Game of Thrones: Could Tyrion shape season 8?

We’ve had 10 days to let the dust settle and brace ourselves for a huge hiatus until the next and final season of Game of Thrones.

But with so much to discuss, theorise, and absorb from that titillating finale, one question remains more alarming than any other: what was Tyrion thinking?

As Hand of the Queen and closest adviser to Daenerys and a blood relative to opposing, self-appointed Queen Cersei, he’s in something of a unique position.

In season seven’s finale he’s in the thick of it and there are two key scenes worth discussing here.

A PRIVATE AUDIENCE

The first is his one-on-one negotiation with Cersei. Although, this begins as a heated, tense reunion for the first time since he killed their father, Tywin, the mood changes as the conversation goes on.

We witness the pair go through rage, despair, and dare I say resolve? Early on Tyrion dares his sister to kill him (at the hands of her zombified monster, The Mountain) but she doesn’t.

Tyrion admits to hating Cersei (which was always hard to hide), while her loathing for him is clear too. Yet her unquenchable narcissism is indeed brought into question when she rubs her stomach thus revealing to an intuitive Tyrion she’s pregnant. This has a number of implications.

With Tyrion now aware of his sister’s pregnancy, is he suddenly vulnerable with thoughts of being an uncle again? After all, he’s bound by blood and despite fighting for the other side still has a connection to his family. Even when he saw the Lannister army burned to the ground in the previous episode he had a downtrodden look of remorse and sorrow across his face.

Or is Cersei doing this on purpose as a way to throw him off and sympathise with her? Could it be enough for Tyrion to switch sides, knowing he’s a niece or nephew on the way?

Perhaps Cersei isn’t even pregnant and is emotionally manipulating both Jaime and Tyrion in order to get what she wants.

What happens after this taut yet tender moment is unknown. The pair return to the Dragon Pit and Cersei agrees to align her army and fight in the north. But it’s only later when we discover she has no intention to do so and plans to leave the Starks, Targaryens, and White Walkers to destroy each other.

Is this a plan devised by her and Tyrion to – as unbelievable as it sounds – forge a Lannister alliance and betray Dany and Jon in order to see their family remain on the Iron Throne ahead of Cersei’s unborn heir? It’s plausible, especially if you consider the theory going round that Dany will be double-crossed by someone close to her.

TYRION’S REGRET

The second, a seemingly interconnected moment, comes in one of the episode’s penultimate scene where Jon enters Dany’s chambers (in more ways than one). Here, Tyrion is lurking in the shadowy background, apparently troubled by what he sees about to unfold – but why? This could be due to a number of reasons.

He’s betrayed his Queen for another – as the idea that Dany will be betrayed by one of her closest allies continues to swirl – having convinced Cersei to lie about pledging her army in order to send the Stark and Targaryen forces to the frontline alone and to their possible demise. If he has conspired with his sister, it would certainly explain that troubled look he bears.

But it would be grossly out of character for the person we’ve seen develop over the seasons into something of a noble compass of morality.

The suggestion that he loves Daenerys and is emotionally conflicted is also possible but, in my view, unlikely. Tyrion has become the voice of reason to Dany and appears a loyal and level-headed adviser – could his desire to bring down his sister’s reign have transformed into desire to reign with Daenerys?

Although the most logical assumption is simply that he knows what love can do to a person having experienced heartache and trauma firsthand.

Would falling in love and having a child cloud Dany’s judgement and ability to rule?

Seeing her and Jon’s relationship blossom, he’s arguably concerned over his Queen being distracted with a lover (even though she’s not yet aware Jon’s actually the true heir) and all that comes with it. If Dany were to fall in love and become pregnant it would surely compromise her ability to lead, even temporarily. While this seems the straightforward option, Game of Thrones has taught us never to assume the most obvious, clearest path in front of us.

THE LONG CON

There is, however, the idea of the long con. That Tyrion is in fact playing Cersei with a double bluff as a means of driving brother Jaime away – which is precisely what happens when he storms out and leaves King’s Landing. With Cersei thinking she’s in control, could this whole conspiring with the enemy complication really be about Tyrion dividing his siblings and bringing Jaime on board to team Targaryen?

This way it also leaves the possibility of either brother killing Cersei at some point in the future…

Essentially the fate of the Great War and who ultimately succeeds could rest on the decisions Tyrion has already made.

Do you think Tyrion is honest and loyal or a back-stabbing Lannister to the death? Share your thoughts below…