Asking most fans of the GOT TV show who their favorite character is, chances are that they will say Tyrion, and for good reason too. Because of George R.R. Martins’ stellar writing and character development, Tyrion Lannister has become one of the most memorable and iconic characters in the history of the silver screen, and he has stolen almost every single scene that he has been in.
The first 4 seasons of the show make him out to be a stunted man of exceptional intelligence, with the sharpest wit in the 7 kingdoms. Season 5, however, is where Tyrion’s importance and intellect start to dwindle but he is still formidable until seasons 7 and 8, which we just won’t talk about. So, let’s take a look at the best Tyrion Lannister moments from seasons 1 to 6!
1. A mind needs books… (Season 1, Episode 2)
This scene is one of the very first, full conversations between Tyrion and Jon Snow. It consists of Tyrion reading and Jon asking him why he reads so much, where Tyrion tells him why. The main reason is that he attributes his intelligence to his love for reading, stating that a mind needs books just as a sword needs a whetstone, implying that books and reading are what keep him aware and intellectual.
This scene also shows Tyrion as a character and what he values in truth. He knows that he greatly lacks stature but that is something that he makes up for in droves due to his intellect. This is also a great moment for Jon as this really shows him that Tyrion is truly a good character and where his strengths actually lie.
2. Golden Crown (Season 1, Episode 6)
Tyrion is quite an expert at finding himself in situations that are uniquely dangerous for him. In the first season, he finds himself captured by Catelyn Stark who takes him to the Vale of Arryn in front of her unhinged sister who wants to kill Tyrion for things she thinks he did. The treat here is watching Tyrion talk his way out of these situations.
The setting culminates in a battle for Tyrion's life, where his new mercenary friend, Bronn, decides to fight for him. He wins and Tyrions life is spared, due to which we get to see him ride off to safety, clearly showcasing his rebellious attitude and high spirits.
3. Meeting the Stone Crows (Season 1, Episode 8)
On his journey back from the Vale of Arryn, Tyrion and his group encounter the barbaric mountain clan called the Stone Crows, who want to kill them. Despite having a great warrior, Bronn, with him Tyrion analyzes the situation and finds himself to be well at a disadvantage. The clan wants to kill all of them so Tyrion has to act fast.
Tyrion then starts to speak to the clan, telling them jokes and the way in which he would wish to die, causing them all to start laughing. This makes them like Tyrion, and in turn they choose to spare his life, which also makes them eventually fight for him. A great moment to show the audience that despite his physical disadvantage, Tyrion is always a force to be reckoned with because of how smart he is.
4. There’s your peace (Season 1, Episode 10)
Upon finally being free from the Vale, Tyrion makes his way to where his father is about to go to battle. In the tent, he has a real and important conversation with Tywin upon the situation they are truly in, in a way that no one else in Tywin’s entire camp can. For seemingly the first time, they speak as equals.
Tyrion and Tywin are 2 of the smartest characters in the entire show and this is the first moment that we see Tywin properly acknowledge Tyrion’s intellect and appoint him as the Hand of the King until Tywin wins the war. This is sort of a heartwarming moment to see that Tywin actually has this much faith in Tyrion to appoint him to such a high station.
5. Confronting Janos Slynt (Season 2, Episode 2)
It is no secret that Janos Slynt is a traitorous, slimy worm who betrayed our boy Ned Stark. Tyrion knew this and seeing as how the Commander of the City Watch betrayed the last Hand, he just didn’t feel safe with Janos being the commander and would much rather have someone that he fully trusted in that position.
What follows is Tyrion calling Janos for a beautiful dinner where they discuss wine and duty. Tyrion then viciously mocks Janos and notifies him that he is being sent to the Wall, with Janos being absolutely powerless to do anything about it. The new Commander of the City Watch, Bronn, then tells his underlings to drag Janos away, solidifying a great Tyrion moment.
6. What is dead may never die (Season 2, Episode 3)
This whole episode truly shows Tyrion as the actual genius that he is. Upon becoming the acting Hand of the King in the absence of his father, Tyrion sees that the entire council of the King is filled with snakes and treacherous villains whom he can’t trust. But the problem lies in the fact that he doesn’t know for certain who is on his side and who isn’t.
So, he devises a cunning plan to tell 3 people whose loyalties he questions; Varys, Littlefinger and Pycelle, giving all 3 of them differing pieces of information regarding a certain topic to see which information reaches the Queen. Upon finding out that it was Pycelle who snitched on him, he then punishes him further. This really earns him the respect and admiration of Varys, who then eventually becomes a great friend of his.
Even their conversation later on in the episode is amazing. Varys finds out what Tyrion did and is incredibly impressed, and then posits a riddle to Tyrion upon the nature of power. The conversion ends with Varys telling Tyrion that a very small man can cast a very large shadow.
7. Battle of the Blackwater (Season 2, Episode 9)
Despite being one of the most intelligent characters in this entire fictional world, Tyrion always knew that was at a disadvantage in almost all physical aspects, especially those which called for him to be a warrior. However, in the Battle of the Blackwater, he found himself to be at the frontlines fighting for his side.
However, Tyrion surprised everyone and even himself, as he was actually quite a capable warrior that found a fair bit of success as a fighter. His brilliant mind also made him out to be a very gifted battle strategist and tactician, showing the world that he is way more fit to be a ruler than his cowardly nephew who ran away from the fighting.
8. What he is owed (Season 3, Episode 1)
One of the defining points of both Tyrion and Tywin is the relationship they have with one another. Though Tywin has always been stern and serious with all of his children, his favorite has clearly always been Jaime, and he has always harbored a particular hatred for Tyrion.
