Tyrion Lannister

NOTE: FOR THE SAKE OF THIS WIKI, THIS PAGE MAINLY ACCEPTED THE ANTAGONISTIC VERSION OF TYRION IN THE BOOK SERIES

"You poor, stupid, blind, crippled fool. Must I spell out every little thing for you? Very well. Cersei is a lying whore, she's been f**king Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and probably Moon Boy for all I know. And I am the monster they all say I am. Yes, I killed your vile son."

- Tyrion, to Jaime Lannister "The future is shit. Just like the past."

- Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion Lannister is a main character in A Song of Ice and Fire and its TV Adaptation Game of Thrones. Though an often heroic character, and more heroic in the TV Series, he is also a villainous character, also supporting his family, House Lannister, in its villainous deeds.

Tyrion Lannister is a member of House Lannister and youngest child of Lord Tywin Lannister and Lady Joanna Lannister. His older siblings are Cersei Lannister, the queen of King Robert I Baratheon, and Ser Jaime Lannister, a knight who served in the Kingsguard of kings Aerys II, Robert, Joffrey, and currently Tommen.

He is portrayed by Peter Dinklage, who also played Captain Gutt in Ice Age: Continental Drift, Miles Finch in Elf, Frank Lovett in A Death at the Funeral (both original and remake), and Bolivar Trask in X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Synopsis
When Tyrion was young, he married a crofter's daughter, Tysha, who he and Jaime had apparently saved from rapists. When Tywin found out he forced Tyrion to watch his entire garrison rape Tysha, then forced Tyrion to have sex with her, and threw Tysha out. Jaime claimed she was a whore he had paid for Tyrion to have sex with.

Tyrion Lannister first appears in "A Game of Thrones" among King Robert's party at Winterfell. He accompanies Jon Snow to the Wall, wishing to see it. After returning from his visit at the Wall, Tyrion is abducted by Lady Catelyn Stark in the riverlands, on his way back to King's Landing and taken to the Vale of Arryn, to Catelyn's sister Lady Lysa Arryn, being accused of hiring a Catspaw to kill Bran Stark and the assassination of Lord Jon Arryn - the Hand of the King, Lord of the Eyrie, and Warden of the East. This causes his father, Tywin Lannister, to attack the Riverlands and raise a host at Casterly Rock against House Tully.

Tyrion is later released, rallies the Hill Clans of the Vale to the Lannister cause, and assists in the Battle of the Green Fork. Tywin sends him to King's Landing to act as Hand, prepare the defenses of the city against Stannis Baratheon and Renly Baratheon, clean the mess created by Cersei and the rest of the small council, and verify the loyalty of Lord Petyr Baelish, Lord Varys, Grand Maester Pycelle, and Lord Janos Slynt.

Robb Stark sends peace terms to the Lannisters, intending for the North and Riverlands to secede from the Iron Throne. Tyrion claims he will exchange Robb's sisters Sansa and Arya Stark for his brother Jaime Lannister, who has been captured by the Starks. However Tyrion has no intention of making terms, Arya has disappeared and the Lannisters only hold Sansa. Tyrion sends his sister's men with his cousin Ser Cleos Frey as part of an escape attempt. They murder Jaime's guards at Riverrun, breaking guest right, and almost break him out. However Ser Edmure Tully, Heir to Riverrun and Robb's uncle, discovers the deception in time and recovers Jaime, having the other conspirators hanged.

Tyrion engineers the Lannister defense against King  Stannis Baratheon, setting up a wildfire trap which burns most of Stannis' ships at the Blackwater. Stannis still comes close to taking the city, however an attack by Tywin and the greedy and arrogant Lord Mace Tyrell, who has joined the Lannisters in hopes of making his daughter Margaery Tyrell Queen, defeats Stannis, who flees back to Dragonstone.

Tyrion is forced to marry Sansa Stark, Tywin intending for the Lannisters to claim the North through her. Tyrion refrains from consummating the marriage on seeing how terrified Sansa is.

