If you want the Iron Throne, take it. We have an army, a fleet and three dragons. We should hit King's Landing now, hard, with everything we have. The city will fall within a day.
Tyrion LannisterIf we turn the dragons loose, tens of thousands will die in the firestorms.
It's called war. You don't have the stomach for it, scurry back into hiding.
Tyrion Lannister
I know how you wage war. We don't poison little girls here. Myrcella was innocent.
She was a Lannister. There are no innocent Lannisters. My greatest regret is that Oberyn died fighting for you.
That's enough! Lord Tyrion is Hand of the Queen; you will treat him with respect. I am not here to be queen of the ashes.
That's very nice to hear. Of course, I can't remember a queen who was better loved than my granddaughter. The common people loved her; the nobles loved her. And what is left of her now? Ashes. Commoners, nobles, they're all just children, really. They won't obey you unless they fear you.
Tyrion Lannister
And Sansa? I hear she's alive and well.
Tyrion Lannister
Does she miss me, terribly? [Jon scowls at him] A sham marriage... and unconsummated.
Tyrion Lannister
Well, it was. Wasn't. Anyway, she's much smarter than she lets on.
She's starting to let on.
Tyrion Lannister
Good. At some point, I want to hear how a Night's Watch recruit became King in the North.
As long as you tell me how a Lannister became Hand to Daenerys Targaryen.
Tyrion Lannister
A long and bloody tale. To be honest, I was drunk for most of it.
My bannermen think I'm a fool for coming here.
Tyrion Lannister
Of course they do. If I was your Hand, I would've advised against it. General rule of thumb: Stark men don't fare well when they travel South.
True... but I'm not a Stark.
[Suddenly Drogon swoops right over their heads, roaring; Jon, Davos and the Northmen drop to the ground, staring up at him]
Tyrion Lannister
[helps Jon back to his feet] I'd say you get used to them... but, you never really do. Come. Their mother is waiting for you.
[Daenerys has learned of the fall of Highgarden and the death of Olenna Tyrell from Tyrion and Varys]
You'll want to discuss this amongst yourselves. Perhaps...
You will stay! All my allies are gone. They've been taken from me while I've been sitting here on this island.
Tyrion Lannister
You still have the largest army.
Who won't be able to eat because Cersei has taken all the food from the Reach!
Tyrion Lannister
Call Grey Worm and the Unsullied back. We still have enough ships to ferry the Dothraki to the mainland. Commit to the blockade of King's Landing. We still have a plan, it's the right plan.
The right plan? Your strategy has lost us Dorne, the Iron Islands and the Reach!
Tyrion Lannister
If I have underestimated our enemies...
Our enemies? Your family, you mean. Perhaps you don't want to hurt them after all. [Daenerys sees her dragons flying over the sea] Enough with the clever plans. I have three large dragons. I am going to fly them to the Red Keep.
Tyrion Lannister
We've discussed this.
My enemies are in the Red Keep! What kind of queen am I if I'm not willing to risk my life to fight them?
Tyrion Lannister
A smart one.
[Daenerys turns to Jon]
What do you think I should do?
I would never presume to...
I'm at war. I'm losing. What do you think I should do?
I never thought that dragons would exist again. No one did. The people who follow you know that you made something impossible happen. Maybe that helps them believe that you can make other impossible things happen. Build a different world from the shit one they've always known. But if you use them to melt castles and burn cities, you're not different...you're just more of the same.
[to Lannister and Tarly soldiers] I know what Cersei has told you: that I have come to destroy your cities, burn down your homes, murder you and orphan your children. That's Cersei Lannister, not me. I'm not here to murder, and all I want to destroy is the wheel that has rolled over everyone both rich and poor, to the benefit of no-one but the Cersei Lannisters of the world. I offer you a choice - bend the knee and join me. Together we will leave the world a better place than we found it. Or refuse...and die.
[Some kneel in submission. Drogon roars, and more men follow, leaving only a handful of others still standing.]
[Randyll approaches Daenerys]
Tyrion Lannister
My sister. She wasn't your queen until recently though, was she? When she murdered your rightful queen and destroyed House Tyrell for all time. So it appears your allegiances are somewhat flexible.
