This article contains mentions of sexual assault.

Tyrion Lannister is one of the central characters in HBO's George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice & Fire book series, a saga known for taking traditional fantasy genre norms and subverting them with a darker and more realistic setting. While early seasons of Game of Thrones put substantial effort into embracing this crucial thematic approach, Tyrion began to change more and more after season 4 from his book counterpart.

Tyrion Lannister is a nobleman in the world of Westeros, but being born a dwarf puts him at odds with his father, Tywin Lannister. Compared to his golden boy brother Jaime Lannister, Tyrion experiences prejudices and struggles that wouldn't typically befall one of the wealthiest men on the continent. In Game of Thrones, Tyrion handles this with self-awareness and acceptance, but the book version is often far more vindictive and cruel in response to how he's been treated. Many have argued that the book's portrayal is more realistic and sophisticated, especially after reactions to Game of Thrones' ending.

10 Tyion's Physical Appearance Is Different In A Song Of Ice & Fire

Tyrion Is Made More Attractive In The Show & Doesn't Lose His Nose

Before examining notable narrative differences, it's important to set the stage for the difference in how George R.R. Martin establishes Tyrion in comparison to Game of Thrones. During the original run for the HBO series, Martin was once asked what he believed to be the best portrayal of one of his characters, to which he responded by describing Peter Dinklage in the role of Tyrion Lannister. See the video below:

He notes that while Peter Dinklage nails many of the essential Tyrion Lannister qualities, the American actor is a handsome man and looks nothing like the notably unattractive book counterpart. Tyrion, in the books, is described at times as being monstrous. After the Battle of Blackwater Bay in A Clash of Kings, Tyrion Lannister loses his nose, while the television version only receives a scar across his cheek. Dinklage's performance is outstanding, but it's clear that the HBO adaptation wanted a more physically presentable protagonist.

9 A Plot Twist About Tysha Drastically Changes Tyrion's Arc

Tysha Actually Did Love Tyrion In The Books

Tysha wasn't actually a prostitute and was just a lowborn woman who showed genuine affection for Tyrion

In Game of Thrones season 1, Tyrion Lannister shares an anecdote about how he once got married to a prostitute girl whom Jaime had paid to express romantic interest in him. Following Tyrion's heartbreak upon this realization, Tywin forced him to watch as his soldiers raped her before eventually killing her. In A Song of Ice & Fire, Tyrion's arc is changed drastically when Jaime reveals that Tysha wasn't actually a prostitute and was just a lowborn woman who showed genuine affection for Tyrion. This twist never happens in the show.

In the books, Tywin Lannister convinced Jaime to make up the lie that Tysha was a prostitute.

This sets Tyrion's world upside down, but another major difference is that Tysha is still believed to be alive in the books. This changes the dynamic of the scene where Tyrion kills Tywin, as Tysha is the woman whom Tywin continuously calls a "whore," causing Tyrion to shoot him with the crossbow. In A Dance with Dragons, Tysha is often on Tyrion's mind as he hopes he'll come across her somewhere in his travels in Essos.

8 Tyrion Is A Far More Vengeful & Dark Character In The Books

Tyrion Is A More Challenging Protagonist To Follow

It's well known that Tyrion's personality is drastically different in the television series' later seasons as it is in A Dance with Dragons. Given the character's immense popularity in Game of Thrones, it's likely that HBO and the showrunners didn't want to subject audiences to the far darker and more complex elements of the character, in fear of fans finding the material too harrowing. But Tyrion doesn't only become dark in A Dance with Dragons, he has his moments even before killing Tywin.

Tyrion has a man named Symon Silver Tongue killed for learning about his secrets and has him literally turned into a stew

The TV series paints him to be one of the most morally just characters in King's Landing, and while this is still likely true in the books due to the low bar for morality set in the Red Keep, he's not above blackmail, murder, and other wrongdoings. There are several moments in the books that describe sex scenes with women who haven't really consented. Not to mention, in A Storm of Swords, Tyrion has a man named Symon Silver Tongue killed for learning about his secrets and has him literally turned into a stew to be fed to commoners in Flea Bottom.

7 Cersei Fears Tyrion Due To The "Valonqar" Prophecy

One Of Cersei's Biggest Motivations Is Left Out Of The Show

Game of Thrones season 5 begins with one of the TV series' rare flashbacks when it opens with a scene of Cersei Lannister as a child. She visits a woods witch named Maggy the Frog, who tells her that she'll outlive all of her children and that a younger, more beautiful queen will come to replace her. This ties back to the present day narrative in King's Landing, where Cersei believes Margaery is the aforementioned younger queen, when the prophecy is actually referring to Daenerys.

The biggest difference between Maggy the Frog's prophecy in the show and the book is that in A Feast for Crows, Cersei is also told that she'll be killed by the "valonqar." This is a High Valyrian word that means "little brother," which becomes a primary contributing factor toward Cersei's endless hatred for Tyrion, as she believes that he's eventually going to kill her. Many have theorized that the prophecy actually refers to Jaime, who's her younger twin. Read Maggy the Frog's quote below:

"And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you."

6 Tyrion Descends Into His Darkness In A Dance With Dragons

Book 5 Takes Tyrion To His Darkest Point Yet

He imagines assaulting Cersei and mounting her and Jaime's heads on spikes.

