I have served tyrants most of my life. They all talk about destiny.
Tyrion LannisterShe's a girl who walked into a fire with three stones and walked out with three dragons. How could she not believe in destiny?
Perhaps that's the problem. Her life has convinced her that she was sent here to save us all.
Tyrion Lannister
And how do you know she wasn't?
[shrugs] Then, there's the problem of Jon Snow. Perhaps, it's actually a solution. You know them both. Tell me, who do you think would make a better ruler?
Tyrion Lannister
He doesn't want the throne. That's why he bent the knee.
Have you considered the best ruler might be someone who doesn't want to rule?
Tyrion Lannister
We're discussing treason.
Don't pretend you haven't thought about it.
Tyrion Lannister
Of course I've thought about it; thoughts aren't treason!
He's temperate, and measured. He's a man. [Tyrion winces] Which makes him more appealing to the Lords of Westeros, whose support we are going to need.
Tyrion Lannister
Joffrey was a man. I don't think a cock is a true qualification, as I'm sure you'd agree.
And, he's the heir to the throne. Yes, because he's a man; cocks are important, I'm afraid.
Tyrion Lannister
What about my earlier proposal? They could rule together as King and Queen.
She's too strong for him. She'd bend him to her will, as she already has.
Tyrion Lannister
He could temper her worst impulses.
As you have? [pause] You're drinking quite a lot. A Targaryen father and a Stark mother. Jon's the one man alive who might actually be able to keep the North in the Seven Kingdoms.
Tyrion Lannister
How many Kings and Queens have you served? Five? Six? I've lost count.
You've always known my reasons.
Tyrion Lannister
At a certain point, you choose a person you believe in, and you fight for that person.
Even if you know it's a mistake?
Tyrion Lannister
I believe in our Queen. She'll make the right choice. With the help of her loyal advisors.
You know where my loyalty stands. You know I will never betray the Realm.
Tyrion Lannister
What is the "Realm?!" A vast continent, home to millions of people, most of whom don't care who sits on the Iron Throne!
Millions of people, many of whom will die if the wrong person sits on that throne! We don't know their names, but they're just as real as you and I. They deserve to live. They deserve food for their children. [pause] I will act in their interest, no matter the personal cost.
Tyrion Lannister
So what happens to her? [Varys stares at him grimly, Tyrion shakes his head] Please. Don't.
I've spoken as honestly as I can. Each of us has a choice to make. I pray we choose wisely.
Tyrion Lannister
The people who live there, they're not your enemies. They're innocents, like the ones you liberated in Meereen!
In Meereen, the slaves turned on the Masters and liberated the city themselves the moment I arrived.
Tyrion Lannister
They're afraid! Anyone who resists Cersei will see his family butchered! You can't expect them to be heroes. They're hostages.
They are. In a tyrant's grip. Whose fault is that? Mine?
Tyrion Lannister
What does it matter whose fault it is?! Thousands of children will die if the city burns!
Your sister knows how to use her enemies' weaknesses against them. That's what she thinks our mercy is. Weakness.
Tyrion Lannister
I beg you, my Queen.
But she's wrong. Mercy is our strength. Our mercy towards future generations, who will never again be held hostage by a tyrant. [to Grey Worm] Ready the Unsullied. Tonight you sail for King's Landing to join the Northern armies.
Tyrion Lannister
Cersei's followers will abandon her, if they know the war is lost. Give them that chance. If the city surrenders, they will ring the bells and raise the gates. Please, if you hear them ringing the bells, call off the attack.
[after a pause, Dany nods to Grey Worm]
Wait for me outside the city. You'll know when it's time.
[Grey Worm nods and leaves. After a pause, Tyrion bows and starts to leave]
Your brother was stopped, trying to get through our lines. [Tyrion turns around] It seems he hasn't abandoned your sister, after all. The next time you fail me... will be the last time you fail me.
Tyrion Lannister
How did they find you? [Jaime raises his gilded hand] Did you consider taking it off?
Cersei once called me "the stupidest Lannister".
Tyrion Lannister
And you're going back with her, to die with her.
You've underestimated her before.
Tyrion Lannister
She's going to die. Unless you can convince her to change her course of action.
Difficult to do from here. [Tyrion holds up a key, Jaime exhales sharply] When have I ever been able to convince Cersei of anything?
Tyrion Lannister
Try. If not for yourself, if not for her... then for every one of the million people in that city, innocent or otherwise.
To be honest, I never really much cared for them. Innocent or otherwise.
Tyrion Lannister
You do care for one innocent. I know you do. And so does Cersei. She has a reason now.
