identity – is he a Lannister or a Targaryen? Tywin wondered the same thing – he was never quite sure if Tyrion was his son, he didn’t want to believe Tyrion was his. Because Tyrion was a reflection of everything Tywin hated about himself. It’s because Tyrion is so much like Tywin that Tywin denied Tyrion was his, and preferred to believe he was Aerys’ instead. But Tyrion, unlike Tywin, could face the truth – that it doesn’t matter whether Aerys is his biological father. Tyrion was raised as a Lannister, his personality and values were shaped by Tywin, so for better or worse, no matter what’s in his blood, “Tyrion is Tywin’s son”. And besides, George Martin has hinted that the third dragonrider doesn’t necessarily need to be a Targaryen, so maybe Tyrion could ride a dragon either way. The other thing Tyrion needs to resolve are his feelings about Tysha – his pain and his longing for his lost love. Will he ever find “where whores go”? George Martin has said that we will find out where whores go. So… where? In Braavos, Arya meets a sex worker called the Sailor’s Wife. Before she has sex with men, she always marries them in a fun temporary ceremony with a drunken priest – like how Tysha married Tyrion in a fun ceremony with a drunken priest. The Sailor’s Wife likes singing, like how Tysha used to sing for Tyrion. And she’s a “whore”, just like Tysha was supposedly a “whore”. The Sailor’s Wife is a fun, and kind person, though there’s something sad about her too. She often prays for her first husband, her true love, to come back to her. Maybe that husband was Tyrion, and the Sailor’s Wife is Tysha. She could’ve fled from Westeros, and set herself up in Braavos. And thing is, the Sailor’s Wife has a blonde daughter called Lanna. Lanna is fourteen years old, and Tysha and Tyrion were married either fourteen or fifteen years ago. So the timeline fits – Lanna could be Tyrion Lannister’s daughter with Tysha. There are problems with this theory – like, the Sailor’s Wife says her husband was.. a sailor. And Tyrion’s not a sailor – so maybe her husband was actually Tyrion’s uncle Gerion. But the sailor thing could just be a lie she tells to protect herself. The other problem is that a fortune-teller says that the Sailor’s Wife’s husband is dead, and if he comes back to her, it will be as a corpse. Tyrion isn’t literally dead. But he does think of himself  as being metaphorically  dead, having died in King’s Landing and become a ghost. So if The Sailor’s Wife is Tysha, maybe he will come back to her, in Braavos. Daenerys and Tyrion could stop there on the way west – maybe Daenerys could borrow money from the Iron Bank, or fight the Faceless Men or something. But Tyrion and Tysha’s reunion may not be a happy one. Because Tyrion and Tysha aren’t the innocent teenagers they remember each other as. Tyrion has become a “corpse” – a hateful murderous version of the boy he used to be, and Tysha has.. ironically become a “whore”, which is what Tyrion always feared she was. If a reunion with Tysha goes badly, and they don’t meet each others’ impossible idealised standards, that could push Tyrion into an even darker more destructive place – right as he arrives back at Westeros. So in the next book, Daenerys will carve a bloody path across Essos, with Tyrion by her side. Tyrion might ride a dragon, he might reunite with Tysha, and he might lose or kill Penny. Winds has the potential to be Tyrion’s darkest book, where he fully embraces fire and blood. At the end of the TV show, Daenerys burns King’s Landing, killing thousands of innocent people out of anger and frustration. And a lot of people complained that this terrible dark turn happened too suddenly. There wasn’t enough buildup and exploration of why Daenerys would do something so evil. In the books, her journey across Essos could be that gradual buildup of destruction. Her allies and advisors in the books will be violent fiery people like Tatters and Ben and Moqorro, the ironborn and Dothraki.. and Tyrion, the devil on her shoulder, urging her to burn Westeros for his revenge. The situation in King’s Landing will be different. It might be Aegon, not Cersei, who has the Throne, possibly in alliance with Dorne, the Reach and the Faith. And Aegon may be popular with the common people – there’s a vision of the mummer’s dragon “amidst a cheering crowd”. If the common people support Aegon over Daenerys, Daenerys may see the people as her enemies. Jon Connington could be there, and interestingly, JonCon has a traumatic backstory involving bells, which might be the reason for the bells that ring in the show before Daenerys burns the city. There also could be wildfire in the mix. Cersei and Jaime might be there, perhaps as prisoners of Aegon. And the spark behind the fire could be Tyrion. Cause King’s Landing is where Tyrion was betrayed by Tywin, Cersei, Jaime, and Shae. It’s the city he fought to save before its people rejected and condemned him. He said he wished he had enough poison to kill them all, and ever since he’s wanted revenge, to pay his debts. During Robert’s Rebellion, Tywin brutally sacked King’s Landing, killing men women and children. And part of the reason why he did this so savagely was probably to get revenge on King Aerys and everyone else  who mocked and disrespected  him when he was Hand of the King. Now Tyrion is set to repeat history, and to attack that same city because of how he was treated when he was Hand of the King. Tyrion will repeat the sins of his father. In the show, Tyrion tells Daenerys not to burn King’s Landing, but in the books, he could encourage or manipulate her into doing it, by turning her against Aegon and the common people, or by not telling her about the dangerous wildfire, or even by starting the fire on a dragon of his own. However it happens, the burning King’s Landing would be the ultimate expression of Tyrion’s hate and pain, especially if it kills Jaime and Cersei. But revenge won’t make Tyrion happy in the end. In Book 5, he has a dream where he fights a battle with dragons overhead. He kills Tywin, and he kills Jaime, but then Tyrion realises he’s crying. As