Here’s a newsflash for you loyal readers here at GVNation…many of our writers here are Game of Thrones fanatics. We have had more than one discussion on what has transpired and what is yet to come. All it takes is for you to read many of the great Game of Thrones articles on our website to know that we take it very seriously.
One of my favorite character’s has been and remains the youngest (and shortest) Lannister, Tyrion. Right from the first episode we get to know the complex character named Tyrion Lannister. Number one, we learned that he must be familiar with hair dye as his hair in the beginning is blond like his siblings but gets darker as the series goes on. We learn that while his body is short in stature, his lust is as powerful as any normal sized man as his love of women. He is extremely intelligent and well read as you will find him more often than not, with a book in his hand. It is his belief that his mind is like other people’s swords. It is his weapon of choice. He explained it like this when asked by Jon Snow why he reads so much: “My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer and I have my mind…and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge. That’s why I read so much Jon Snow.” It is by using this weapon, he finds ways to extricate himself out of many a predicament that lesser men would try to fight their way out of. Another of Tyrion’s vices besides women is his love of the drink. In fact it’s part of the two things he knows he can do: “That’s what I do: I drink and I know things.” However, he also “knows” that because of his stature, that he will never be taken as seriously as he would like.
Part of his coping mechanism for this is that he has a strong sense of self-awareness. He knows what 
he is, and what he isn’t. He shares this wisdom with Jon Snow when they are discussing the fact that Jon is a bastard. “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.” His empathy for Jon carrys over to Bran after his “accident” when he decides to help him by designing a saddle so he could ride despite not having the use of his legs. When asked why, he replied: “I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples, bastards and broken things.”
It is this tenderness that separates him from the rest of his family, or at least his father Tywin and older sister Cersei. Tywin’s main concern was always the Lannister legacy. He wanted the Lannister name to mean something long after he was gone and the best way to make that happen was to be in power. If he had to do some unsavory things to accomplish those things, the ends ALWAYS justified the means. Cersei was and still is her father’s daughter. She would and will do ANYTHING that she has to do to protect her family. As her best proved not to be enough and she lost them anyway, she became more and more ruthless and ceased to have any moral compunction to stop her from doing anything, no matter how evil. Another thing Tyrion’s father and sister had in common was their disdain for Tyrion. Both Tywin and Cersei blame Tyrion for the death of his wife and her mother since she died giving birth to him. Tyrion explains his sister’s feeling’s for his as such: “My sister has mistaken me for a mushroom. She keeps me in the dark and feeds me shit.”
The only Lannister who shows him any compassion and sympathy is his older brother Jaime. It was Tyrion that Jaime asked to be with him in Winterfell when he is surrounded by Starks. “Don’t leave me alone with these people.” It was Jaime that Tyrion requested when his first trial by combat occurred. Jamie was not available at that time. Fortunately for him Bronn was there to battle in Jaime’s stead and save his life at that time.
As fate would have it, this would not be the only time Tyrion would face trial by combat. In this situation, like the first, it was Tyrion who would invoke that right as he believed the he would receive no justice in a normal trial. For those who have followed some of the previous “What if’s” namely “What if the Viper had survived his battle vs the Mountain? “ You are familiar with this story. Tyrion was accused of the poisoning of King Joffrey. With the evidence stacking against him, Tyrion once again invoked his trial by combat right and once again he asked his brother to consider standing for 
him. Unfortunately, Jaime had lost his sword hand in a previous incident and knew there was no chance he could hope to defeat the Mountain with his left hand. He then asks his former champion, now known as “Ser Bronn of the Blackwater.” Bronn was knighted after his participation in defending against the siege by Stannis Baratheon on Blackwater Bay. It is more than ironic that one of the real heroes of that conflict was (fanfare) Tyrion Lannister who took control of the defense of the castle when King Joffrey ran home to Mommy in the Red Keep. What Tyrion got for his trouble was almost getting his skull split by a member of his own army (Ser Mandon Moore under the direction of Cersei). Only through his Squire Poderick Payne’s intervention (by intervention I mean he ran a lance through the back of Moore’s head) did he survive.
