Tyrion Lannister

Tyrion Lannister is a major character in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth seasons. He is played by starring cast member Peter Dinklage and debuts in the series premiere. Tyrion Lannister is the youngest son of Lord Tywin Lannister and younger brother of Cersei and Jaime Lannister. A dwarf, he uses his wit and intellect to overcome the prejudice he faces.

Tyrion is falsely accused of the attempted assassination of Bran Stark and taken captive by Catelyn Stark. Though he is eventually released after a trial by combat, his arrest triggers conflict between the Lannisters and the Starks, which escalates into full war after the death of King Robert and the arrest and execution of Eddard Stark. Tyrion is shortly after sent by his father to King's Landing to be acting Hand of the King to his newly crowned nephew Joffrey, with instructions to rein him in. With him he takes a prostitute named Shae whom he makes his mistress and comes to love, and Bronn, a fearsome sellsword who serves as his bodyguard and enforcer.

Under difficult conditions, Tyrion holds the city together, strengthens and organizes the city's defenses, and makes an alliance with House Martell. He plays a vital role in the Crown's victory over Stannis Baratheon's forces during the Battle of Blackwater, and is wounded. Afterwards, Tyrion loses his position as Hand to his father. He remains an important player in the court, however, and is appointed Master of Coin and unwillingly married to Sansa Stark, considered the heiress to the North after the scattering of the Starks. When Joffrey is poisoned at his wedding feast, Cersei accuses Tyrion of his murder and Tyrion is put on trial. Realizing that the trial is a farce, Tyrion demands a trial by combat. However, his champion, Prince Oberyn, is brutally murdered by the Crown's champion Gregor Clegane, sentencing him to death. Before the sentence can be carried out, Jaime frees him. A vengeful Tyrion kills Shae and his father, then flees with Varys.

Background
Tyrion Lannister is the youngest son of Joanna Lannister and Lord Tywin Lannister. Tywin is the head of House Lannister, the richest man in the Seven Kingdoms and Lord Paramount of the Westerlands. The Westerlands are one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms and House Lannister of Casterly Rock is one of the Great Houses of the realm. He is the younger brother of Jaime and Cersei Lannister. His mother Joanna Lannister died giving birth to him. His father and sister blame him for the death.

He is a dwarf, causing him problems and persecution. His size has led him to being referred to derisively by various names, such as "the Imp" and "The Halfman". This is mitigated by his intellect and his family's wealth and power. Had an infant with dwarfism like Tyrion been born a commoner, he'd have simply been left out in the woods to die. However, Tyrion was born into a powerful noble House, and was therefore spared. Even though his father doesn't think much of him, he has had the benefits of being raised with wealth and education, and is expected to lead his life as a credit to the Lannister name. He is committed to the good of both his House and, since Cersei married King Robert Baratheon, his family's continued hold on the throne.

When Tyrion was 16, he met a wheelwright's daughter named Tysha on the road, apparently the victim of an attempted rape. While his brother Jaime ran off the attackers, Tyrion helped Tysha recover from the ordeal, and they became lovers. They found a drunken, wandering septon willing to marry them and briefly, they lived as husband and wife. That is, until Lord Tywin learned what had happened. Jaime confessed that he organized the incident to make his brother happy, and Tysha was actually a prostitute. As a lesson, Tywin gave Tysha to his guards, paying her a silver coin for each man and forcing Tyrion to watch. By the end, there were so many silver coins that they were running out of her hands onto the ground. Tyrion has reciprocated Tywin's hatred ever since.

His two siblings have had positions of respect and responsibility since their teens. When Tyrion  turned sixteen (the age of manhood), Tywin Lannister put Tyrion in charge of the drains and cisterns at Casterly Rock. Tyrion brags that the sewage never flowed smoother to the sea.

Tyrion spends a lot of time at court in King's Landing to avoid his father. He gets on well with Jaime and his niece Myrcella and nephew Tommen, but has a colder relationship with Cersei and his sadistic nephew Joffrey. He has a fondness for prostitutes and drink, but is also intelligent, cunning, and educated. He also is a kind man who would protect the innocent claiming that he loves broken things.

Season 1
Tyrion accompanies King Robert Baratheon's party to Winterfell, but after weeks on the road he leaves the party and rides ahead to seek the pleasures of the winter town's brothels, where he makes the acquaintance of Ros. He gives the prostitute a Lannister lion necklace to thank her for their time together. Jaime convinces him to join the family for dinner. Tyrion dawdles outside the feast hall, reluctant to make nice with the Starks and his own family, and as a result meets Jon Snow, Lord Eddard Stark's bastard son. He realizes that Jon is something of a kindred spirit: "All dwarfs are bastards in their father's eyes."

When Tyrion's nephew, Prince Joffrey Baratheon, refuses to pay his respects to Lord and Lady Stark after Bran's fall, Tyrion slaps him three times until he acquiesces. He then breakfasts with his family, where he reveals that he wants to go and visit the Wall - to see it and piss off of it, he says to the laughter of Tommen and Myrcella, before returning to King's Landing. He takes an interest in Bran's fall and how it happened, noting carefully his brother and sister's reactions to the news that Bran is likely to live.