Ellaria says, revenge doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t bring back what you’ve lost. A skull can’t make you happy. In the show, Tyrion walks through the ashes of King’s Landing, and cries over the bodies of Jaime and Cersei. The tragedy in the show is that Tyrion failed to protect his family. But in the books, the tragedy could be that he killed his family, and only realised it was a mistake when it was too late. In the show, Bran makes Tyrion Hand of the King, and says he’ll work to fix his “terrible mistakes”. But Tyrion’s terrible mistake in the TV show was believing in Daenerys, who turned evil despite his good intentions. It could be so much more tragic in the books if Tyrion’s “mistake” is encouraging Daenerys’ violence, choosing hate and revenge. So will Tyrion end the series as a villain, like Tywin? Or could he redeem himself? In the show, the white walkers are defeated, then King’s Landing burns. But in the books, it might be the other way around – because Jon killing Daenerys makes more sense in the context of the white walkers, because of the Azor Ahai story – so maybe after Tyrion and Daenerys burn King’s Landing, Tyrion will help defeat the white walkers. He could finally realise that saving the world is more important than politics and revenge. The Night’s Watch were right, this is what he should have been doing all along. When Tyrion stood on the Wall in Book 1, he felt something, he sensed that the white walkers were the true enemy. He could help fight them by riding a dragon maybe, or just help politically, by building alliances with the Starks. Tyrion and Jon still think of each other as friends, and Tyrion has relationships with Bran and his wife Sansa. So maybe Tyrion will team up with the Starks and redeem himself by saving the world from the white walkers. Or maybe that’s too much of a happy ending. Maybe Tyrion deserves punishment. Characters talk about cutting out Tyrion’s tongue eight times in the books. Because Tyrion constantly annoys people with his jokes and insults, and his words cause so much trouble. Removing someone’s tongue is a common punishment in Westeros. Euron Greyjoy often cuts out peoples’ tongues, and he’s becoming a major bad guy in the books. He might take Tyrion’s dragon Viserion, before taking Tyrion’s tongue. Cersei is another possibility – she hates Tyrion, and she’s been talking a lot about cutting out tongues lately. Tyrion losing his tongue would fit a pattern with his siblings – cause each of the Lannisters lose the part of themselves that give them power and pride. Jaime loses his hand that made him a great warrior. Cersei loses her image as a proud beautiful queen in her walk of shame. And Tyrion’s power and pride is in his sharp witty tongue, so if he loses his tongue, all three Lannisters will have lost their most important part. When Jaime loses his hand, and Bran breaks his back, and Arya loses her sight, these are challenges that force the characters to grow and redefine themselves. But Tyrion has kind of already had his downfall – he’s already lost everything. So losing his tongue might not be about growing his character. It could be more of a brutal final tragedy at the end of his story, as a punishment for all his crimes. If Tyrion’s words and lies convince Daenerys to burn King’s Landing, maybe King Bran will take Tyrion’s tongue so his words can’t do evil again. He could live out his days as a quiet lion at Casterly Rock, or as a mute maester at the Citadel, or with the Night’s Watch. Tyrion remembers that Jeor Mormont said they need men like Tyrion in the Watch. Tyrion remembers that the Watch welcomes outcasts and misfits no matter their past crimes – which is perfect for a criminal outcast like Tyrion. Maybe with the brotherhood of the Watch, Tyrion will finally find the family and acceptance he’s always wanted. Sam says that someone really needs to sort through the books in the Castle Black library, which’ll take years of work. But Sam will be busy being Grand Maester. So maybe Tyrion could sort out the Night’s Watch’s books. Tyrion’s first chapter begins with him reading a book – that was always his comfort and his escape. So maybe the series will end with Tyrion reading a book – quietly. So is Tyrion Lannister a villain? From the beginning, Tyrion felt unloved and rejected. So he used political power to try to earn some respect. But then he was betrayed and condemned by the people closest to him. So Tyrion falls deep into despair and hate, and dreams of revenge. In the next book, he may embrace fire and blood. He might spark the burning of King’s Landing. But he might also help save the world from the white walkers. Tyrion is villainous – he’s a hateful, ruthless murderer, like his father. But he is also heroic – he is sometimes kind, protective and brave. George Martin did once call Tyrion a villain, but he more often calls Tyrion morally grey. Martin writes about the human heart in conflict with itself. And no one’s heart is more conflicted than Tyrion’s. There’s love and hate, good and evil inside him. And to be human is to look for the light. If you want the real story of Game of Thrones, you’ve got to check out the books – the main series, and the prequel stories, and the history books. You can get any one of these on audiobook for free right now, at audible.com/asx. Sign up for a Premium Plus trial membership, and you get an audiobook to keep, even if you cancel the trial. You could get Dune, or Wheel of Time, or The Expanse. Membership also includes unlimited access to thousands of audiobooks and shows in the Audible Plus Catalog. Sign up at audible.com/asx, or text asx to 500-500. There’s still more to say about Tyrion, so there’ll be a Q&A livestream on this channel in a few days at the link below. Also Alt Schwift X has released a rap about Tyrion for some reason, so you can check that out, but.. don’t encourage him. Thanks to the artists and fan essayists linked below. And thanks to the Patrons, including Qiara & Karth, Eli Lidkea, JValk, Michelle, Dan Marks, Mallie Brossett, Lady Dyanna, Kalle Havumäki, and Carla Lindeman. Cheers.

