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History Characters / ASongOfIceAndFireTywinLannister

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* CovertPervert: Possibly the greatest example in the series. [[spoiler: Tywin expresses distain at Tyrion for having sex with whores, but secretly has sex with whores himself. In fact, Tywin slept with Tyrion's former mistress! It's also implied that Tywin build a tunnel in the Tower of the Hand that would allow him sneak off to a brothel without being seen]].

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* CovertPervert: Possibly the greatest example in the series. [[spoiler: Tywin expresses distain at Tyrion for having sex with whores, but secretly has sex with whores himself. In fact, Tywin slept with Tyrion's former mistress! It's also implied that Tywin build built a tunnel in the Tower of the Hand that would allow him sneak off to a brothel without being seen]].



** The savage murders of Elia Martell and her children have earned the mortal hatred of House Martell, who has been plottting the Lannisters' downfall ever since, not too mention any other Targaryen loyalists in hiding.

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** The savage murders of Elia Martell and her children have earned the mortal hatred of House Martell, who has been plottting the Lannisters' downfall ever since, not too to mention any other Targaryen loyalists in hiding.
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* SlaveToPR: All of Tywin's actions, his ambition, cruelty and obsession with control stem from his obsession with the image and reputation of House Lannister, as well as his own personal image, as he cannot fathom his house not being treated like royalty, respected and feared by all. He's so insecure and fixated on his and his family's image that he cannot stand the slighest slight toward him and his house, or failure at showing off his power and wealth, which is the reason why he was so bitter about House Lannister not having a Valyrian Steel sword anymore, and that he fears and hates even the slighest simple laugh at his expense

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* SlaveToPR: All of Tywin's actions, his ambition, cruelty and obsession with control stem from his obsession with the image and reputation of House Lannister, as well as his own personal image, as he cannot fathom his house not being treated like royalty, respected and feared by all.all and him not being treated as the mighty and feared lord and stateman he thinks he is. He's so insecure and fixated on his and his family's image that he cannot stand the slighest slight toward him and his house, or failure at showing off his power and wealth, which is the reason why he was so bitter about House Lannister not having a Valyrian Steel sword anymore, and that he fears and hates even the slighest simple laugh at his expense
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* SlaveToPR: All of Tywin's actions, his ambition, cruelty and obsession with control stem from his obsession with the image and reputation of House Lannister, as well as his own personal image, as he cannot fathom his house not being treated like royalty, respected and feared by all. He's so insecure and fixated on his and his family's image that he cannot stand the slighest slight toward him and his house, or failure at showing off his power and wealth, which is the reason why he was so bitter about House Lannister not having a Valyrian Steel sword anymore, and that he fears and hates even the slighest simple laugh at his expense
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** He's not above showing off his and House Lannister's power and wealth in ridiculously vain and over-the-top ways, attending the victory ceremony inside the Red Keep after the Battle of the Blackwater riding a white horse (said horse ends up shitting during the ceremony) or having scabbards adorned with gold and rubies made for the Valyrian Steel swords made of the stolen Ice he ordered, and ordering a ridiculous amount of meals for Joffrey and Margaery's royal wedding. This tendency says a lot about how proud, vain and also insecure he is over his house and personal's prestige and image.
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House Lannister isn't broke and is still incredibly wealthy, as the mines of Casterly Rock having run out of gold is an invention of the show. It's the Iron Throne that has financial troubles, not Casterly Rock.


* PaperTiger: Downplayed. Tywin really is very ruthless and cunning but he's not the infallible genius he wants to appear to his enemies. He's a good military commander but not as good as the much younger Robb Stark and only "wins" by resorting to a reprehensible violation of Westerosi decorum that doesn't end the Northern Rebellion. He's also far more of an opportunist than he wants to seem as everyone knows he simply waited for Robert to emerge victorious, even if they are too afraid to treat him with the open contempt they do Walder Frey. He also relies on his family's enormous wealth despite the fact that they are broke and it will only be a matter of time before everyone knows it. Even if Tywin hadn't been murdered, it's unlikely he'd have been able to do much to stop House Lannister's fall. In short, Tywin is genuinely very formidable but he's not the unstoppable force of nature he wants everyone to believe and it doesn't take long for the cracks to appear in his facade even before his death.