On the road to Castle Black, Tyrion tells Jon that he likes to read as it keeps his wits sharp, just as his brother's whetstone keeps his sword sharp. Reaching the Wall, even Tyrion is temporarily rendered speechless by the size and scale of the structure. During his stay, Tyrion watches the new recruits train. He realizes that Jon Snow, due to his advantages of being trained by a castle master-at-arms at Winterfell, is acting superior to his fellow recruits, embarrassing them by beating them easily in training. After Tyrion points this out Jon begins helping the others train, earning their respect and friendship. Maester Aemon and Lord Commander Jeor Mormont ask him to use his influence at court to get more men and resources sent to the Night's Watch. Tyrion is sympathetic, but doesn't believe that there is anything more dangerous than wildlings beyond the Wall. However, Benjen Stark's account of life beyond the Wall gives him pause. Tyrion befriends Yoren, a recruiter for the Watch, and they agree to travel back to the capital together.

Pausing at Winterfell on the return trip home, Tyrion gives Bran plans for a special saddle so that he can ride even in his crippled state. He taunts Theon Greyjoy about his family's defeat during their uprising before leaving. Stopping at the Crossroads Inn on the way home, he is surprised to meet Catelyn Stark, and even more so when she denounces him as an attempted murderer and has him arrested by her father's bannermen to face the King's justice. She was told by Petyr Baelish that the knife used in the assassination attempt on Bran was one Tyrion won from Petyr by betting on a jousting tournament. Catelyn takes Tyrion, protesting his innocence, to the Eyrie. A sellsword from the inn, Bronn, accompanies them and notes Tyrion's wealth and a promise he will handsomely reward any man who aids him. Along the way they are attacked by some of the hill tribes and Tyrion kills his first man, bashing in the skull of an attacking tribesman with a shield. Tyrion warns Catelyn that her sister, Lysa, has become irrational with grief and will try to kill him. She is skeptical, but at the Eyrie Tyrion's warning proves accurate. Lysa hysterically accuses him not only of the attempted murder of Bran, but also of conspiring in that of her husband Jon Arryn, former Hand of the King who died suddenly which Lysa tells Catelyn was one of the Lannisters' doing. Tyrion is thrown into one of the Eyrie's "sky-cells", dungeons which simply open on their fourth side to the open air with a drop of many thousands of feet to the valley below.

Tyrion bargains with his jailor, Mord, to get an audience with Lady Arryn. He "confesses" to being a whoremonger and dwarf, but truthfully insists that he is not guilty of the crime of murdering Jon Arryn or trying to murder Bran. He demands a trial by combat as is his right and his wish is granted when the sellsword Bronn agrees to stand as his champion. Bronn defeats and kills Lady Arryn's champion, Ser Vardis Egen. By the laws of Westeros this means that Tyrion has proven his innocence in the eyes of the gods, and he is released from the Eyrie to face the perilous journey back through the tribesman-infested hills. Bronn accompanies him. Tyrion establishes some ground rules with Bronn, saying he will pay more money than anyone else who attempts to bribe him to betray Tyrion. They are then surrounded by men of the hill tribes, led by Shagga. Tyrion uses his quick wits and words to win the allegiance of the tribes, offering to equip them for battle and help them conquer the Vale of Arryn in return for their help. Shagga agrees, though he notes that if Tyrion tries to renege on his promise he will cut off his manhood and feed it to the goats.

Tywin Lannister's forces have been attacking the Riverlands ever since Catelyn Tully Stark arrested Tyrion. It's not that he cares so much about Tyrion, he explains to Jaime, but because even though Tyrion is the least of them he is still a Lannister, and if they allow one of their own to be taken forcefully, they risk losing the respect of the other Houses. The hillmen deliver Tyrion to his father's army, where he learns that Robb Stark is leading an army to war. Tyrion warns his father that Robb should not be underestimated. Tywin agrees to honor Tyrion's alliance with the hill tribes. When Shagga says they will only fight if Tyrion is with them on the field, Tywin agrees, to Tyrion's dismay.

Tyrion is commanded by his father to lead the hill tribes into battle from the front. Feeling that his father means to kill him, Tyrion retires to his tent, where he finds that Bronn has found a prostitute for him, a girl named Shae. Tyrion attempts to learn more about Shae, but finds his questions deflected. Instead he tells her about his own past with Tysha, a wheelwright's daughter. They married and spent several happy weeks together until Tywin learned of the matter. Tywin had Jaime tell Tyrion the truth, that Tysha was a prostitute that Jaime had paid to make his brother happy for a while. Tywin then gave her a piece of silver for every one of his guards she had sex with while Tyrion was forced to watch. Since then Tyrion has never attempted to take a wife or lover, only whores he can pay and send on their way.

Tyrion leads the tribes into battle, but is knocked out by one of his own warriors' mis-swung hammers just as the engagement begins. Recovering, Tyrion learns from his father that Robb deceived them, delaying their army with a feinting force so the main Stark host can fall on and defeat Jaime's army in battle. With Robb's forces now allied to those of the Riverlands and both Stannis and Renly Baratheon claiming the Iron Throne, the odds have swung against the Lannisters. Tywin risks being caught between three armies, so he retreats to Harrenhal. Tyrion makes shrewd observations about the ominous turn the current situation has taken now that Joffrey has killed Eddard Stark. Grudgingly impressed, Tywin orders Tyrion to report to King's Landing and act as the Hand of the King to try to keep Joffrey in line. Tywin forbids him to take "that whore" with him, but Tyrion defies him and asks Shae to come to King's Landing with him.