[shakes his head] The child is the reason she'll never give an inch. All the worst things she's ever done, she's done for her children. It's not impossible that she'll win.
Tyrion Lannister
She won't.
Her enemies' forces have been depleted, as she said they would be. Two of the three dragons are dead. [shrugs] She's evened the odds.
Tyrion Lannister
The city will fall tomorrow.
She has the Lannister army, she has the Golden Company.
Tyrion Lannister
I defended this city last time it was attacked, I know it better than anyone! It will fall tomorrow!
Then I suppose I'll die tomorrow, if not before.
Tyrion Lannister
Why? [sits down in front of Jaime] Escape. The two of you, together. Remember where we met, where they keep the dragon skulls, beneath the Red Keep? [Jaime nods] Take her down there. Keep following the staircases down, down as far as they'll go. You'll come out onto a beach, at the foot of the Keep. A dinghy will be waiting for you. Sail out of the bay. If the winds are kind, you'll make it to Pentos. Start a new life.
Sail right past the Iron Fleet and into a new life? Sounds a lot less likely than Cersei winning this war.
Tyrion Lannister
There won't be an Iron Fleet for much longer! Do it! If you don't, you'll never see Cersei again. [pause] Swear to me.
[Tyrion begins unlocking Jaime's chains]
Tyrion Lannister
If it works, give the order to ring all the bells in King's Landing and open the gates. That will be our signal that the city has surrendered.
[He pulls his collar off]
Tyrion Lannister
I never thought I'd get to repay the favor. Remember, ring the bells and open the gates.
Your Queen will execute you for this.
Tyrion Lannister
If Daenerys can make it to the throne without wading through a river of blood, maybe she'll show mercy to the person who made that possible. [Jaime looks at him skeptically] Tens of thousands of innocent lives... one not particularly innocent dwarf. It seems like a fair trade. [pause] If it weren't for you, I never would've survived my childhood.
Tyrion Lannister
[shakes his head] You were the only one... who didn't treat me like a monster. [tearfully] You were all I had.
[The brothers embrace]
[Daenerys addresses her army before the ruins of the Red Keep]
[in Dothraki] Blood of my blood! You kept all your promises to me. You killed my enemies in their iron suits. You tore down their stone houses. You gave me the Seven Kingdoms! [the Dothraki cheer and Drogon roars. Daenerys turns to Grey Worm, addressing him in High Valyrian] You have walked beside me since the Plaza of Pride. You are the bravest of men, the most loyal of soldiers. I name you commander of all my forces, the Queen's Master of War! [the Unsullied stamp their spears in approval, while Grey Worm nods in gratitude] Unsullied. All of you were torn from your mothers' arms and made into slaves. Now...you are liberators! You have freed the people of King's Landing from the grip of a tyrant! But the war is not over. We will not lay down our spears until we have liberated all the people of the world! From Winterfell to Dorne, from Lannisport to Qarth, from the Summer Isles to the Jade Sea! Men, women and children have suffered too long beneath the wheel. Will you break the wheel with me?! [her armies cheer in affirmation. As she watches, Tyrion steps forward to stand beside her. She doesn't look at him] You freed your brother. You committed treason.
Tyrion Lannister
[disgusted] I freed my brother. And you slaughtered a city. [Tyrion tears off his Hand of the Queen brooch and throws it away]
Tyrion Lannister
What unites people? Armies? Gold? Flags? Stories. There's nothing more powerful than a good story. Nothing can stop it. No enemy can defeat it. And who has a better story than Bran the Broken? The boy who fell from a high tower and lived. He knew he'd never walk again, so he learned to fly. He crossed beyond the Wall, a crippled boy, and became the Three-Eyed Raven. He is our memory, the keeper of all our stories. The wars, weddings, births, massacres, famines. Our triumphs, our defeats, our past. Who better to lead us into the future?
Bran has no interest in ruling and he can't father children.
Tyrion Lannister
Good. Sons of kings can be cruel and stupid, as you well know. His will never torment us. [Looks to Grey Worm] That is the wheel our queen wanted to break. From now on, rulers will not be born. They will be chosen on this spot by the lords and ladies of Westeros to serve the realm.
[Looks to Bran again]
Tyrion Lannister
I know you don't want it. I know you don't care about power. But I ask you now. If we choose you, will you wear the crown? Will you lead the Seven Kingdoms to the best of your abilities from this day until your last day?
Why do you think I came all this way?
Tyrion Lannister
To Brandon of House Stark...I say aye.
Game of Thrones · 356 quotes