There are no easy choices in war. Say what you will about your sister, she was born in Westeros. She's lived here all her life. You, on the other hand...you murdered your own father, then chose to support a foreign invader, one with no ties to this land. With an army of savages at her back.
You will not trade your honor for your life. I respect that.
Tyrion Lannister
Perhaps he could take the black, Your Grace. Whatever else he is, he is a true soldier; he'll be invaluable at the Wall.
You cannot send me to the Wall. You are not my queen.
DTDickon Tarly
You will have to kill me too.
Step back and shut your mouth!
DTDickon Tarly
I'm Dickon Tarly, son of Randyll Tarly.
Tyrion Lannister
You are the future of your house! This war has already wiped one great house from the world. Don't let it happen again, bend the knee!
DTDickon Tarly
I will not.
Tyrion Lannister
Your Grace. Nothing scrubs bold notions from a man's head like a few weeks in a dark cell.
I meant what I said. I'm not here to put them in chains. If that becomes an option, many will take it. I gave them a choice, they made it.
Tyrion Lannister
Your Grace, you start beheading entire families...
I'm not beheading anyone.
[Tyrion follows her gaze to Drogon]
Tyrion Lannister
Your Grace!
Lord Randyll Tarly. Dickon Tarly. I, Daenerys Targaryen, first of my name, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons, sentence you to die. Dracarys.
[Drogon incinerates them, leaving behind nothing but two small piles of smoldering armor and flesh. All the remaining prisoners kneel.]
[Tyrion and Varys talk over the battle's aftermath at Dragonstone]
Tyrion Lannister
All rulers demand people bend the knee; it's why they're rulers. She gave Tarly a choice. A man who had taken up arms against her. What else could she do?
Not burn him alive alongside his son?
Tyrion Lannister
I am her Hand, not her head. I can't make her decisions for her.
That's what I used to tell myself about her father. I found the traitors, but I wasn't the one burning them alive. I was only a purveyor of information. It's what I told myself when I watched them beg for mercy. "I'm not the one doing it". And the pitch of their screams rose higher..."I'm not the one doing it". When their hair caught fire and the smell of their burning flesh filled the throne room, "I'm not the one doing it".
Tyrion Lannister
Daenerys is not her father.
And she never will be...with the right counsel. You need to find a way to make her listen.
I thought Arya was dead. I thought Bran was dead.
I'm happy for you. You don't look happy.
Bran saw the Night King and his army marching towards Eastwatch. If they make it past the Wall...
The Wall has kept them out for thousands of years, presumably.
You said you don't have enough men.
We'll fight with the men we have, unless you'll join us.
And give the country to Cersei? As soon as I march away, she marches in.
Tyrion Lannister
Perhaps not. Cersei thinks the army of the dead is nothing but a story, made up by wet nurses to frighten children. What if we prove her wrong?
I don't think she'll come see the dead at my invitation!
Tyrion Lannister
So bring the dead to her.
I thought that was what we were trying to avoid.
Tyrion Lannister
We don't have to bring the whole army; only one soldier.
The first wight I ever saw was brought back into Castle Black from beyond the Wall.
Tyrion Lannister
Bring one of these things down to King's Landing and show her the truth.
Anything you bring back will be useless unless Cersei grants us an audience and is somehow convinced not to murder us the moment we set foot in the capital!
Tyrion Lannister
The only person she listens to is Jaime. He might listen to me.
And how would you get into King's Landing? [everyone looks at Davos]
I can smuggle you in, but if the Gold Cloaks were to recognise you, I'm warning you, I'm not a fighter.
Well, it'll all be for nothing if we don't have one of these dead men.
Fair point. How do you propose to find one?
With the Queen's permission, I'll go north and take one. [Daenerys looks round at him] You asked me to find a cure so I could serve you. Allow me to serve you.
The Free Folk'll help us. They know the real north better than anyone.
They won't follow Ser Jorah.
You can't lead a raid beyond the Wall! You're not in the Night's Watch anymore; you're King in the North!
I'm the only one here who's fought them. I'm the only one here who knows them.
I haven't given you permission to leave.
With respect, Your Grace, I don't need your permission: I am a King! Now I came here, knowing that you could have your men behead me or your dragons burn me alive. I put my trust in you, a stranger, because I knew it was the best chance for my people—for all our people. Now I'm asking you to trust in a stranger, because it's our best chance.