Season 2
Tyrion arrives in King's Landing, accompanied by Bronn and members of the hill tribes. He assumes the role of acting Hand of the King to Joffrey Baratheon, who isn't happy to see him, unlike Myrcella and Tommen. After taking his seat at the small council, he clashes with his sister, Queen Regent Cersei Lannister, over her failure to stop the execution of his predecessor as hand, Eddard Stark. He also criticizes her for allowing Arya Stark to escape, as the girl and her father could have been useful to bargain for the return of Jaime, and now they only have one Stark hostage instead of three. He installs Shae in the Tower of the Hand, in defiance of his father's orders.

Tyrion warns Varys not to underestimate him after the Spider discovers Shae's presence and lets Tyrion know that he is aware of her. During a small council session, Tyrion finds himself the only sympathetic ear to a request by the Night's Watch for aid from the throne. He also criticizes Cersei's lack of talent for diplomacy when she rejects peace terms from Robb Stark brought by their cousin Ser Alton Lannister. Tyrion invites Lord Janos Slynt for dinner and gets him to confess his part in the recent massacre of King Robert's bastards as well as his part in the betrayal of Eddard. After openly noting Slynt's lack of honor, Tyrion has Lord Janos exiled to the Wall as punishment, and installs Bronn as commander of the City Watch in his place.



Tyrion arranges for Shae to serve as a handmaiden to Sansa Stark when she demands more freedom. He tests the loyalty of the remaining small council members by feeding them varying plans to form marriage alliances involving Princess Myrcella Baratheon. He is confronted by Cersei about sending Myrcella to Dorne in a betrothal to the youngest son of House Martell. Tyrion has Pycelle thrown into the black cells for revealing the information given only to him. Varys congratulates him for the ploy to lure out the Queen's informant. Tyrion is also confronted by an angry Petyr Baelish for having been unwittingly involved in the ruse; nevertheless, Tyrion recruits Littlefinger in a plan to convince Catelyn Stark to release Jaime, offering him Harrenhal and the title of Lord Paramount of the Riverlands.

Tyrion is shocked and furious to find Joffrey orchestrating the public beating of Sansa for her brother Robb Stark's victory in the Battle of Oxcross. He orders a halt to the proceedings, and warns Joffrey to consider his actions more carefully, lest he wants to suffer the same fate as the Mad King. He then escorts Sansa out of the throne room. Bronn suggests that Joffrey would benefit from sexual release. Tyrion arranges for two whores for his nephew but Joffrey forces one to beat the other as a message to Tyrion.

Lancel Lannister visits Tyrion to demand the release of Pycelle on Cersei's behalf. Tyrion notes the lateness of the hour and traps Lancel into admitting his sexual relationship with Cersei. Tyrion uses the information to blackmail Lancel into acting as his informant. Tyrion reports news of King Renly Baratheon's death to Cersei. She is pleased but Tyrion predicts Stannis Baratheon's imminent attack having assumed control of Renly's men. He tries to discuss plans for their defense but she insists on keeping them secret. He learns that she is reliant of the Alchemists' Guild from Lancel. He visits Wisdom Hallyne and learns that the guild have stockpiled thousands of jars of Wildfire to use as catapult ammunition. Bronn sees this strategy as potentially disastrous because of the volatile nature of wildfire. Tyrion orders Hallyne to answer to him instead of Cersei. He passes a street protest that blames him for the ills of the city, as the people believe him to be manipulating Joffrey.

Tyrion and the court assemble at the shore of the Blackwater Bay for the departure of Princess Myrcella. Cersei remains angry about Tyrion's arrangements for her daughter. She threatens to one day deprive him of someone he loves. As they return to the Red Keep through the city they are confronted by angry crowds of starving Smallfolk. Joffrey is hit by thrown excrement and triggers a riot by demanding that his guards kill everyone in the crowd. Tyrion is horrified when the High Septon is torn apart by the famished crowd. He marshals his guards to lead him to safety.

Once he is safely separated from the riot Tyrion confronts Joffrey for triggering the riot and the war that preceded it, calling him a vicious idiot. He slaps Joffrey when his nephew refuses to listen to the criticism. Tyrion orders Meryn Trant to retrieve the missing Sansa but Meryn will not follow his orders. He is relieved when Sandor Clegane brings her to safety.

Cersei confesses that she feels that Joffrey's viciousness might be the price she pays for her sin of incest with Jaime. Tyrion does not know how to comfort his sister in this rare moment of vulnerability but reminds her that both Myrcella and Tommen are kind and gentle. Word that Stannis' fleet is days away reinforces the need to control Joffrey. Tyrion turns to books for insight into siege defense tactics but Bronn warns that the grim realities of a siege cannot be understood from reading. Tyrion affirms the loyalty of Varys and is enigmatic about his plans for the battle but believes Stannis will attack at the Mud Gate.

Joffrey is keen to fight in defense of the city. Cersei is furious and suspects Tyrion of trying to kill her son. She mistakenly identifies Ros as his lover because of the Lannister pendant Tyrion gave her and seizes the opportunity to deliver on the threat she made when Myrcella left. Cersei has the prostitute kidnapped as insurance against Tyrion placing Joffrey in harm's way. She reveals her ploy over dinner. Tyrion is relieved that Shae is unhurt, vows to free Ros and when the prostitute is taken away, he promises Cersei that he will exact revenge on her. He rushes back to his lover's side and confesses the depth of his feeling for her while warning that they must be doubly careful.

