Game of Thrones/ASOIAF Theories | Tywin Lannister | The Machiavelli of Westeros | Part 5

All that Tywin had to suffer through to see that his grandson is more and more like Aerys and that Aerys' bastard is more and more like himself… That must have made him hate Tyrion even more.

How does George make all this stuff?!

tywinn is the perfect excited of the do as I say not as I do parent

probably my favorite line from tywin any man who has to say he's king is no true king

It's an interesting theory about Tywin helping to bump off Joffrey. Clearly it does benefit Tywin if Tommen rules instead of Joffrey although I have a few issues with that particular theory (unlike most of your others) as (1) Joffrey is a Lannister and Tywin is seriously opposed to anything done against his family (e.g. Cat abducting Tyrion), (2) Tywin says that Joffrey requires a sharp lesson, which is very far removed from actually killing him, (3) Tywin says he's only 13 and there's time, (4) It would mean that there's no backup if anything were to happen to Tommen, (5) All Joffrey did in that scenes was insult Tywin (admittedly he'd screwed up at other times) – Aerys, who wasn't a relative, did rather worse, over a long period of time, (6) Tywin also got Joffrey a sword, which would seem to be a waste if he was going to kill him, (7) even though Tywin likely can't stand Joffrey he'd be very much indirectly hurting his daughter Cersei by killing her son. I'm also a little dubious over Tyrion really being Tywin's 2nd least favourite person given he entrusted him with Hand of the King and often consulted with him such as after this scene. I would have thought Tywin would have preferred to keep Tyrion close, as he was a useful asset (Tywin acknowledges he was helpful in defending against Stanns) and it would give him more opportunity to humiliate him, which he seems to enjoy. He can't do that if Tyrion is at the Wall. And Olenna/LF seem to provide a pretty complete picture on how the Purple Wedding was carried out, I'm not sure how Tywin could have provided assistance.

And yet what if Robert isn't killed by the Boar? Ned reveals the Truth? What would have Tywin done then? The twincest was something Tywin kind of knew about but refused to acknowledge, even to himslef and yet it would have been the downfall of House Lannister if Robert doesn't survives the boar encounter. Nothing Tywn could have done would have saved him. Remember how many enemies, from Winterfell to Dorne, Tywin had, he would have been toast.

Fools have yet to realize I didn't create gold on the privy. I spun it out of straw. The problem is that the price of gold began to fall so I had start creating food instead. Why do you think the Tyrells were so quick to ally with me? They didn't want me to drive down food prices…

Thank you a refreshingly incisive and thoughtful sketch of Tywin Lannister.

Well I got a 91 on the Mach-IV thing lol

Tywin understands abstract concepts but not people. He values "family" but not family .

89/ 100. I blame some of it on my Asperger's Syndrome. I blame the rest on having insanely optimistic parents who believe in the mythical goodness of humanity

HBO shud make a series out of Tywin entitled The Lion of Casterly Rock

I loved Oberyn Martel

Tyrion is Tywin's son I believe. Tywin finds it difficult to impossible to believe he could father a child with disabilities.

One subtle plot point I love, not related to Tywin but brought him in the chapter extract, is that Joffrey really did look up to Robert as a father. Cersei was right in saying Robert ignored him but rather than making Joffrey hate Robert, it actually made him crave affection. That's why he tried to get Bran murdered, he thought it would make Robert respect him purely based on an off the cuff remark the Robert made when alone with his family.

Honestly, I never saw Tywin as a monster or evil person. Just a man that was quite brilliant with what he did…Looked upon by others as a brilliant leader, cunning strategist, and superior to others.

Only in the end to be killed by the son he hated. Showing that he was only a man like the rest.

Such a skilful analysis

This serie about Tywin Lannister is awesome!Well done!

I find it interesting how Tywin's traits were reflected in his two sons, Jamie with his martial abilities and Tyrion with his political accumen. Arguably, despite all his talents and ability to command respect his he was done in by his poor skills as a father, being too caught up in ensuring his legacy to pay enough attention to those it would go to.

Tywin Lannister a true Machiavellian. 🙂 One of my favorite characters! Yes ruthless but a  ruler who is competent. Joffery was extreme, a mad king but boy the actor who played that character did a great job! Hail Tywin Lannister! 😉 Daenerys Targaryen is another character I love.

I think GRRM is beaming with pride by these vids!

Very detailed character assessment. If your thoughts on Tywin's role in Joff's murder are correct and it was to be the perfect means of achieving his goal of a worthy Lannister on the throne, getting rid of Tyrion, and forcing Jamie's hand in taking his rightful position, then it would seem Tywin blew it by miscalculating and allowing Shae to be called as a witness in Tyrion's trial. Because he never took a real interest in his children's lives, he failed to see that this betrayal would be too much for Tyrion to handle, and he would not stick to the plan orchestrated by Tywin and Jamie. Tywin had everything within his reach, but he shot himself in the foot and lost it all.

What app are they talking about? O.o

This series was awesome, Lord Tywin has always been one of my favorite characters. Imagine if he had POV chapters of his own, we would be able to know so much more about him

These videos were awesome!

Best series ever. Tywin was already my favorite character in GOT and this series furthers my belief.

Very interesting series. Are you guys in the Tywin was poisoned camp?

What a great series based on keen reading and good scholarship. I enjoy how closely and carefully you two analyse ASOIAF. This series on Tywin is among the best I've seen, and that's saying a lot considering the rest of your work. I am still interested though in why he would lend so much money to the crown, which wasn't actually covered in this video. Thanks for taking the time to make such excellent content.