Robb Stark is murdered at the Red Wedding by his treacherous and manipulative bannerman Roose Bolton, with the aid of the Freys led by Walder Frey, along with most of his army. Shortly after Joffrey is poisoned at his wedding to Margaery by Mace's mother Olenna Tyrell. Tyrion is framed for the murder and put on trial. He is found guilty but the night before the execution Jaime breaks him out with the aid of Varys. Jaime admits Tysha wasn't a whore, their father forced Jaime to say this. Furious, Tyrion claims he murdered Joffrey. He then goes to his father's room and finds Shae in his father's bed. He strangles her, then confronts his father on the privy, and shoots them dead with a crossbow.

Tyrion is made more adventurous and heroic in the TV series, as most of his villainous actions and traits from the novels are ignored, especially his personality after learning the truth about Tysha. During the third book, he commanded his sellsword Bronn to murder a singer, because said singer implied he would inform Tywin on his relationship with Shae. This could be considered justified, however, he also disposes of the singer's body by ordering him cooked into a stew, thereby turning several innocent peasants into unwitting cannibals. He doesn't spare Shae's life and murders her for calling him "her Giant of Lannister". He becomes more angry after he learned the truth about his first wife, Tysha, and now fantasizes of many horrible ways to get his revenge on his siblings, such as raping and killing his sister (presumably not in that order). He also hits Jaime in the face after he told him the truth about Tysha after freeing him; a furious Tyrion tells Jaime he actually really poisoned Joffrey and reveals Cersei's infidelity and her sexual relationship with Lancel and the Kettleblacks, adding the fool Moon Boy as an exaggeration to make Cersei look more like a whore. Tyrion becomes more short-tempered and forces slave woman to have sex. In both books and show Tyrion threatens to murder his cousin Lancel.

Trivia

 * Though Tyrion has a reputation as an overall heroic character among the fandom, he can still be considered a villain, albeit a sympathetic anti-villain. Tyrion's actions throughout the first three books are ultimately to aid House Lannister. Tyrion describes his nephew Joffrey Baratheon as a "vicious idiot", but helps to keep them on the throne, despite knowing they are illegitimate and Stannis is Robert's true heir.
 * Though Tyrion claims to favor the smallfolk, Lannister rule is clearly oppressive for the smallfolk.
 * In the novels, Tyrion feels good and proud to have killed his father. In the TV series, where his character has been entirely changed (season 5-onward), he regrets his betrayal.
 * The blogger Turtle-Paced, claimed in her review of "Blackwater" on Tyrion supporting the Lannisters "Let’s not pretend that these are anything but personal reasons - Tyrion himself is quite aware that what’s good for him is not good for Westeros."
 * Tyrion in the books performs several murders that were cut out of the show, such as having Bronn kill a singer to cover up Tyrion's affair with Shae. While in the series his murder of Shae was due to her attacking him, in the books it was more motivated out of rage.
 * Tyrion in the books also performs numerous questionable actions that are excised entirely in the show, such as (briefly) molesting Sansa (a 13 year old girl) on their wedding night, sending assassins under a false Peace Banner to free Jaime, and ordering agents of Stannis to be tortured to death by Joffrey.
 * Tyrion in the books also has sex with a slave in Volantis, despite knowing she has no choice in the matter and is clearly upset by this.
 * In the novels Tyrion loses his nose after being wounded by Ser Mandon Moore, during the Battle of the Blackwater.
 * In the finale of Season 7 in the series, Tyrion shots a frustrated grin lurking outside Daenerys Targaryen's cabin as she and Jon Snow have sex for the first time, which might mean Tyrion had fallen in love with Daenerys. The original script made by GRRM initially had Tyrion helplessly falling in love with Arya Stark, setting up a love triangle between Jon, Arya and Tyrion, as well as a deadly rivalry between Jon and Tyrion; it's somewhat possible that, at least in the TV show, this subplot was never abandoned, with Daenerys replacing Arya.