Tyrion leads the defense of the city during the Battle of the Blackwater. He commands the defenders at the Mud Gate. He destroys a large portion of the attacking fleet by luring them into a trap; a ship filled with Wildfire and allowed to leak its cargo into the bay. He signals Bronn to detonate the Wildfire using a flaming arrow. Stannis continues with the assault, landing his troops further out in the bay to avoid the devastation of the explosion. Tyrion's initial attempts to repel the attackers are unsuccessful and Cersei has Joffrey withdrawn to the Red Keep, with the King leaving Ser Mandon Moore and Ser Boros Blount of the Kingsguard to fight in his name. Tyrion is faced with increasing dissent from his troops but rallies them with a rousing speech. He personally leads a sortie through the tunnels under the city, destroying Stannis' siege equipment. He is trapped outside the walls by a group of reinforcements and then betrayed by Ser Mandon. Mandon slashes Tyrion across the face but Podrick kills him before he can finish Tyrion off. As Tyrion collapses into unconsciousness a host of Lannister-Tyrell reinforcements led by a man wearing Renly's armor arrives to claim the victory.



Tyrion awakens to find Pycelle looming over him. The reinstated Grand Maester gloatingly informs Tyrion that he has been relieved as Acting Hand of the King and moved to new chambers. Tyrion rejects pain relief, fearing that his enemy will poison him. He calls for Podrick to summon his allies, Varys and Bronn. Varys visits Tyrion and regretfully tells him that although his leadership was key to saving the city he will not be recognized by King Joffrey. He also reports that Bronn has been relieved of his command and his tribesmen have taken their plunder and gone home. Varys offers a small consolation; he has brought Shae to see Tyrion. Varys leaves them alone and Shae removes Tyrion's bandages to reveal a scar marring his whole face. Tyrion is self-pitying; she angrily asserts her love for him and begs him to flee to Pentos with her. He says that standing up to the bad people in his life, out-talking and out-thinking them, is something that he is good at and enjoys. He chooses to stay in King's Landing and she agrees to remain with him.

Season 3
After speaking with his sister, Tyrion requests his father give him Casterly Rock, as Jaime gave up all rights of inheritance when he joined the Kingsguard. This leaves Tyrion as the next in lawful line of succession as Lord of Casterly Rock. Tywin hatefully spites his son for "killing" his mother in childbirth, and saying that he will never make Tyrion heir to Casterly Rock considering him an abomination and a curse, who would humiliate the family name and turn Casterly Rock into a brothel. As Tyrion leaves, he says if he catches another whore in his bed he will hang her. Tyrion is surprised to understand that Bronn has been knighted and styles himself as "Ser Bronn of the Blackwater".

Later, Tyrion informs Shae that she cannot keep visiting his bed chambers as Tywin has now banned him from ever being with her again.



In a Small Council meeting, Tyrion is made Master of Coin by his father after it is announced the departure of Lord Baelish to the Eyrie. Following the meeting, Tyrion, Podrick Payne and Ser Bronn visit the brothel where Tyrion provides the young Pod with a late gift, thanking him for his heroism on the battlefield at Blackwater. Leaving Podrick with his gift, the young later returns to Tyrion and Ser Bronn while they're drinking and discussing King's Landing's endless debt to the Bank of Braavos, and they are intrigued to learn how he managed to leave the brothel without having to pay the girls.

Escorted by Varys to a dark room, Tyrion is finally told the story of how the eunuch was travelling through the Free Cities with a party of actors. It is revealed that he was castrated by a male priestess who spoke to the air and 'something' answered him. Varys then pries open the box in the room and reveals the Sorcerer who had done this terrible deed.



Lady Olenna Tyrell explains to Tyrion that House Tyrell will support the cost of the wedding between Joffrey and Margaery. Following this, Lord Tywin summons both Tyrion and Cersei to his chambers to inform them of his plans to wed them off, Cersei to Loras Tyrell and Tyrion to Sansa Stark, who Tywin explains will be heir to Winterfell after he defeats Robb Stark, thus giving the Lannisters a future foothold in the North.

Cersei and Tyrion are evidently reluctant to consider these marriages, but as they do, Tyrion brings up the question of who employed Ser Mandon Moore to kill Tyrion. Cersei, of course, denies her involvement, but Tyrion is still suspicious.

In result, Tyrion hesitantly marries Sansa. At the night of their wedding, Tyrion gets drunk and threatens Joffrey with castration after the latter commands him to carry out the bedding ceremony with Sansa. Tywin calms Joffrey and Tyrion takes Sansa to his bedchamber, where he tells her that his lord father has commanded him to consumate the marriage. As Sansa begins to disrobe, Tyrion refuses, insisting that he won't bed her until she wants him to, then he passes out drunk.



