Summary
Tywin, the patriarch of the golden-haired, and extremely wealthy Lannisters, rebuilds his House from near-ruin. Son of the weak Tytos and father of the twins, Cersei and Jaime, and Tyrion the Imp, he leaves a rich legacy for his children. His House is the strongest inGame of Thronesafter the Battle of the Blackwater because he strikes an alliance with the Tyrells.
Tywin also wins against the Starks at the Twins and Stannis Baratheon outside the city gates. Both times, he is successful in securing strong alliances that give him his victories. Money alone could not win Tywin’s wars. He was a cunning statesman, and these quotes are proof.
1"A Lion Doesn’t Concern Himself With The Opinions Of The Sheep."
Game of Thrones Season 1, Episode 7: “You Win Or You Die”
The most impactful thing Tywin says inGame of Thronesis the cold hard truth that a person of high stature shouldn’t care about what others think. He quizzes his son, Jaime, at the Lannister encampment soon after Catelyn Stark takes Tyrion prisoner.
Tywin gives his heir the biggest lessons in maintaining a fearsome image and looking out for his family. He wants Jaime to do better, and to think ahead, asthe future of House Lannisterdepends upon him.
2"Green Boy. One Taste Of Battle And He Will Run To Winterfell With His Tail Between His Legs."
Game of Thrones Season 1, Episode 8: “The Pointy End”
Tywin is a little surprised by Robb Stark’s resolve to march south to rebel against the Lannisters. He finds it galling that a boy of his age, lacking political and battle experience, has raised a host to free his father - Ned Stark.
Tywin isn’t wrong to think of Robb as a novice at statecraft and strategy, because his father functioned as the Warden of the North, after all.The War of the Five Kingsis Robb’s real test against the yoke of the South. Robb proves Tywin wrong after winning all the battles but ultimately loses because he lacks political foresight.
3"Any Man Who Must Say, ‘I Am The King’ Is No True King."
Game of Thrones Season 3, Episode 10: “Mhysa”
Tywin Lannister’s sayings onThronesalso serve as leadership lessons. This particular time, he reminds his grandson that a king needn’t scream through the roof about his stature. It’s counterintuitive if he’s convincing his subjects and councilors of his power.
More than a dig at Joffrey, these words reverberate until the end ofThrones, as the show features far too many incompetent people who place undue importance on their titles. People read Tywin’s aura…and respond accordingly.
4"You Really Think A Crown Gives You Power?"
Things are relatively okay afterthe Battle of the Blackwater, with Joffrey installed on the Iron Throne and Tywin ruling the Seven Kingdoms as his Hand. Joffrey the boy king is used to having his way, but that’s no longer the case since Tywin is back from Harrenhal and stays in the Red Keep. He wants Cersei to keep a check on her unhinged son, Joffrey, while he focuses on winning wars and ending rebellions in the Seven Kingdoms.
At the small council meeting, when Joffrey is done yelling, Tywin has Cersei escort him to his bed. After dismissing the so-called “most powerful man” from the meeting, Tywin reminds Tyrion that he rules the Seven Kingdoms and not Joffrey.
5"A One-Handed Man With No Family Needs All The Help He Can Get."
Game of Thrones Season 4, Episode 1: “Two Swords”
After the Red Wedding, Tywin reforgesHouse Stark’s ancestral Valyrian steel sword - Ice, into two smaller swords. He gives the first one to his beloved Jaime and saves the second for his grandson, Joffrey.
Jaime is impressed by the sword but doesn’t want to take up Tywin’s offer to rule from Casterly Rock. He has no desire to marry, produce heirs, or be relieved of his Kingsguard oath. Despite losing his sword hand, Jaime still wants to serve Joffrey. Tywin lets him keep the sword, albeit in a cruel way.
6"I Don’t Distrust You Because You’re A Woman…"
Game of Thrones Season 3, Episode 4: “And Now His Watch Is Ended”
Jaime is Tywin’s favored son, and he wants the best for him. He sees Cersei as the means to build the great legacy that would be bestowed upon Jaime. ByGame of ThronesSeason 4, the war is over and Tywin wants to relieve Jaime from the Kingsguard, take a wife, and rule Casterly Rock in his stead. He also plans to wed Cersei to Loras Tyrell to gain control of Highgarden and thus the Reach.
Cersei admires her father, listens to his counsel, and tries to act in the interests of their family. She desires the love and attention that Tywin showered upon Jaime, and for once wants to be taken seriously, i.e., more than a pawn to cement alliances for political gains. That being said, Cersei is brash and temperamental, and Tywin fears that she isn’t the right kind of cunning.
7"I Didn’t Like Your Husband. He Used To Pat Me On The Back A Lot. I Didn’t Trust Him…"
Game of Thrones Season 4, Episode 5: “First of His Name”
…says Tywin about the late King Robert Baratheon. He weds his only daughter to Robert because the man won the rebellion against the Targaryens and defeated the crown prince Rhaegar at the Trident.
Robert wasn’t particularly close to his brothers, Stannis and Renly, although both of them enjoyed power under him. With Ned Stark gone from King’s Landing, Tywin knew marrying Cersei to the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms would make him a powerful man in the new era.
Robert lived in Tywin’s debt and thus had to face impossible choices, and oftentimes please his father-in-law. Debt and marriage were the easiest ways to ally with a man Tywin did not like or trust. The only ones he trusted were his family and that’s something that Cersei emulated later.
8"We Look Like Fools, And They Look Like Heroes. That’s How Kings Fall."
Game of ThronesSeason 2, Episode 7: “A Man Without Honor”
The dilapidated Harrenhalis where Jaqen H’ghar kills Amory Lorch for Arya. It happens right before Tywin’s eyes, and he takes it to mean that the assassination attempt was made for him. He recognizes the Wolfsbane poisonous dart that killed Lorch and wants the assassin caught.
One of the top men, Ser Gregor Clegane, suggests the band of outlaws, namelythe Brotherhood Without Banners, is responsible, so Tywin wants to wipe them out. For Tywin, the problem with the Brotherhood working against the Lannisters in the Riverlands is that they end up looking heroic for every one of their acts. The Lannister reputation has already taken a hit, thanks to the War of the Five Kings, and Tywin detests that the outlaws enjoy impunity only because they are hard to find.
9"So, We Have A Man Who Starves Himself To Death…"
Game of Thrones Season 4, Episode 3: “Breaker of Chains”
Tywin and Cersei had a hard time controlling Joffrey, and he turned out to be their biggest nightmare. After Joffrey’s assassination, Cersei’s youngest, Tommen, becomes a puppet of the Lannisters. He has little agency, and he does what is asked of him.
Tywin lectures Tommen at the Great Sept of Baelor, where Joffrey’s dead body is kept. Tywin manipulates Tommen into thinking a good king is someone who seeks out the counsel of those (meaning himself) who know a thing or two about ruling. Tywin knows Tommen is impressionable but not beyond his clutches. He concludes by saying:
A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn’t. You’re young. A wise young king listens to his counselors and heeds their advice until he comes of age. And the wisest kings continue to listen to them long afterward.
