Fangirl Fridays – Tyrion Lannister

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I’m questioning the wisdom of writing a fangirl blog post about a character I barely know. I am new to George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. As I write this, I am only 55% of the way through book 1, A Game of Thrones, and I have never even seen the television show. I’m sure many of you who have read all the books are laughing at me right now. You know Tyrion much better than I, and maybe he turns out to be a heinous villain. That’s okay, because really, that’s part of the thrill of reading! I’ll just keep on loving Tyrion and reading this awesome series and letting it manipulate my emotions!

Tyrion is of the powerful Lannister Clan. His father is Lord Tywin Lannister, and he is younger brother to twins Ser Jaime and Queen Cersei. Jaime is tall, gorgeous, and an excellent swordsman with a hot temper and a deep affection for his younger brother, Tyrion. Queen Cersei, wife of King Robert, married for power, not love. She is a nasty, self-serving woman. She has never given Tyrion the time of day, probably because he doesn’t meet her standards or his father’s. Tyrion is the trueborn son of Lannister, but has always felt like the black sheep due to his being a dwarf. Sadly, his mother died in childbirth.

I knew I was going to thoroughly enjoy Tyrion when we first meet him through Jon Snow’s POV, during the welcoming feast for the king at Winterfell. Jon, humiliated and a bit drunk, leaves the feast and runs into Tyrion outside. Jon asks him why he is not at the feast.

“Too hot, too noisy, and I’d drunk too much wine,” the dwarf told him. “I learned long ago that it is considered rude to vomit on your brother…”

Well, hello Tyrion! I’m a sucker for a funny, sarcastic, smart-ass character!!


Read on so I can share with you a little more information about Tyrion and some quotes that show why he’s my favorite character from GoT...for now anyway. (Warning: Major spoilers for book 1 ahead.)

T  Tactless. (Jon’s POV)  “You’re Ned Stark’s bastard, aren’t you?” Jon felt a coldness pass right through him. He pressed his lips together and said nothing. “Did I offend you?” [Tyrion] Lannister said. “Sorry. Dwarfs don’t have to be tactful. Generations of capering fools in motley have won me the right to dress badly and say any damn thing that comes into my head.” He grinned. “You are the bastard, though.”

Y  Younger brother. (Jon’s POV)  Then he saw the other one, waddling along half-hidden by his brother’s side.  Tyrion Lannister, the youngest of Lord Tywin’s brood and by far the ugliest. All that the gods had given to Cersei and Jaime, they had denied Tyrion. He was a dwarf, half his brother’s height, struggling to keep pace on stunted legs.  His head too large for his body, with a brute’s squashed-in face beneath a swollen shelf of brow. One green eye and one black one peered out from under a lank fall of hair so blond it seemed white.

R  Realistic. (Tyrion’s POV)  “Why do you read so much?” Tyrion looked up at the sound of the voice. Jon Snow was standing a few feet away, regarding him curiously. He closed the book on a finger and said, “Look at me and tell me what you see.... Had I been born a peasant, they might have left me out to die or sold me to some slaver’s grotesquerie. Alas, I was born a Lannister of Casterly Rock, and the grotesqueries are all the poorer. Things are expected of me. My father was the Hand of the King for twenty years. My brother later killed that very same king, as it turns out, but 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? Yet how? Well, my legs may be too small for my body, but my head is too large, although I prefer to think it is just large enough for my mind. I have a realistic grasp of my own strengths and weaknesses. My mind is my weapon. 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.”

 I  Ideological. (Tyrion’s POV, said to Jon Snow)  “Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness. Armor yourself in it, and it will never be used to hurt you.”

O  Opportunistic. (Tyrion’s POV) It is too funny that he starts away from the roadside inn as Catelyn’s prisoner, bound and blindfolded. And by the time they reach their destination, he has made some friends among the very men that jumped up to take him into custody, and he is armed.

N  Naughty. (Everyone’s POV) He talks about or thinks about procuring prostitutes quite often. I don’t blame him; the Imp has needs!

L  Loyal to his family. (Tyrion’s POV)  “As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted,” Tyrion began, “there is a serious flaw in Littlefinger’s fable. Whatever you may believe of me, Lady Stark, I promise you this—I never bet against my family.”