After his marriage, Tyrion starts bonding with Sansa and lightly enhances his relationship with her. Later, Tywin calls a meeting of the small council where Joffrey happily informs him that Robb and Catelyn Stark have both been murdered at the Red Wedding by Walder Frey. He orders Grand Maester Pycelle to thank Frey and command him to send Robb Stark's head, which he will serve to Sansa at his wedding. Although, Tyrion threatens him yet again before Pycelle can send any messages to The Twins. After the end of the meeting, Tywin and Tyrion discuss the details of what consequences the Red Wedding might have on the war. Tywin reminds him that he still has to impregnate Sansa Stark, but Tyrion assures him that he can't and won't do it even forcefully. Tywin lectures Tyrion on protecting family legacy and that the house that puts family first will always prevail over the family the fulfills the wishes of its sons and daughters first. Tyrion accuses Tywin and protests that he has never done something for the benefit of the family that wasn't in his interest. Tywin tells him that when he was born, he wanted to leave him in the sea and let the waves take him away, and that he instead he let him live and raised him because he is a Lannister. Afterwards, he returns to Sansa, who is in tears having heard of her brother and mother's tragedy.

Later, Cersei visits Tyrion and informs him that she won't be marrying Ser Loras. She also advises him to give Sansa children, to which Tyrion responds by asking her how happy is she with her children. Cersei admits that if it wasn't for her children, she would've killed herself, even for Joffrey. She ponders how happy he used to be in his infant years and how much he brought such joy in her life at that time, and that neither Joffrey nor anyone else can take that away from her.

Season 4
Tyrion is sent to welcome Prince Doran Martell to King's Landing. As he, Podrick, and Bronn are expecting the Dornishman, they spot Martell bannermen coming their way. Tyrion greets them, but they inform him that Prince Doran's declining health prevents him from leaving Sunspear, and therefore he has sent his brother Prince Oberyn Martell to attend King Joffrey's wedding in his stead. They also explain that Oberyn went ahead and entered the city before dawn. Tyrion quickly puts together that he may be at one of Littlefinger's brothels. When Tyrion arrives, he finds Prince Oberyn stabbing a man's hand for singing The Rains Of Castamere. He is introduced to Oberyn's paramour, Ellaria Sand, and asks the Dornishman to talk in private. He asks him why he came to the capital and Oberyn tells him that he was invited to the royal wedding. Tyrion knows he's lying and asks for the honest truth. Oberyn remembers how Rhaegar Targaryen wed his sister Elia, and how his involvement with another woman caused Robert's Rebellion. He tells Tyrion that the war ended with his father sacking the city while "The Mountain" (Ser Gregor Clegane) brutally murdered Elia's children, then raped and murdered her. He orders Tyrion to tell his father that he's here, and warns him that the Lannisters are not the only ones who pay their debts.



Afterwards, he visits a deeply depressed Sansa and tries to comfort her by telling her that her brother and mother were good people. In tears, she tells him the grueling details of how they died. Tyrion advises her to stay strong, as that is what her mother would want. Sansa leaves to go to the godswood and she tells Tyrion that she doesn't pray anymore, and instead goes because nobody is talking to her there. Distraught, he returns to his bedchamber, where Shae is waiting for him. She tries to pleasure him but Tyrion refuses. Shae questions him if he's really in love with Sansa. Tyrion says that he doesn't and this time, Shae asks him if he wants her out of the city. After getting no answer, she storms out of his bedchamber, and it is revealed that one of Cersei's spies heard the whole conversation.

In the days following, Tyrion, along with other noblemen and women present in King's Landing, attend the breakfast on the morning of Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell's wedding. He meets Varys before arriving, who informs him of Cersei's spy and Cersei's consequent knowledge of Shae's presence, and warns him that Tywin will know shortly. Varys also warns him that he will not protect Tyrion or Shae against the former's father and sister out of regard for his own safety. At the breakfast, Tyrion observes Cersei's indication of Shae to her father as "the whore I told you about". Tywin subsequently requests that she be brought to the Tower of the Hand before the wedding. Tyrion then presents the groom a gift of a tome detailing the reigns of Daeron, the Young Dragon; Baelor the Blessed; Aegon the Unworthy and Daeron the Good. This is met with surprising approval and gratitude from the King until he is presented with a Valyrian steel sword by his grandfather and proceeds to demonstrate the blade's sharpness by destroying the book with it.

After the breakfast, Tyrion meets with Shae in his quarters and shows uncharacteristic and confusing coldness towards her despite her gestures of affection. He terminates their "friendship" and informs her that she is to leave and go to live in Pentos, telling her that she must do so in order for him to uphold her marital vows to Sansa. She deduces that he is afraid of his sister and father and expresses her desire to fight them alongside him. As she draws closer, Tyrion yells at her, calling her a whore, and states her unfitness to bare his children, in contrast to Sansa's. Bronn arrives to escort the sobbing Shae to the docks, resulting in her slapping him and storming off.



At the wedding feast, Joffrey organizes some entertainment: five dwarfs mockingly re-enacting the War of the Five Kings. Tyrion, disgusted, instructs Podrick to pay each dwarf 20 gold dragons after the show. At the conclusion of the show, Joffrey suggests Tyrion fight the former's dwarf counterpart. Tyrion politely declines and sarcastically voices awe at Joffrey's skill and bravery at the Battle of the Blackwater and his desire to see them again. Insulted at the disrespectful undertone, Joffrey pours his wine over Tyrion's head in an immature show of superiority. He then instructs Tyrion to act as his cup-bearer, before kicking the goblet under a table, forcing Tyrion to handle it several times. He finally orders him to kneel and Tyrion, obviously possessing no intention to do so, is saved by the arrival of the pigeon pie. He attempts to flee the scene with Sansa but is spotted by Joffrey who commands him to remain and continue his duties as his cup-bearer. Tyrion hands the king his goblet, who begins to choke after drinking from it. In his final moments, Joffrey points to Tyrion, apparently accusing him, as he checks the goblet for poison and he is seized and arrested by members of the Kingsguard on Cersei's orders.

