Game of Thrones season 8’s handling of Daenerys Targaryen was controversial, but the problems started with Tyrion Lannister back in season 4.
Daenerys Targaryen’s “Mad Queen” story was controversial, but it could have been better if Game of Thrones season 4 hadn’t made a major change to Tyrion Lannister’s story from the books. There was a large backlash to Game of Thrones’ ending, and Daenerys’ arc was a big part of why. She shockingly burned King’s Landing to the ground with her largest dragon, Drogon, all while Tyrion watched on helplessly, as aghast at her actions as the audience was.
That version of Tyrion could, however, have been quite different. Game of Thrones season 8 had long since overtaken George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books, but even when the show was still working from the source material, it was making adaptation choices that would have long consequences. That’s true even for Game of Thrones season 4, which stands as the show’s best season. One Tyrion decision, in particular, had reverberations that impacted Daenerys’ villain story.
How Game of Thrones Season 4 Changed Tyrion From The Books
Tyrion’s Season 4 Ending Diverged From A Storm Of Swords, The 3rd A Song Of Ice & Fire Book
For much of Game of Thrones season 4, Tyrion’s story played out similar points to A Storm of Swords, at least in terms of hitting the most important. He was suspected of killing Joffrey Baratheon, put on trial, gave his big speech and demanded a trial by combat, and then watched in horror as the Mountain killed Oberyn Martell, condemning him to death. There are smaller differences, but the major divergence comes at the very end, when he is freed from the black cells by Jaime. On the show, it’s a brief, sweet exchange:
TYRION:”I suppose this is goodbye, then.”
[They hug.]
JAIME:”Farewell, little brother.”
TYRION: “Jaime, thank you. For my life.”
In A Storm of Swords, this scene lasts a few pages, with a deeper discussion between the brothers. It’s here that Jaime reveals the truth about Tysha, Tyrion’s first wife. It was previously said that Jaime had orchestrated an event by which Tyrion saved her, and then fell in love. They married, which was quickly annulled when Tywin found out and revealed the truth: Tysha was a prostitute, and it was all an act. Tywin then had Lannister guards sexually assault her, making Tyrion watch and then do the same, each man giving her a coin for doing so.
At this point in the books, however, Jaime comes clean. Tysha really was a crofter’s daughter; everything Tyrion had initially thought was indeed the truth, and the lie came from Tywin because he would not have his son married to someone lowborn. It’s a heartbreaking reveal, which becomes the real reason for Tyrion killing Tywin, while also completely destroying his bond with Jaime. He leaves the cell giving a false confession for Joffrey’s murder, and swearing that he will take revenge on his brother, sister, and father:
“[Tyrion] hit him. It was a slap, backhanded, but he put all his strength into it, all his fear, all his rage, all his pain. Jaime was squatting, unbalanced. The blow sent him tumbling backward to the floor . “I… I suppose I earned that.”
“Oh, you’ve earned more than that, Jaime. You and my sweet sister and our loving father, yes, I can’t begin to tell you what you’ve earned. But you’ll have it, that I swear to you . A Lannister always pays his debts.” Tyrion waddled away, almost stumbling over the turnkey again in his haste. Before he had gone a dozen yards, he bumped up against an irongate that closed the passage. Oh, gods. It was all he could do not to scream.
Jaime came up behind him. “I have the gaoler’s keys.”
“Then use them.” Tyrion stepped aside.
Jaime unlocked the gate, pushed it open, and stepped through. He looked back over his shoulder. “Are you coming?”
“Not with you.” Tyrion stepped through. “Give me the keys and go. I will find Varys on my own.” He cocked his head and stared up at his brother with his mismatched eyes. “Jaime, can you fight left-handed?”
“Rather less well than you,” Jaime said bitterly.
“Good. Then we will be well matched if we should ever meet again. The cripple and the dwarf.”
Even Tyrion killing Shae is adapted differently in the book. The end result is the same – he strangles her to death with a chain – but there’s a longer exchange in the book, where she pleads with him, even calling him “my giant of Lannister” once again. There’s a much clearer sense of rage within Tyrion when he does it. Rather than have Shae attack him like in Game of Thrones, the book is even more straight-up murder, leading into the darker character that comes next.
Tyrion Becomes A Much Darker Character In The Books Than Game Of Thrones
A Song Of Ice & Fire’s Tyrion Lannister Is No Longer A Hero
Following on from his departure from Westeros, the Tyrion of Game of Thrones season 5 isn’t too different from the previous one. Circumstantially, yes, as his removal from the politics of King’s Landing does change the presentation of his character, as his influence over events is lessened and, gradually, he makes some more questionable decisions, but he’s still likable and funny. That’s a contrast to the turn he takes in the books where he sinks into a deeper depression and has many, much darker thoughts.
He remembers over and over the crossbow bolt hitting Tywin; he thinks of assaulting Cersei, of mounting her and Jaime’s heads on spikes.
This is especially true in the first half of A Dance with Dragons, where Tyrion is frequently consumed by both anguish and hope over Tysha, wondering if it’s possible she’s still alive, and then thinking of revenge against his family. He remembers over and over the crossbow bolt hitting Tywin; he thinks of assaulting Cersei, of mounting her and Jaime’s heads on spikes. He dreams of returning to Westeros and taking revenge:
“That night Tyrion Lannister dreamed of a battle that turned the hills of Westeros as red as blood. He was in the midst of it, dealing death with an ax as big as he was, fighting side by side with Barristan the Bold and Bittersteel as dragons wheeled across the sky above them. In the dream he had two heads, both noseless. His father led the enemy, so he killed his brother, Jaime, hacking at his face until it was a red ruin , laughing every time he struck a blow. Only when the fight was finished did he realize that his second head was weeping.”
It is not just that Tyrion wants revenge, but that he wants to be feared. His thoughts are vicious and cruel, not only to those who have wronged him, but to those who are innocent as well. When paying for sex, he wants the women to fear him, to loathe him; he wants to hurt them. There is a self-loathing element to this, Tyrion hating himself as much as his father and siblings, and it’s something the show never really explored.
Even in one of The Winds of Winter’s preview chapters revealed by Martin, Tyrion still harbors a lot of these thoughts. By this point, he has been traveling for quite some time with Penny, a fellow dwarf who had been sold into slavery. She clearly comes to love Tyrion, in some ways. He, at times, seems to like and empathize with her, showing aspects of the Tyrion of old, but at others his bitterness, bile, and resentment shine through, such as this scene when she angers him, and he imagines killing her:
“If he’d had a chain to hand… if he’d had a crossbow, a dagger, anything, he would have… he might have… he… It was only then that Tyrion heard the shouts. He was lost in a black rage, drowning in a sea of memory…”