A  Let’s face it, he’s an Ass (said with love). (Bran’s POV) He is basically asking Bran if he would like to be able to ride a horse again, and Maester Luwin says that Bran will never be able to sit on a horse.  “Nonsense,” said Lannister. “With the right horse and the right saddle, even a cripple can ride.” The word was a knife through Bran’s heart. He felt tears come unbidden to his eyes. “I’m not a cripple!” “Then I am not a dwarf,” the dwarf said with a twist of his mouth. “My father will rejoice to hear it.”

N  No fool. (Tyrion’s POV) This quote is from Tyrion’s first battle ever. Tyrion is not a fighter due to his size and abilities. As the clansmen launch an attack on his party, Tyrion jumps behind a rock to hide.  Ser Rodrik shouted, “Winterfell!” and rode to meet him, with Bronn and Chiggen beside him, screaming some wordless battle cry. Ser Willis Wode followed, swinging a spiked Morningstar around his head. “Harrenhall! Harrenhall!” he sang. Tyrion felt a sudden urge to leap up, brandish his axe, and boom out, “Casterly Rock!” but the insanity passed quickly and he crouched down lower.

N  Nice. Yeah, I know, that word is lame. (Bran’s POV) It was really nice of him to give Robb a design for a saddle that would allow Bran to ride a horse again. Even after Robb is so unfriendly to him, he insists on the kindness. Then Robb asks him why he was doing this for Bran.  “Your brother Jon asked it of me. And I have a tender spot in my heart for cripples and bastards and broken things.” Tyrion Lannister placed a hand over his heart and grinned.  Haha, yeah, I did say that he’s an ass.

The Arryns keep the only dungeon in the realm
where the prisoners are welcome to escape at will.

I  Insolent. (Tyrion’s POV) While imprisoned in the sky cell, Tyrion gets so angry over Mord playing games with him and withholding his food, that he outright insults Mord. He knows he will lose the food and get assaulted, but he can’t stop the words from coming out of his mouth.  For a small man, he had been cursed with a dangerously big mouth, he reflected.




S  Self-deprecating. (Tyrion’s POV)  “You’re a cunning man, Tyrion. We have need of men of your sort on the Wall.” Tyrion grinned. “Then I shall scour the Seven Kingdoms for dwarfs and ship them all to you, Lord Mormont.”

T  Tricky. (Tyrion’s POV) So, he’s held in Lysa Arryn’s cell, and he tells the turnkey that he wants to confess his crimes. He secures an audience with Lady Arryn, and just as he hoped, she summons many notable people to hear this. He plays with her for a bit, then says that he didn’t commit the crime he is being accused of. He demands a trial by combat. Yet he can’t fight himself. One of the men he traveled there with (one that originally wanted his head on the end of his sword) volunteers to fight in his stead. Just like that, Tyrion has wiggled out of that precarious position.

E  Ethical. (Tyrion’s POV) When Catelyn is trapped by three of the clansmen, Tyrion is thinking, “Let them have the bitch,” but while thinking that, he is moving to save her! He does stick his neck out to save her, even though she is causing him a world of trouble at the time. He could let them kill her, and the blame would not be on him, and all his current problems would be solved, yet he does not. This shows us more of the man that he is. On the surface, he seems utterly self-serving because of his smart-ass nature, but he goes out of his way to help Jon, Bran, and now Catelyn.

R  Righteous, when it counts. (Tyrion’s POV) That moment when he slaps Prince Joffrey. Tyrion tells Joffrey to pay his respects to Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn, regarding Bran’s “accident.” Joffrey tells him no and is very nasty about it. Tyrion slaps the shit out of him. Twice.

We will NEVER get tired of looking at this!!

As you can see, the best way to get to know Tyrion is through the words that come out of his mouth and the thoughts in his head. He is by far the most quotable character in A Game of Thrones. Now that you know my man Tyrion Lannister a little bit better, check out the book A Game of Thrones or head on over to HBO and catch the show by the same name.

Do we have any Tyrion fans here? Who is your favorite character from A Song of Ice and Fire? (No spoilers please!!)