After Tyrion has been incarcerated, he gets a visit from Podrick who smuggles in some food and writing materials to help him get through imprisoned life. He informs Tyrion of Sansa's disappearance. Tyrion is sure that Sansa had nothing to do with the murder. Just as Pod leaves he turns around and tells Tyrion about a man whom he didn't know offering him a knighthood if he testified against him. Tyrion knew that it wasn't a suggestion and soon they'll threaten him with something worse and tells Pod he must leave King's Landing and says farewell.

At Bronn's intervention, Jaime comes to see Tyrion. Jaime tries to comfort Tyrion and says that he suffered much worse with the North. Jaime asks Tyrion if he did it and Tyrion says he would never kill his brother's son and Tyrion asks Jaime to set him free but Jaime says he can't because of treason and says the trial will get to the truth. Tyrion knows that the trial doesn't matter, Cersei won't rest until Tyrion is dead. Jaime then goes on to him believing that Sansa had something to do with the murder but Tyrion is again adamant that Sansa is innocent.

Tyrion's trial begins with the newly-crowned King Tommen recusing himself. Instead, a group of three judges are appointed to oversee the trial: Tywin Lannister as presiding judge, Lord Mace Tyrell of the Reach, and Prince Oberyn. Cersei has several witnesses testify against Tyrion, such as Meryn Trant, Grand Maester Pycelle, and Varys. They all give strong (yet circumstantial) evidence of Tyrion's guilt. He seems particularly hurt by Varys's betrayal. After a one hour recess, Jaime comes to Tyrion and tells him that, when the verdict of guilty is pronounced, he must ask for mercy. Secretly, Jaime had made a deal with Tywin: in exchange for sparing Tyrion, Jaime will renounce his vows and return to Casterly Rock as Tywin's heir, while Tyrion will be sent to live out his days on The Wall with the Night's Watch. Tyrion points out that their father wanted this outcome all along. However, Cersei calls in her last witness: Shae. A hurt Tyrion can do little as Shae reveals his sexual pleasures in front of the court and his supposed desire to bed Sansa Stark, which she agreed to let him do if he killed the King for her. Tyrion's anger at the betrayal leads him to lash out: he angrily states that he had saved King's Landing from Stannis and that when he saw how all turned on him for killing a king that they all hated, he wished that he had let Stannis kill them all.

Tywin attempts to silence Tyrion but his son turns on Cersei, declaring that he was innocent of killing Joffrey but that he wished he had, adding with gleeful venom that he derived more relief from watching her "vicious bastard" of a son die than he could have gotten from a thousand whores. He then turns on Tywin and calls the trial a farce and that it is really a repetition of the trial he had been on since he was born: for the crime of being a dwarf. Not wanting to submit to the "justice" that was being served on him, Tyrion demanded a trial by combat.

In his cell, Tyrion and Jaime discuss Tyrion's fate and the irony of Lord Tywin striking down both his heirs if Jaime were to die being Tyrion's champion; Jaime declines to be Tyrion's champion as he cannot fight well enough with his left hand. Tyrion asks Jaime to bring him Bronn. Bronn arrives in the clothes of a lord, with news that he is to marry Lollys Stokeworth, a noble's daughter, in a match arranged by Cersei. He will not fight the Mountain (whom Cersei has chosen for her champion), believing Clegane to be too dangerous for him to face, and bids farewell to Tyrion. They share a final handshake and part on good terms. Later, Tyrion is approached by Oberyn Martell, who tells Tyrion of their first encounter: As children, Oberyn and his sister Elia were told stories of the "monster" that had been born to Tywin Lannister. During a childhood visit to Casterly Rock, Cersei showed Tyrion, with great ceremony, to Oberyn and Elia. Oberyn tells Tyrion that, to his disappointment, he saw no monster, just a baby. Cersei told Oberyn and his sister that Tyrion killed her mother, and then cruelly assaulted Tyrion until Jaime stopped her. Oberyn tells Tyrion that he seeks justice for the death of his sister, and Tyrion replies that he will "find none here". Oberyn counters that he is in the perfect place; all those he means to bring to justice for his sister's murder are close at hand. Intending to start his revenge with Gregor Clegane, Oberyn offers his service as Tyrion's champion in the coming trial by combat.

On the day of the trial by combat, Jaime visits Tyrion in his cell. They discuss their dead cousin Orson Lannister and his habit to smash beetles with rocks for no reason. Tyrion says he used to watch Orson for long periods of time and think about the reason behind his actions, but he hasn't come to any conclusion why all those countless beetles had to be killed. When Jaime says he doesn't know either, bells start tolling and he wishes Tyrion good luck. Tyrion is taken to watch the duel of Oberyn and the Mountain bound in shackles and before the fight starts, he advises Oberyn against drinking wine, but he doesn't pay a lot of attention to him. As the Red Viper starts winning, he exchanges a few hopeful looks with his brother and feels happy when Oberyn pins Ser Gregor to the ground with his spear, but his hopes are quickly shattered in the moment when the Mountain knocks Oberyn down and smashes his head in, thus deciding about Tyrion's fate. As Tyrion is struck with horror, Tywin states that the gods have made their will known and Tyrion is sentenced to death.

