Tyrion Lannister has one of the best stories in Game of Thrones, but it could’ve been pretty different based on George R.R. Martin’s original ideas. Tyrion is one of the characters to survive from the beginning to the very end of Game of Thrones. Few typified the show’s title better, as Tyrion’s journey took him from King’s Landing to Meereen and all the way back, serving as Hand of the King/Queen to no fewer than three different monarchs, and being a true lover of the game.

That much, at least, was true all along in Martin’s vision for the character. Even as far back as 1993, he described him as “playing the game of thrones,” and it continued right through to Game of Thrones’ ending, where Tyrion was the one to come up with the idea of Bran Stark becoming the new king. There’s a good reason he became a firm fan-favorite: he’s one of the funniest, smartest characters, and has several of Game of Thrones‘ best quotes. But that might not have been the case if plans hadn’t changed.

Tyrion’s Story In GRRM’s Original Plan Explained

What Happened & Why Martin Changed His Plans

Tyrion is a complicated character in Game of Thrones, but was even more of a one in Martin’s original story structure that he had planned for the A Song of Ice and Fire books. Back in 1993, he envisioned the saga being a trilogy:

The first book, A Game of Thrones, would focus on the Starks vs. the Lannisters.
The second, A Dance with Dragons, would be Daenerys Targaryen’s invasion of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
The third, The Winds of Winter, would be the fight against the White Walkers.

Most of Tyrion’s story from the plan comes from the first book, which was the most developed at that point. Tyrion was a key player for the Lannisters who, as in Game of Thrones season 1, were warring with the Starks. Joffrey became king, Ned was killed, but Tyrion was an influential part of proceedings, including the fight against Robb Stark, as Martin wrote:

“Robb will win several splendid victories, and maim Joffrey Baratheon on the battlefield, but in the end he will not be able to stand against Jaime and Tyrion Lannister and their allies . Robb Stark will die in battle, and Tyrion Lannister will besiege and burn Winterfell.”

Though him burning Winterfell down is a major departure from the Tyrion fans know and love, he did veer back towards the side of good. Eventually, he would go on to kill his nephew, Joffrey, because of the king’s brutality. He was also noted to have become close with both Sansa and Arya Stark while “growing more and more disenchanted” with the Lannisters. That itself would cause it’s own problems though, including the most surprising love triangle of the saga:

” Tyrion Lannister will continue to travel, to plot, and to play the game of thrones, finally removing his nephew Joffrey in disgust at the boy king’s brutality. Jaime Lannister will follow Joffrey on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, by the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession and blaming his brother Tyrion for the murders. Exiled, Tyrion will change sides, making common cause with the surviving Starks to bring his brother down, and falling helplessly in love with Arya Stark while he’s at it. His passion is, alas, unreciprocated, but no less intense for that, and it will lead to a deadly rivalry between Tyrion and Jon Snow.”

Yes, Tyrion and Jon Snow would be rivals… over the affections of Arya. It’s a wild twist that, obviously, didn’t make it into the books or TV show, and that’s almost certainly a good thing, even if Martin didn’t leave the incest behind completely. However, the author is not someone who actually plans too much in advance, preferring to see where the story takes him as he writes. The saga itself grew beyond three novels into five (with two more planned), and with it his original ideas developed, changed, or were left behind.

How Game Of Thrones Kept Parts Of Tyrion’s Original Story

The Finished Version Does Have Some Elements Of It

Tyrion of A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones doesn’t contain him destroying the home of the Stark family or falling in love with Arya, but otherwise a lot of the plot does loosely align with the character. Indeed, a few things were seemingly kept and adjusted, or at least were ideas Martin revisited later on:

Tyrion being disenchanted with his own family is a key part of his character throughout, especially his relationships with Tywin, Cersei, and Joffrey.
Tyrion is friendly with several of the Starks, and while he doesn’t fall in love with Arya, he does marry Sansa.
Tyrion didn’t kill Joffrey, but he was blamed for the king’s murder.
Tyrion fled into exile across the narrow sea, rather than being killed as punished for Joffrey’s death.

That the outline has a slightly darker version of Tyrion also fits with the books, if not Game of Thrones. In the novels, Tyrion is increasingly becoming a character consumed by his own hatred and desire for revenge upon his family, and his POV chapters, while fascinating, aren’t always pleasant. The show sanitized him quite a bit, presumably because he was such a popular character, and they didn’t want to turn audiences against him, but the roots of that darker Tyrion can be seen way back in Martin’s plans.