In the books, Tyrion is depressed and in anguish following the news about Tysha and killing Tywin. While he previously carried a chip on his shoulder, his vengeful side is amplified after A Storm of Swords, transforming him into a far darker character. His POV chapters in A Dance with Dragons are some of the hardest to read in the entire saga, as his entire motivation becomes to destroy Cersei. In the show, his cause is more noble as he begins to Daenerys out of nobility and honor for the realm.

He imagines assaulting Cersei and mounting her and Jaime's heads on spikes. He dreams of killing Tywin and Jaime in battle, demonstrating a deeply rooted anger that looks to possess him in his arc going forward. The TV series shows Tyrion recovering from the world-changing event of killing his father rather quickly, and he constantly maintains some level of sympathy for Cersei. In the books, this is far from the truth.

5 Tyrion Meets "Young Griff" In A Dance With Dragons

Tyrion Meets A Targaryen Before Daenerys

One of the main book differences surrounding Daenerys Targaryen in A Song of Ice & Fire is that she isn't the only Targaryen after Viserys. At least, allegedly. In A Dance with Dragons, readers are introduced to Young Griff, a young man who's apparently the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell, giving him a better claim to the Iron Throne than Daenerys. Young Griff has been in hiding for years, but with the of Illyrio Mopatis and Jon Connington, a plot is hatched to plant him as king.

Throughout the book, Tyrion sails with Jon Connington and Young Griff, also known as Aegon Targaryen, from Pentos to Volantis. Along the trip, there are a few notable events, including Tyrion realizing Young Griff is the long-lost Targaryen heir and Jon Connington saving Tyrion from stone men, causing the exiled lord to be infected with greyscale. In the TV series, the greyscale plot is given to Jorah Mormont.

4 Tyrion Meets A Dwarf Woman Named Penny In ASOIAF

Penny Never Made It Into HBO's Game Of Thrones Adaptation

Penny is a character in A Song of Ice & Fire who becomes prominent in A Dance with Dragons due to her connections with Tyrion. She never appears and is never mentioned in the TV series. Penny is a dwarf, and her brother, also a dwarf, is murdered in Volantis by people who believe him to be Tyrion Lannister, as Cersei has offered a reward for his death. She later sees Tyrion and decides to attack him out of anger for her brother.

Despite trying to kill him, Penny befriends Tyrion. Penny actually takes a romantic liking to Tyrion, kissing him at one point, but he's burdened by his experiences with Tysha and Shae, causing him to disregard her rather cruelly. In this period of time when Tyrion is succumbing to self-pity and anguish, Penny importantly serves as a reality check, holding him able to his moral com. Tyrion constantly treats her poorly, but her more positive personality contrasts his general self-loathing.

3 Shae Begs Tyrion For Mercy In A Storm Of Swords

Shae's Murder Is A Brutal Scene

Tyrion killing Shae before murdering Tywin is a pretty dark scene in Game of Thrones' season 4 finale, but it's even darker in the books. In the show, Shae is portrayed as a selfish antagonist, using her situation with Tyrion to her own advantage, betraying him during the trial and then betraying him further by sleeping with his father. In A Storm of Swords, the moment still ends with Tyrion strangling her with a chain, but the dynamic shifts, and he certainly doesn't apologize for it.

In the book, Shae begs Tyrion for mercy, even calling him her "giant of Lannister," prompting him to vengefully strangle her to death. Before she's killed, she claims that she was forced by Cersei to turn against him and that she fears Tywin and doesn't really fight back as he murders her. In A Feast for Crows, Cersei's POV chapters provide some more insight into Shae's dealings surrounding the trial, showing that the Queen Regent had promised Shae a house in King's Landing with a knight to marry.

2 Tyrion & Jaime's Relationship Isn't As Solid In The Books

Tyrion Dreams Of Killing Jaime In A Dance With Dragons

Another aspect of Tyrion's story that Game of Thrones shies away from is his relationship with Jaime. Jaime Lannister is the only family member that ever shows Tyrion genuine love and respect, but their relationship is broken apart by Tyrion finding out about Tysha and then Tyrion killing Tywin. In Game of Thrones, Jaime vows to kill Tyrion for killing their father, but they end up having a loving relationship in season 8.

It's hard to imagine that Tyrion and Jaime's brotherly bond will return in A Song of Ice & Fire. Tyrion's hatred for Cersei is so extreme that he requests that he "might be allowed to rape and kill" her in return for helping Daenerys, and his thoughts on Jaime aren't much better. He's certainly not above causing harm to Jaime, either emotionally or physically, and imagines doing so on multiple occasions.

1 Tyrion's ing Character Relationships Are Different

Bronn Is Really Just There To Get Paid

During Tyrion's seasons in King's Landing early in Game of Thrones, he starts to accumulate a ing cast of followers. Bronn and Shae are shown to be his most loyal companions, and though their relationships are transactional, there are moments where they express genuine friendship. Bronn is far more blunt about the fact that he'd sell out Tyrion, but the performance in the series often suggests that he does have some loyalty to him.

In the books, Bronn and Shae both seem to consider themselves as simply being Tyrion's employees. Bronn, in particular, has zero interest in being friends with Tyrion and would likely offer zero courtesies to the Lannister lord if he stopped getting paid. Again, this is a matter of softening Tyrion for Game of Thrones to make Peter Dinklage's portrayal more likable and easy to root for. George R.R. Martin's version is arguably more realistic to the environment of Westeros, and he's undoubtedly a more challenging character to follow.