The extent of his hatred is rarely more apparent than their conversation in this episode. Tyrion says that he wants some gratitude for almost single handedly winning them the Battle of the Blackwater due to his cunning tactics and strategy, to which Tywin says that he has no need for any praise. This is followed by Tyrion asking for Casterly Rock, as is his right due to the situation his siblings are in. Tywin’s response to this can be seen as the root of all the pain and shunning that Tyrion has seen in his life.
9. Marriage (Season 3, EPisode 8)
As much as the world loved Tyrion, the show makes it no secret that he is intensely ridiculed in his own world. Despite being loyal to the crown, he is still mocked and bullied profusely by members of his own family, this time being betrothed to Sansa in a marriage that neither of them want to indulge in.
This is all made much worse due to the fact that Joffrey is there, making every single moment for the 2 of them as horrible as possible. At the very least, drunk Tyrion threatening Joffrey was still an amazing moment. This was a great moment for Tyrion as a character as it not only showed him living up to his duty against what he wanted, it also showed him to be the only one to treat Sansa with kindness and decency.
10. The Purple Wedding (Season 4, Episode 2)
One of the most satisfying scenes in TV show history. After 4 seasons of this brat being the absolute worst king and person in the world, he finally gets what was coming to him. Upon continuously torturing Tyrion, the bad blood between them was constantly escalating and it was going to blow up eventually. And blow up it did at Joffrey’s wedding to Margaery Tyrell.
Joffrey ends up poisoned and dies a horrific, slow and painful death which was almost as horrifying as it was cathartic. The satisfaction from his death, however, was quickly over as Cersei blamed Tyrion for the crime unjustly. Naturally, seeing as how everyone in the world hated Tyrion, he was very easily blamed for Joff’s death.
11. Tyrion’s Trial (Season 4, Episode 6)
This scene is not only the best Tyrion scene, nor is it only the best scene of season 4. It also isn’t only the best scene in the entire show. Tyrion’s Trial is arguably the greatest scene in television history. It is also one of the handful of things that the show did better than the books. The acting, dialogue, context and everything else in this scene is just a pleasure to witness.
This is also super important because for the first time in his life, Tyrion stands up to his father and even gets the better of him as the trial by combat is something that went completely against what Tywin had been planning. After all the years of being ostracized,abused and blamed for things that he never did, Tyrion finally reaches his limit and refuses to give his life for that of a malicious and evil king.
If one were to watch this scene without ever having seen a snippet of the show, it would still remain very powerful because of every single person’s performance. From Tyrion’s anger and satisfaction of getting the better of his father to Tywin’s look of confrontation to Jaime’s face of sadness when finding out his brother will die, everything is nothing short of perfect. The context, however, is what truly makes this scene so spectacular, finally giving fans a Tyrion moment that will always be remembered.
12. Sins of the Father (Season 4, Episode 10)
This eventual face-off between Tyrion and Tywin was always coming, but very few could have suspected it to unfold the way that it did. Upon being freed from his cell by Jaime, Tyrion then goes on to confront his father who is sitting on the toilet to have some final words with him, crossbow in hand.
One final blow that Tyrion felt from Tywin was him finding Shae, his lover, waiting on Tywin's bed, leading to Tyrion killing her. Upon eventually meeting his father, the 2 men then have a final conversation where Tyrion tells Tywin that no matter how hard he tries, Tyrion will always be his son, while Tywin berates him some more. The scene ends with Tyrion killing his father who is on the privy.
13. The Gift (Season 5, Episode 8)
Season 5, with regards to Tyrion, only saw him running around Essos with Jorah on his way to Dany, so most of the season didn’t really have much memorable Tyrion content. However, this scene where he meets Dany for the first time is a great one which really shows how capable and intelligent Tyrion really is and how good he is in analyzing and assessing any situation he’s in
Despite being in a position where Dany can kill him with 1 command, Tyrion still manages to retain his wit and never loses his composure, making his case to Dany as to why he would be useful to her.
14. Freeing the Dragons (Season 6, Episode 2)
Tyrion realizes that one way to control the chaos going on in the city is to finally free the chained dragons Viserion and Rhaegal. The scene where he does this is amazing as he goes into the pitch black room with nothing but a torch and he sees the massive fire breathing lizards.
The scene humanizes the dragons a bit more and really serves the lore of them being intelligent creatures as they are able to properly sense Tyrion’s intentions to help them. Tyrion slowly does, all the while speaking to them of his childhood dreams to actually see a real dragon. The lack of music and silence really adds to the tense atmosphere.
15. The Greyjoys (Season 6, Episode 9)
In this scene, the Greyjoys arrive at where Dany is and pledge to her their loyalty and willingness to support her in her cause. They themselves are on the run from Euron completely taking over the Iron Islands and trying to completely destroy and take over all that he can.
This scene highlights Tyrion because Dany is hesitant to accept the Greyjoys. However, Tyrion turns to be the voice of reason and convinces Dany that trusting them would be a good decision and is one that will suit her in the long run. This shows Tyrion's tactical mind and strategic thinking to get as much support for Dany as he can.
You may also be interested in:
- 10 Most Powerful Game of Thrones Characters
- Top 10 Most Evil Game of Thrones Characters
- 20 Movies Like Game of Thrones You Need to Watch
- The 25 Most WTF Moments in Game of Thrones
- Top 10 Reasons Why Jon Snow is The Best Character in Game of Thrones
- Top 50 Game of Thrones Characters and Their Most Memorable Scenes