Tyrion Lannister
We are a group of people who do not like each other, as this demonstration has shown. We have suffered at each other's hands. We've lost people we love at each other's hands. If all we wanted was more of the same, there would be no need for this gathering. We are entirely capable of waging war with each other without meeting face to face.
So instead we should settle our differences and live together in harmony for the rest of our days?
Tyrion Lannister
We all know that will never happen.
This isn't about living in harmony; it's just about living. The same thing is coming for all of us; a general you can't negotiate with, an army that doesn't leave corpses behind on the battlefield. Lord Tyrion tells me a million people live in this city...they're about to become a million more soldiers in the army of the dead.
I imagine for most of them, that would be an improvement.
This is serious! I wouldn't be here if it weren't.
I don't think it's serious at all. I think it's another bad joke. If my brother Jaime has informed me correctly, you're asking for a truce?
"That's all?" Pull back my armies and stand down while you go on your monster hunt? Or while you solidify and expand your position? Hard to know which it is with my armies pulled back until you return and march on my capital with four times the men!
Your capital will be safe until the Northern threat is dealt with. You have my word.
The word of a would-be usurper!
Tyrion Lannister
There is no conversation that will erase the last fifty years. We have something to show you.
[A wight is released from a crate and it charges forward. Sandor Clegane pulls it back before it can reach Cersei, and when it turns to attack him, he severs its legs and one of its arms. Jon sets the arm alight]
We can destroy them by burning them, and we can destroy them with dragonglass. [Jon draws a dragonglass dagger and stabs the wight in the heart, killing it] If we don't win this fight, then that is the fate of every person in the world! There is only one war that matters. The Great War...and it is here!
[Tyrion, Varys and Davos observe more Northerners arriving at Winterfell]
Tyrion Lannister
One of the better sigils. Beats an onion, anyway.
Can't argue with that. [they walk away] Not so long ago, the Starks and the Karstarks were slaughtering each other on the battlefield. Jon Snow brought peace to their Houses-
Tyrion Lannister
And our Queen is grateful.
Her gratitude is lovely, but that's not my point. The Northmen are loyal to Jon Snow, not to her. They don't know her. The Free Folk don't know her. I've been up here a while, and I'm telling you, they're stubborn as goats. You want their loyalty? You have to earn it.
Tyrion Lannister
I sense that you're leading to a proposal.
A proposal is what I'm proposing. On the off-chance that we survive the Night King...what if the Seven Kingdoms, for once in their whole shit history, were ruled by a just woman, and an honorable man?
[Tyrion and Varys follow his gaze to Jon and Daenerys, who are talking together arm-in-arm.]
Tyrion Lannister
They do make a handsome couple.
You overestimate our influence. Jon and Daenerys don't want to listen to lonely old men.
Tyrion Lannister
I'm not that old. [glances at Davos] Well, I'm not as old as him. [Davos smirks] Our Queen respects the wisdom of age.
Of course she does. Respect is how the young keep us at a distance, so we don't remind them of an unpleasant truth.
Tyrion Lannister
What is that?
When I was a child, my brother would tell me a bedtime story about the man who murdered our father. Who stabbed him in the back and cut his throat. Who sat down on the Iron Throne and watched as his blood poured onto the floor. He told me other stories as well. About all the things we would do to that man, once we took back the Seven Kingdoms and had him in our grasp. Your sister pledged to send her army north.
I don't see an army. I see one man with one hand. It appears your sister lied to me.
She lied to me as well. She never had any intention of sending her army north. She has Euron Greyjoy's fleet and 20,000 fresh troops. The Golden Company from Essos. Bought and paid for. Even if we defeat the dead, she'll have more than enough to destroy the survivors.
I promised to fight for the living. I intend to keep that promise.
Tyrion Lannister
Your Grace, I know my brother...
Like you knew your sister?
Tyrion Lannister
He came here alone, knowing full well how he'd be received. Why would he do that, if he weren't telling the truth?
Perhaps he trusts his little brother to defend him. Right up to the moment he slits my throat.
You're right, we can't trust him. He attacked my father in the streets, he tried to destroy my House and my family the same as he did yours.
Do you want me to apologize? I won't. We were at war! Everything I did, I did for my House and my family. I'd do it all again!
"The things we do for love."
So why have you abandoned your House and your family now?