Tyrion is surprised when Jaime comes to his cell in the night and leads him through a secret passageway within the castle. He tells Tyrion that he will meet with Varys, who has arranged for him to escape to the Free Cities. The brothers warmly embrace, believing it will be the last time they see each other. Jaime leaves him with a familial kiss on the cheek. Instead of proceeding directly to his liaison, Tyrion first enters the chambers of their father. He finds a naked woman in his father's bed, and is shocked to discover that it is Shae, moaning Tywin's name and calling for her "lion," the name she had previously reserved for Tyrion. When Shae spots him, she grabs a paring knife and tries to stab him. She fails to do so but slaps him and scratches at his face. They struggle, and Tyrion eventually strangles her with Tywin's gold chain she is wearing. The act is done both in self defense and in jealous rage, and Tyrion is immediately distraught once he fully realizes what he has done. After apologizing to Shae's corpse, he takes Joffrey's crossbow and confronts his father while in his privy chamber. He forces his father to admit to his many wrongdoings against him. Tywin tries to placate Tyrion, but when he refers to Shae as a "whore" once too often, Tyrion kills him with two arrows to the chest. He proceeds to the chamber of Lord Varys, who stows him away within a crate upon a ship, and decides to accompany him at the last moment.

Personality
Tyrion recognized from an early age that his mind was his greatest weapon, due to being born a member of House Lannister with the expectation of upholding his family's noble name yet lacking the physical attributes possessed by his older siblings. Thus, he has committed himself to possessing a sharp intellect in order to help make up for his dwarfism, and he is frequently able to use his superior intellect to get the better of those who initially look down upon him or weasel his way out of tight situations, though he is not above resorting to using his family name and enormous fortune to bolster his position. He has also shown himself to possess a keen mind for strategy, as is evidenced in his research into defending against sieges and successfully conducting the defense of King's Landing during the Battle of the Blackwater. Tyrion prides himself on his ability to read people as easily as he does books, and he has on many occasions easily gotten the better of not just Joffrey and Cersei but also experienced players such as Littlefinger and Pycelle.

Despite his harsh treatment at the hands of others over the years, Tyrion has managed to develop a thick skin, able to brush off others' japes about his short stature (except when coming from his father). His advice Jon Snow about how to handle his own bastard status reflect how Tyrion has approached life: take your impediment in stride and wear it like armor, and then it cannot be used to hurt you. Being born a dwarf and subject to ridicule for most of his life, Tyrion has admittedly developed a soft spot for his fellow outcasts and has shown them kindness, such as having a saddle designed for the crippled Bran Stark allowing him to ride. Being physically weak, Tyrion is also upset when the helpless are harmed. He was particularly insulted when Janos Slynt carried out an order to kill a defenseless baby girl, Barra (because she was one of Robert's bastards), and as punishment had him exiled to the Wall. Tyrion is also genuinely loyal to those who treat him with love and respect. He also seemed to have a level of honor and dignity that his family seemed to lack; events such as the Red Wedding disgusted him, and he considered them to be crimes. However, Tyrion did admit that cheating was necessary for war.

Tyrion, however, is not without faults. He tends to overindulge in food, drink, and sex in part to self-medicate for the terrible treatment he's suffered most of his life. Tyrion can also act vicious if he feels he's been wronged (like confining Grand Maester Pycelle to the Black Cells for betraying him or, in his darkest hour, killing Shae for testifying against him during his trial and having an affair with his father). Because his father and sister treated him like a social leper, Tyrion craves love and acceptance and is genuinely hurt when this is denied him by others.

He has complex relationships with other members of his family, most of whom resent him and only thinly veil their contempt for his existence. His older sister Cersei blames him for causing the death of their mother and has (as revealed during a conversation with Oberyn) hated Tyrion since his birth. His father, Tywin, shares Cersei's  resentment for Tyrion due to the death of his wife while birthing him.

Only his older brother Jaime maintains a good relationship with Tyrion, admiring him for both his intellect and inability to let his diminished stature drag him down, and he has frequently attempted to come to Tyrion's defense when his other family members attempt to treat him maliciously. Tyrion harbors a mutual admiration for Jaime, even naming him as his champion when he demanded a trial by combat while being held prisoner at the Eyrie.

Quotes
"Let me give you some advice, bastard. Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you."

- Tyrion to Jon Snow

"My brother has his sword, and I have my mind..."

- Tyrion

"You might find it difficult to rule over millions who want you dead."

- Tyrion to Cersei Lannister

"I understand the way this game is played."

- Tyrion to Varys

"The King is a lost cause, it's the rest of us I'm worried about."

- Tyrion on Joffrey

"I will hurt you for this. A day will come when your joy will turn to ashes and you will know the debt is paid."

- Tyrion to Cersei Lannister

"I would kill for you. I expect I'll have to before this is over."

- Tyrion to Shae

"I chopped wood once. No, I watched my brother chopping wood."

- Tyrion to Bronn

"Everything's better with some wine in the belly."

- Tyrion

"I am the god of tits and wine."

- Drunk Tyrion to his father

"It's hard to say which of the four of us is getting the worst of the arrangement. Probably Sansa. Though Loras will certainly come to know a deep and singular misery."

