I find the shows treatment of Tyrion a big disappointment.
First of all, let me clarify my position on things.
So many readers/fans of the series seem to be fans/not-fans of various characters. They root for Dany or despise her, think Tyrion is the coolest or hate him, cheer or deplore 'Stannis the Mannis' and so on and on. I don't really think that way. I am a fan of all the characters, insofar as I look at them as creations of the mind of the author. I dont root for one or the other; I marvel at them and how are thrown about by the plot and how their actions move the plot forward for other characters; I simply want a good story.
Now, one of the strengths of A Song of Ice and Fire is the characters. George Martin has created great and brilliant characters. . They are three-dimensional and complex, they have senses of humor, secret nasty sides, selfishness and good intentions all at the same time. They leap off the page. Even when they seem to follow some trope or another, and some of them do, they tend to rise above it and surpass it.
In my opinion, Tyrion is the greatest of these creations. As a tragic figure he is, in my heartfelt and honest opinion, equal to Shakespeare's great tragic characters and better than some others(like Richard III, who he slightly resembles, but he's so much more filled out. )
(Note: I'm not saying that GRRM is really the equal of Shakespeare. He's most definitely not. But I do think his characters are just as good--in that aspect he is.)
Tyrion is a sad character on many levels. He's one of the most intelligent people in Westeros but his physical appearance(not only a dwarf, but an ugly, malformed one with 'stunted, twisted legs' a 'beetle brow' hair like 'black and blonde wires' and mismatched eyes and even, post Clash of Kings, with a good chunk of his nose hacked off) means that he's disrespected far and wide, and what little respect he has is only because of his family name. As acting Hand in Clash of Kings, he makes many wise decisions, but he's seen by others as a 'twisted monkey demon' who is corrupting Good King Joffrey. In the end all of efforts and achievements are ignored, and credit is given to others less deserving--partially to spite him
This has understandably made him a trifle bitter and he does have a self pitying streak, which is a little unpalatable to some readers. It has also given him great insight into the world he lives in and the people who inhabit it. Finally, it's made him a tad more empathetic to other unfortunate characters, which is his strong point.
And he's courageous as all get out. Despite his physical disability, he does fight courageously and displays real leadership abilities when it counts in the Battle of the Blackwater. Almost no one recognizes it.
But the real tragedy is that his entire life has been based on a brutal lie that caused him to unwittingly commit a horrid, violent sexual crime against the woman who loved him, Tysha, the crofter's daughter. Finding out that she was not a whore and that he participated in the gang-rape of an innocent women--girl, really-- brings the full force of the crime on him. It's truly a monstrous thing to do to any one, particular someone as sensitive and intelligent as a 13 year old tyrion. The lie not only drives a wedge between Tyrion and Jaime, who is an accomplice of the lie, his brother and the only other person who has ever loved him besides Tysha, it really spins Tyrion into a very, very dark frame of mind, and causes him to make some extremely dark, disturbing decisions, all with the goal of 'killing his brother', 'raping and killing his sister' and laying waste to Westeros in revenge for it.
To me this is the essense of classic tragedy, the way his psychodrama plays out in such a way that he, possessed of an incredible intelligence, a load of courage, profound insight into people and the right connections, is in position to harm thousands and thousands of people in Westeros and (who knows) maybe Essos too. It remains to be seen how far he will take it.
To me this is AWESOME writing. It's an incredible character. So many heroic qualities; so many dark spots on his soul. So much power in his own way.
The show, for whatever reason, has backed away from that. They have instead focused on Tyrion's good sides, his empathy, especially, and underplayed or eliminated his dark sides, so that his goal seems to be more about the 'good of the realm' or whatever (which is pretty cloying and dumb, in my opinion). Perhaps in a series as dark as Game of Thrones, with so many characters painted in various shades of grey, the show-makers felt they needed to have one character that everyone could root for who wasn't just 'noble and honorable'--a show watcher would find it very hard indeed to find anything dark or disturbing in Tyrion's character. He's as honorable as Ned Stark but a good deal smarter, and his morals and values are much more in line with a modern 21st century audience.
Yes, as a fan of great literature and tragedy, I'd love to see a production of something that's been written recently that explored those darker parts o the human psyche like GRRM does with Tyrion and A Song of Ice and Fire. Game of Thrones, sadly has clearly decided the the average viewer is not ready for the type of subtlety that has gone into Tyrion. And I think it's a pity.
EDIT: A lot of other writers here have focused on Jaime and what the confession means to his character. They are absolutely right about that, too!! Yes, it was a really bad decision on the showmakers parts. I often think to myself: GRRM is brilliant mind writing for above-average minds. And the show-makers are above average minds writing for average minds.