Because this goes beyond loyalty. This is about survival.
You don't know me well, Your Grace, but I know Ser Jaime. He is a man of honor. I was his captor once, but when we were both taken prisoner and the men holding us tried to force themselves on me, Ser Jaime defended me. And lost his hand because of it. [addressing Sansa] Without him, my lady, you would not be alive. He armed me, armoured me and sent me to find you and bring you home, because he'd sworn an oath to your mother.
You would fight beside him?
I trust you with my life. If you trust him with yours, we should let him stay.
What does the Warden of the North say about it?
We need every man we can get.
[The defenders of Winterfell lay out their battleplans]
They're coming. We have dragonglass, and we have Valyrian steel...but there are too many of them, far too many. Our enemy doesn't tire, doesn't stop, doesn't feel. We can't beat them in a straight fight.
The Night King made them all, they follow his command. If he falls...getting to him may be our best chance.
If that's true, he'll never expose himself.
Yes, he will. He'll come for me. He's tried many times before, with many three-eyed ravens.
An endless night. He wants to erase this world, and I am its memory.
That's what death is, isn't it? Forgetting, being forgotten. If we forget where we've been and what we've done, we're not men anymore, just animals. [to Bran] Your memories don't come from books. Your stories aren't just stories. If I wanted to erase the world of Men, I'd start with you.
Tyrion Lannister
How will he find you?
His mark is on me. [Bran shows the claw marks the Night King left on his arm] He always knows where I am.
We'll put you in the crypt where it's safest.
No. We need to lure him into the open before his army destroys us all. I'll wait for him in the godswood.
You want us to use you as bait?!
We're not leaving you alone out there!
He won't be. I'll stay with him, with the Ironborn. [to Bran] I took this castle from you once. Let me defend you now.
We'll hold off the rest of them, for as long as we can.
Tyrion Lannister
When the time comes, Ser Davos and I will be on the walls to give you the signal to light the trench.
Ser Davos is perfectly capable of waving a torch on his own. You'll be in the crypt.
Tyrion Lannister
Your Grace, I have fought before, I can do it again, alongside the men and women risking their lives-!
There are thousands of them and only one of you. You can't fight as well as them, but you can think better than any of them. You're here because of your mind; if we survive, I'll need it.
The dragons should give us an edge in the field-
If they're in the field, they're not protecting Bran. We need to be near him; not too near or the Night King won't come, but close enough to pursue him when he does.
Dragon fire will stop him?
I don't know. No one's ever tried.
Tyrion Lannister
It's strange, isn't it? Almost everyone here has fought the Starks, at one time or another... and here we are in their castle, ready to defend it. Together.
At least we'll die with honor.
Tyrion Lannister
I think we might live. [everyone snickers, including him] I, I do! How many battles have we survived, between us? Ser Davos Seaworth, survivor of both the Blackwater and the Battle of the Bastards.
All without a shred of combat ability.
Tyrion Lannister
Ser Jaime Lannister, fabled hero of the Siege of Pyke-
Fabled loser of the Battle of Whispering Wood.
Tyrion Lannister
Hear, hear! Ser Brienne of Tarth, defeated the Hound. Pardon me, Lady Brienne.
She's not a "Ser?" You're not a knight?
I don't even want to be a knight.
I'm no King. But, if I were... I'd knight you ten times over.
You don't need a King. Any knight can make another knight. [sets down his cup, walks around their chairs and draws his sword] I'll prove it. Kneel, Lady Brienne. [Brienne stares at him, then scoffs] Do you want to be a knight, or not? Kneel.
[Brienne looks first at Podrick, then at Jaime, who both nod to her; she comes over and kneels. Davos, Tormund, Tyrion and Podrick all turn around to watch]
[resting his sword on each of her shoulders, in turn] In the name of the Warrior, I charge you to be brave. In the name of the Father, I charge you to be just. In the name of the Mother, I charge you to defend the innocent. [lowers his sword] Arise, Brienne of Tarth... a knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
[As Brienne stands, smiling, Tormund begins applauding, followed by the others]
Tyrion Lannister
[raising his cup] Ser Brienne of Tarth! Knight of the Seven Kingdoms!
At least we're already in a crypt.