- Tyrion

"When I was ten, I stuffed my uncle's boots with goat shit. When confronted with my crime, I blamed a squire. Poor boy was flogged, and I escaped justice. When I was twelve I milked my eel into a pot of turtle stew. I flogged the one-eyed snake, I skinned my sausage. I made the bald man cry into the turtle stew, which I do believe my sister ate. At least I hope she did. I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel..."

- Tyrion

"Then you'll be fucking your own bride with a wooden cock!"

- Tyrion to King Joffrey

"Yes. Until my brother killed him. Life is full of these little ironies. My sister married the new king, and my repulsive nephew will be king after him. I must do my part for the honor of my house; wouldn't you agree? But how? Well, my brother has his sword, and I have my mind. And a mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone. That's why I read so much, Jon Snow."

- Tyrion to Jon Snow "The whole way from Dorne all anyone talked about was the monster that had been born to Tywin Lannister. A head twice the size of his body, a tail between his legs, claws, one red eye, the privates of both a girl and a boy. When we met your sister, she promised she would show you to us. Every day we would ask. Every day she would say, "Soon." Then she and your brother took us to your nursery and… she unveiled the freak. Your head was a bit large. Your arms and legs were a bit small, but no claw. No red eye. No tail between your legs. Just a tiny pink cock. We didn't try to hide our disappointment. "That’s not a monster," I told Cersei "That’s just a baby."

- Oberyn Martell

"I did not do it. I did not kill Joffrey, but I wish that I had. Watching your vicious bastard die gave me more relief than a thousand lying whores! I wish I was the monster you think I am."

- Tyrion at his trial

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Tyrion is in his mid-twenties when the events of the series begin, whereas in the show his age is not mentioned. However, the age gap between him and his siblings is smaller: in the books Tyrion was born when Cersei was 10 while in the show she was 4.

As well as being a dwarf, Tyrion is misshapen and often described as ugly and having eyes of two different colors, one green and one black. He is described as having a huge disproportionate head and an pronounced ungainly waddle when he walks. His hair is lank and very pale, but when he lets his beard grow in it comes in as a mixture of blonde and black hairs. In the TV series, actor Peter Dinklage insisted on not having a beard, because he felt that bearded dwarves are a fantasy stereotype.

Tysha was reported to be the daughter of a crofter rather than a wheelwright and the marriage took place when he was only 13 years old. He bought them a little cottage where they lived as man and wife for their two week marriage, before his father had it annulled. Tywin not only had 50 guards rape her, but then ordered Tyrion to have sex with her as well, giving her a gold piece as a Lannister is worth more.

At the Battle of the Green Fork, Tyrion is not knocked out by his own men. In fact he leads with distinction, holding the line under great adversity. Later when he tells his father that the plan to kill him by putting him in the vanguard (under the command of Ser Gregor Clegne) failed, Tyrion learns that his father had put him there hoping that an inexperienced Tyrion with undisciplined hill tribesmen would break and run to be pursued into a trap by the Stark forces. Tyrion holding the line had ruined the plan. It is a combination of this along with his reading of the situation they face in the war, and the fact that Jaime Lannister may not be retrievable, that makes Tywin decide to make use of Tyrion as acting Hand. Tyrion realizes that Tywin is preparing for the worst, that the Starks might well kill Jaime as revenge for Eddard's murder, so he is finally giving Tyrion real power.

When Tyrion relieves Janos Slynt of command of the Gold cloaks it is a man named Ser Jacelyn Bywater or "Ironhand" who becomes their new commander, not Bronn. It is Varys, not Tyrion, who comes up with the suggestion to send Joffrey some prostitutes to soften his temper, but the results are not shown. Tyrion does not send Petyr Baelish to Catelyn Stark at Renly's camp with Lord Eddard's bones and an offer for the release of Jaime Lannister (though Baelish is sent to treat with the Tyrells after Renly's death). The bones are sent with Cleos Frey (replaced by Alton Lannister in the series) to Riverrun along with unacceptable peace terms and a force of 100 Lannister soldiers that hide four men Tyrion has sent to break Ser Jaime out, an escape attempt that fails. Shae is not brought to the Tower of the Hand, instead she is put in a manse that Tyrion can approach by using a tunnel from under a brothel. The most important of the defenses for the city that Tyrion builds is a huge chain that stretches across the whole of Blackwater Rush, to be raised after Stannis' fleet enters to trap them inside with the wildfire.

In the book's version of the Battle of Blackwater, Tyrion has almost his entire nose cut off by Ser Mandon Moore's sword swipe; the TV series only included the deep scar across his face (which as also present in the books). As Peter Dinklage explained, "I know, for fans of the books, that Tyrion loses his nose in the battle. But it would be next to impossible and very expensive to do that on television, and I would be wearing a green sock [on my nose, to digitally remove it with greenscreen], I think, for the next however many years, which I don't know how that would be on set. But yeah, the digital artist would have a lot of work on their hands. So I think we came up with a really good solution."

In the official blooper reel for Season 4, when "action" is shouted and a stage hand closes the clapperboard right in front of Dinklage's face, he started jokingly pretending that board was held too close and cut his nose off.

According to the TV series official pronunciation guide developed for the cast and crew, "Tyrion Lannister" is pronounced "TEER-ee-un LAN-iss-ter".