First of all, let me clarify my position on things.
So many readers/fans of the series seem to be fans/not-fans of various characters. They root for Dany or despise her, think Tyrion is the coolest or hate him, cheer or deplore 'Stannis the Mannis' and so on and on. I don't really think that way. I am a fan of all the characters, insofar as I look at them as creations of the mind of the author. I dont root for one or the other; I marvel at them and how are thrown about by the plot and how their actions move the plot forward for other characters; I simply want a good story.
Now, one of the strengths of A Song of Ice and Fire is the characters. George Martin has created great and brilliant characters. . They are three-dimensional and complex, they have senses of humor, secret nasty sides, selfishness and good intentions all at the same time. They leap off the page. Even when they seem to follow some trope or another, and some of them do, they tend to rise above it and surpass it.
In my opinion, Tyrion is the greatest of these creations. As a tragic figure he is, in my heartfelt and honest opinion, equal to Shakespeare's great tragic characters and better than some others(like Richard III, who he slightly resembles, but he's so much more filled out. )
(Note: I'm not saying that GRRM is really the equal of Shakespeare. He's most definitely not. But I do think his characters are just as good--in that aspect he is.)
Tyrion is a sad character on many levels. He's one of the most intelligent people in Westeros but his physical appearance(not only a dwarf, but an ugly, malformed one with 'stunted, twisted legs' a 'beetle brow' hair like 'black and blonde wires' and mismatched eyes and even, post Clash of Kings, with a good chunk of his nose hacked off) means that he's disrespected far and wide, and what little respect he has is only because of his family name. As acting Hand in Clash of Kings, he makes many wise decisions, but he's seen by others as a 'twisted monkey demon' who is corrupting Good King Joffrey. In the end all of efforts and achievements are ignored, and credit is given to others less deserving--partially to spite him
This has understandably made him a trifle bitter and he does have a self pitying streak, which is a little unpalatable to some readers. It has also given him great insight into the world he lives in and the people who inhabit it. Finally, it's made him a tad more empathetic to other unfortunate characters, which is his strong point.
And he's courageous as all get out. Despite his physical disability, he does fight courageously and displays real leadership abilities when it counts in the Battle of the Blackwater. Almost no one recognizes it.
But the real tragedy is that his entire life has been based on a brutal lie that caused him to unwittingly commit a horrid, violent sexual crime against the woman who loved him, Tysha, the crofter's daughter. Finding out that she was not a whore and that he participated in the gang-rape of an innocent women--girl, really-- brings the full force of the crime on him. It's truly a monstrous thing to do to any one, particular someone as sensitive and intelligent as a 13 year old tyrion. The lie not only drives a wedge between Tyrion and Jaime, who is an accomplice of the lie, his brother and the only other person who has ever loved him besides Tysha, it really spins Tyrion into a very, very dark frame of mind, and causes him to make some extremely dark, disturbing decisions, all with the goal of 'killing his brother', 'raping and killing his sister' and laying waste to Westeros in revenge for it.
To me this is the essense of classic tragedy, the way his psychodrama plays out in such a way that he, possessed of an incredible intelligence, a load of courage, profound insight into people and the right connections, is in position to harm thousands and thousands of people in Westeros and (who knows) maybe Essos too. It remains to be seen how far he will take it.
To me this is AWESOME writing. It's an incredible character. So many heroic qualities; so many dark spots on his soul. So much power in his own way.
The show, for whatever reason, has backed away from that. They have instead focused on Tyrion's good sides, his empathy, especially, and underplayed or eliminated his dark sides, so that his goal seems to be more about the 'good of the realm' or whatever (which is pretty cloying and dumb, in my opinion). Perhaps in a series as dark as Game of Thrones, with so many characters painted in various shades of grey, the show-makers felt they needed to have one character that everyone could root for who wasn't just 'noble and honorable'--a show watcher would find it very hard indeed to find anything dark or disturbing in Tyrion's character. He's as honorable as Ned Stark but a good deal smarter, and his morals and values are much more in line with a modern 21st century audience.
Yes, as a fan of great literature and tragedy, I'd love to see a production of something that's been written recently that explored those darker parts o the human psyche like GRRM does with Tyrion and A Song of Ice and Fire. Game of Thrones, sadly has clearly decided the the average viewer is not ready for the type of subtlety that has gone into Tyrion. And I think it's a pity.
EDIT: A lot of other writers here have focused on Jaime and what the confession means to his character. They are absolutely right about that, too!! Yes, it was a really bad decision on the showmakers parts. I often think to myself: GRRM is brilliant mind writing for above-average minds. And the show-makers are above average minds writing for average minds.
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