Channel: Alt Shift X

Views: 714,959

Rating: 4.9614263 out of 5

Keywords:

Id: H9HFigfkKHA

Length: 75min 48sec (4548 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 30 2021

Reddit Comments

[u/TrickHornet2152]

What a tremendous video

[u/radraz26]

Alt Shift X used my art of Yezzan and Nurse for this video, and so far, that's my biggest accomplishment as an artist. Nearly had a heart attack when he messaged me to use my Yezzan piece, and a second one when he asked me to create a drawing of Nurse.

Edit:. Also I never caught all the stuff about Tywin and the whore tunnel. Tywin was all kinds of fucked up. I always learn something new in each asx video.

[u/Shake_Ratle_N_Roll]

Tyrion is my favorite character in all of ASOIAF.

[u/YerArsesOotTheWindae]

This is the kind of video you regret you can only watch for the first time once.

[u/Im_a_Turing_Test]

Great, I have to pause my Alt Swift X chapter to listen to this chump. Awesome.

[u/thejonsnu]

Really love the parallels between Tytos' mistress and Shae both wearing Tywin's mothers jewelry, showing how deep Tywin's hypocrisy ran. Alt Shift X if you're reading this please make more character videos this was so well done.

[u/Josos_Cook]

Great video. Seems like a lot of the more mainstream people think Tyrion is awesome so it's good to see someone who gets it...except for the Tysha thing.

[u/CNR_FR]

His captor called schwifty has dropped a tyrion rap! Check it out!

[u/AirGundz]

Strap in, this is a damn good one