Unfortunately for Tyrion, Ser Bronn had too much to lose to take the chance of taking on the Mountain who he wasn’t even sure if he could beat. Bronn knew if were to take on the mantle of Tyrion’s champion and were to win, the Lannisters would strip everything he had worked so hard to receive. Tyrion was disappointed but understood Bronn’s situation and held no hard feelings to the man who stood by him in the past (he was paid to do so, but let’s not let THAT get in the way of the story). So the story proceeded with Oberon Martel taking on the roll of Tyrion’s champion and the Viper getting the confession he so wanted before getting his skull crushed. The trial by combat was over, Tyrion had lost and was sentenced to death. That set the wheels in motion of Jaime setting Tyrion free, Tyrion killing his ex-lover Shae as well as his Father Tywin and escaping to eventually join Denaerys Targaryen. But what if Jaime did not set Tyrion free, and he met his fate with his final verdict. What if Tyrion had died after his trial by combat?
In this scenario, Cersei knew her brother had a soft spot where it came to Tyrion. She knew if given the chance, he might set Tyrion free rather than let him face the executioner’s block. She quickly went to her father and demanded that the sentence be carried out quickly to protect Jaime from his worst instincts. Tywin knew his daughter was correct. He knew this because Cersei was not his only visitor. Jaime also paid his father a visit to once again try to get his father to spare Tyrion. He had made made a previous deal with his father to leave the King’s guard and take his place as his heir at Casterly Rock if he spared Tyrion. That deal fell through when Tyrion made his trial by combat request. Nonetheless, Jaime made that request again trying anything to save his little brother who he did not believe had killed his son. Tywin told Jaime he would take it under consideration. Both men knew that it would never happen. So it was after Cersei’s visit, the wheels were put in motion. Their plan was to quietly dispatch of Tyrion but not make it draw attention like a beheading, which was the normal means of execution for this type of crime. Cersei told her father they should use the same poison on him as the one that killed her precious Joffrey. To accomplish this, they had to use an unwitting accomplice who would not realize what they were doing. This unfortunately was Podrick, who thought he was bringing Tyrion his last meal and giving him a chance to say a last goodbye. Tyrion, as suspicious as he might normally be, didn’t think that Pod would be a threat. This would be his final mistake as the poison was in the wine he was served with his “last meal.” The results were just as ghastly as the effect it had on Joffrey. Pod stared in horror as his friend and mentor writhed and clawed at his neck. In fact, it was so devastating to Pod that he quickly grabbed the cup with some of the wine left and drank it down himself. It was there that the guards were to find both Tyrion and Poderick Payne, faces contorted and eyes bulging in sockets as death found them.
The death of Tyrion was a turning point for Jaime. He knew that his father and his sister were responsible and he hated them both for it. He also blamed himself as he should have took action sooner to save his brother. Both Tywin and Cersei claimed no knowledge of the incident and blamed young Poderick for taking it upon himself to save Tyrion from the executioners block. Jaime knew his family’s feelings toward Tyrion and would hear none of it. His response was partially what Tywin wanted, he left the King’s Guard but he did not go to Casterly Rock. He rode off along with Ser Bronn who, while knowing that it might put his position in jeopardy, accompanied Jaime in support of him and his loss for his former employer, Tyrion. He knew that as long as he was with Jaime, the possibility of riches still existed. He just needed to keep him alive.
So with the death of Tyrion, Tywin Lannister was not killed. Shae also was unharmed although once her usefulness to Tywin was at end, they found her body in an alley way, with no thoughts as to who might have killed her or any remorse shown. She was discarded as many non-descript people are. How might her life had been different had Tyrion had not felt the need to send her away or had she left when he wanted her to. In our page of history, Tyrion would not escape and end up as Queen Denaerys “Hand.” She would not have his council to meet with the “King of the North,” Jon Snow. It is possible she might have come to some of these conclusions herself, but it is also just as likely that none of them happened without Tyrion to suggest moderation in her responses to the slavers and others. There is always a need of wise council, especially from someone who knows the ways of Westeros and the mind of Tywin and Cersei Lannister.
The real loss here is the wit and wisdom of a character who might be the most intelligent and in many ways, the bravest character in Game of Thrones, Tyrion Lannister.
We have reached the time where you come in. What do you, our Game of Thrones experts believe would have happened had Tyrion died? Share your story with us a GVNation.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
