Tyrion Lannister

Peter Dinklage portrays Tyrion Lannister on the HBO series

Tyrion Lannister (also The Imp) is a fictional character created by American author George R. R. Martin. He is a prominent point of view character in Martin's award-winning Song of Ice and Fire series, and also a main character in HBO's adaptation of the series, Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by Peter Dinklage.

Character

Background

Tyrion is the third and youngest child of Tywin Lannister and the brother of Jaime and Cersei Lannister. He is a malformed dwarf with mis-matched, different coloured eyes. His mother died while giving birth to him and this, along with his physical appearance, causes him to be hated by his father. Cersei also apparently finds him repugnant; however, Jaime, as the only one of Tyrion's immediate family to treat him with familial affection, enjoys a close relationship with Tyrion early in the series. He is intelligent, witty and shares his father's skill for political maneuvering, has read widely and appears to be a quick and accurate judge of character. Because he is an outcast, he displays sympathy for other outcasts and the mistreated and in A Game of Thrones he attempts to befriend Jon Snow. In A Dance of Dragons he reveals that he was given charge of the drains and sewers of Casterly Rock at an earlier age.

In his youth, Tyrion married Tysha, a young woman he and Jaime rescued from a band of rapists. After two weeks of marriage, his father compelled Jaime to convince Tyrion that Tysha was a prostitute and that the rescue had been a ruse. Tywin's garrison then raped Tysha and forced Tyrion to do the same. Tyrion remains traumatized by this event throughout the novels.

Storylines

Tyrion is first introduced in A Game of Thrones when he visits Winterfell with King Robert Baratheon's entourage. After spending time with the Night's Watch, he promises to send them more recruits once he returns to King's Landing. Before he can do so, however, he is arrested by Catelyn Stark for the attempted murder of her son Bran and taken to her sister's stronghold, the Eyrie and imprisoned. Demanding a trial by combat, he is championed by the mercenary Bronn and wins his freedom. He and Bronn then make their way to the Riverlands. They are stopped by the hostile hill tribes, but Tyrion wins their support by promising to help seize the Vale of Arryn. With his new allies, he joins his father's army. Shortly after, Tywin sends him to serve as King Joffrey Baratheon's Hand in his stead. Against the orders of his father, he takes his concubine Shae with him to King's Landing and takes great pains to hide her.

During A Clash of Kings he engages in a power struggle against Cersei and his nephew King Joffrey. He replaces key members of the guard and small council and arrests or dismisses others, including Grand Maester Pycelle, whom he has thrown in the dungeons, and Janos Slynt, who is sent to join the Night's Watch. While becoming strongly at odds with his sister and the king, he masterminds the defence of King's Landing against Stannis Baratheon's naval attack with a massive chain boom and ships filled with the Greek fire-like wildfire. When both Joffrey and Sandor Clegane abandon the battle, he leads a cavalry charge during which he loses his nose and is almost murdered by one of the Kingsguard on Cersei's orders.

Upon his recovery in A Storm of Swords, he learns that Cersei and Tywin have removed him from power. Tyrion is appointed Master of Coin, the treasurer, and is left to untangle Petyr Baelish's labyrinth of investments. He is also forced to marry Sansa Stark to prevent her from marrying Willas Tyrell, thus undoing the intrigues of Joffrey's bride Margaery Tyrell and her grandmother Olenna Redwyne. When Joffrey is murdered, Tyrion is accused and again chooses trial by combat to prove his innocence. However, his champion Oberyn Martell is slain by Gregor Clegane and Tyrion is sentenced to death. On the day of his execution, his brother Jaime secretly releases him, revealing to Tyrion the truth about the dwarf's first wife Tysha; Tyrion swears revenge on his father and siblings for this. Before escaping with the help of Varys, Tyrion climbs to his father's bed chamber and murders him along with Shae, whom he finds there. He then flees Westeros.

Tyrion's storyline takes up again in A Dance With Dragons. He arrives in Pentos under the protection of Illyrio Mopatis, but soon joins with Aegon VI Targaryen and Jon Connington who are travelling to Meereen under assumed identities, to meet with Daenerys Targaryen and join her campaign against the Westerosi usurpers. Tyrion discovers their deceit almost immediately and talks the pair into invading Westeros without her help. En route, he visits a brothel where he is recognized and captured by Jorah Mormont. Mormont attempts to take Tyrion to Daenerys, hoping that this will earn her forgiveness. On the journey, Tyrion meets and befriends a dwarf woman named Penny whom he had previously encountered at Joffrey's wedding feast. The three are soon captured by slavers and sold, eventually finding themselves in a camp outside Meereen. When a plague strikes the camp, Tyrion engineers their escape by joining the Second Sons mercenary company. In exchange for membership, Tyrion promises the company the wealth of Casterly Rock, his birthright after Jaime renounced it. He quickly realizes they are on the losing side and his story arc ends with Tyrion attempting to convince them to change their allegiance.