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 similarly to A Storm of Swords, at least in terms of hitting the most important points. 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. In 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 subtly different 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 one before. 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 much, 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 particularly 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 thoughts 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 vengeance:
“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 axe 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 slew him once again. Then 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 way. 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…”
A Darker Tyrion Would Have Better Set Up Daenerys’ Game Of Thrones Season 8 Story
He Would Have Actively Encouraged Her Burning King’s Landing
In Game of Thrones, Tyrion is convinced by Varys of Daenerys’ potential as a force for good, for change in Westeros. He wants to see her for himself, but ultimately him working with her is a teaming up of two irrefutably good characters, even if they’ve done bad things. As he says in the season 6 finale, “The Winds of Winter,” Tyrion “believes in” Daenerys, the first thing or person he has ever truly believed in.
In contrast, Tyrion’s hopes for working with Dany in the books are, so far at least, to do with revenge. When asked at one point by a woman who has heard of and believes in Daenerys what he could offer her, he responds:
“My hate, Tyrion wanted to say. Instead he spread his hands as far as the fetters would allow. ‘Whatever she would have of me. Sage counsel, savage wit, a bit of tumbling. My c**k, if she desires it. My tongue, if she does not. I will lead her armies or rub her feet, as she desires. And the only reward I ask is I might be allowed to r**e and kill my sister.'”
It’s possible Tyrion will be swayed by Daenerys; that she could inspire him, and turn him back to the light and the character seen in Game of Thrones. But it seems a lot more likely that they will corrupt one another. Daenerys herself has taken a darker turn, more ready than ever to take what is hers with fire and blood. Show Tyrion urges caution and patience; he convinces her to fly North to help in the fight against the White Walkers; he wants to make peace with Cersei. It’s hard to imagine the same happening in the books.
When Tyrion and Daenerys finally meet in The Winds of Winter – and he gains her trust – then it seems like he will encourage her more violent tendencies.
When Tyrion and Daenerys finally meet in The Winds of Winter – and he gains her trust – then it seems like he will encourage her more violent tendencies. In Game of Thrones season 8, prior to Daenerys burning King’s Landing, she says that if the people won’t love her, “let it be fear.” With the book version of Tyrion by her side, who always wants fear, who wants revenge, who wants to deliver on his threats, then it will likely be him convincing her of that dark path.
Daenerys Burning King’s Landing May Have Been Better Without Game Of Thrones’ Tyrion Change
Daenerys & Tyrion Together Could Have Made The “Mad Queen” Arc More Logical
Tyrion is horrified by Daenerys’ actions in Game of Thrones season 8, episode 5, “The Bells.” He can’t believe what she has done, and afterward urges Jon Snow to take action to stop her. It’s a reaction that echoes audiences: the shock at Daenerys burning King’s Landing quickly turned to outrage, and her becoming the so-called “Mad Queen” is one of the biggest reasons that the show’s ending is so controversial.
It’s very possible that Daenerys’ villain arc would have worked better with a darker Tyrion next to her. They would have encouraged one another, and there’d be a clearer build up to that moment. Tyrion is so often the audience’s avatar in Game of Thrones: he says what viewers are feeling, and has similar responses to a lot of things, as well as being a sympathetic, good character. If he and Dany had walked down that path together, then it would feel less rushed or sudden, and have a deeper grounding in the show’s history with more solid logic underpinning it all.
Daenerys Targaryen’s Mad Queen Story Would Still Be Controversial
Game Of Thrones’ Darker Tyrion Would Also Be Divisive Too
Of course, even with Tyrion by Daenerys’ side, her descending into villainy would always be controversial to some degree. She was one of Game of Thrones’ biggest heroes, and while she committed some questionable (to put it mildly) acts before, they were always defensible. The same cannot be said for the destruction of King’s Landing, and so that would inevitably be difficult to reconcile regardless of how it happened, even if it could have been set up better.
The darker shift for the person who was, perhaps, the show’s single most popular character would not necessarily have been an easy sell.
The same would be true for Tyrion, too. The darker shift for the person who was, perhaps, the show’s single most popular character would not necessarily have been an easy sell. There would have been large sections who disagreed with the decisions, and that they had changed his character too much. Even without that, though, Tyrion’s story from season 5 onward struggled: there was a sense of not knowing how to use him, of him being sidelined, of becoming too much a pastiche of the character. It could have fixed that, but it would have created its own problems.