Tyrion Lannister
If we were up there, we might see something everyone else is missing. Something that makes a difference. [Varys scoffs] What? Remember the Battle of the Blackwater? I brought us through the Mud-Gate.
And got your face cut in half-
Tyrion Lannister
And it made a difference. If I was out there, right now-
You'd die. [Tyrion turns toward her] There's nothing you can do.
Tyrion Lannister
You might be surprised at the lengths I'd go to avoid joining the Army of the Dead. I can think of no organization less suited to my talents.
Witty remarks won't make a difference. That's why we're down here; none of us can do anything. It's the truth. It's the most heroic thing we can do, now: look the truth in the face.
Tyrion Lannister
...Maybe we should've stayed married.
[smiles] You were the best of them.
Tyrion Lannister
What a ...terrifying thought!
[smiles briefly] It wouldn't work between us.
Tyrion Lannister
Why not?
The Dragon Queen. Your divided loyalties would become a problem.
[sarcastically] Yes, without the Dragon Queen there'd be no problem at all. We'd all be dead already.
[on the Unsullied] Half are gone.
And the Golden Company has arrived in King's Landing, courtesy of the Greyjoy Fleet. The balance has become... distressingly even.
When the people find out what we have done for them, how we saved them-
Cersei will make sure they don't believe it. We will hit her hard. We will rip her out, root and stem.
Tyrion Lannister
The objective here is to remove Cersei, without destroying King's Landing.
Thankfully, she's losing allies by the day. Yara Greyjoy has retaken the Iron Islands in her Queen's name. The new Prince of Dorne pledges his support.
No matter how many Lords turn against her, as long as she sits on the Iron Throne, she can call herself Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. We need the capital.
Tyrion Lannister
I watched the people of King's Landing rebel against their King when they were hungry, and that was before winter began. Give them the opportunity, and they will cast Cersei aside.
We'll surround the city. If the Iron Fleet tries to ferry in more food, the dragons will destroy them. If the Lannisters and the Golden Company attack, we'll defeat them in the field.
Tyrion Lannister
Once the people see that Cersei is our only enemy, her reign is over.
The men we have left are exhausted. Many of them are wounded. They'll fight better if they have time to rest and recuperate.
I can't say for certain, not without talking to the officers.
I came north to fight alongside you, at great cost to my armies and myself. Now that the time has come to reciprocate, you want to postpone.
It's not just our people, it's yours! You want to throw them into a war they're not ready to fight?
The longer I leave my enemies alone, the stronger they become.
[firmly] The Northern forces will honor their promises, and their allegiance to the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. What you command, we will obey.
Tyrion Lannister
So. If all are in agreement... Jon and Ser Davos will ride down the Kingsroad with the Northern troops and the bulk of the remaining Dothraki and Unsullied. A smaller group of us will ride to White Harbor, and sail from there to Dragonstone, with our Queen and her dragons accompanying us from above. Ser Jaime has chosen to remain here, as a quest of the Lady of Winterfell.
[locking eyes with Sansa] We have won the Great War. Now, we will win the last war. In all Seven Kingdoms, men will live without fear and cruelty... under their rightful Queen.
Tyrion Lannister
Think of the past twenty years. The war, the murder, the misery...all of it because Robert Baratheon loved someone who didn't love him back.
Tyrion Lannister
Including us? Eight.
Then it's not a secret anymore. It's information. If a handful of people know now, hundreds will soon, and then what happens?
Tyrion Lannister
She loses the North. She loses the Vale, Sansa will make sure of that.
[nods] It's worse than that. He has the better claim to the throne.
Tyrion Lannister
He doesn't want the throne.
I'm not sure it matters what he wants The fact is people are drawn to him; wildlings, northmen. He's a war hero.
Tyrion Lannister
He loves our queen...and she loves him. If we marry them, they could rule together-
Tyrion Lannister
That never stopped a Targaryen before.
No, but Jon grew up in Winterfell. Is marrying your aunt common in the north? You know our queen better than I do. Do you think she wants to share the throne? She doesn't like to have her authority questioned-
Tyrion Lannister
Something she has in common with every monarch who ever lived.
I worry about her state of mind.
Tyrion Lannister
We're advisors to the queen. Worrying about her state of mind is our job. We still have to take King's Landing. Maybe Cersei will win and kills us all. That would solve all our problems.
Game of Thrones · 356 quotes