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* PaperTiger: Downplayed. Tywin really is very ruthless and cunning but he's not the infallible genius he wants to appear to his enemies. He's a good military commander but not as good as the much younger Robb Stark and only "wins" by resorting to a reprehensible violation of Westerosi decorum that doesn't end the Northern Rebellion. He's also far more of an opportunist than he wants to seem as everyone knows he simply waited for Robert to emerge victorious, even if they are too afraid to treat him with the open contempt they do Walder Frey. He also relies on his family's enormous wealth despite the fact that they are broke and it will only be a matter of time before everyone knows it. Even if Tywin hadn't been murdered, it's unlikely he'd have been able to do much to stop House Lannister's fall. In short, Tywin is genuinely very formidable but he's not the unstoppable force of nature he wants everyone to believe and it doesn't take long for the cracks to appear in his facade even before his death.
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* MachiavelliWasWrong: Tywin is a very capable leader but he makes the crucial mistake Machiavelli always warned about which is being ''hated'' rather than simply feared. Tywin's ego means that he couldn't care less if he is and is blind to the issues this creates later such as the Lannister's gaining an enemies list a mile long who he knows would jump at the chance to take them out as soon as they learn the Lannister's are broke, the increasing hatred of the smallfolk that gives rise to the Faith Militant and the inevitable backlash from the Red Wedding that he refuses to acknowledge, seeing it as a decisive and absolute victory. This all comes back to hurt House Lannister as they are stuck with the fallout of Tywin's leadership style after he dies.
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* BenevolentBoss: To his soldiers, at least; out of PragmaticVillainy."A Lannister always pays his debts", afterall. Unfortunately, this benevolence is extended to monsters like Amory Lorch and Gregor Clegane, who he allows to rape and kill innocents with no consequence, because their service is valuable to him.

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* BenevolentBoss: To his soldiers, at least; out of PragmaticVillainy. "A Lannister always pays his debts", afterall. Unfortunately, this benevolence is extended to monsters like Amory Lorch and Gregor Clegane, who he allows to rape and kill innocents with no consequence, because their service is valuable to him.

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** Likewise, his image as a powerful, effective military commander and politician, while not necessarily unearned, is largely engineered by his acumen for image politics and is more or less an exaggeration of whatever skills he truly possesses. Throughout the War of the Five Kings, Robb Stark is always one step ahead of him; the [[spoiler: Red Wedding]], one of his "greatest accomplishments" happened largely as a result of luck and a combination of events rather than strategic skill on his part. His image as a humorless patriarch with a distaste for whores [[spoiler:is also a lie, born out of a desire to maintain the reputation of the House]]. He's also not as smart as he wants himself to be perceived as; [[spoiler:he dies because he is unable to conceive the idea that so cruelly dismissing his son's first wife as just a whore (even when Jaime had outright told Tyrion ''she wasn't'') could possibly get him killed]].

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** Likewise, his image as a powerful, effective military commander and politician, while not necessarily unearned, is largely engineered by his acumen for image politics and is more or less an exaggeration of whatever skills he truly possesses. Throughout the War of the Five Kings, Robb Stark is always one step ahead of him; the [[spoiler: Red Wedding]], one of his "greatest accomplishments" happened largely as a result of luck and a combination of events rather than strategic skill on his part.part and even then, it just causes greater problems that Twyin isn't around to try and prevent. His image as a humorless patriarch with a distaste for whores [[spoiler:is also a lie, born out of a desire to maintain the reputation of the House]]. He's also not as smart as he wants himself to be perceived as; [[spoiler:he dies because he is unable to conceive the idea that so cruelly dismissing his son's first wife as just a whore (even when Jaime had outright told Tyrion ''she wasn't'') could possibly get him killed]].



* DirtyCoward: Downplayed in that whilst he was a FrontlineGeneral when putting down the Reyne-Tarbeck rebellion, his decision to sit out Robert's rebellion only to sack king's landing when the war was all but decided is this. He pulled a Walder Frey.

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* DirtyCoward: Downplayed in that whilst he was a FrontlineGeneral when putting down the Reyne-Tarbeck rebellion, his decision to sit out Robert's rebellion only to sack king's landing when the war was all but decided is this. He pulled a Walder Frey.Frey even if no one is willing to say it to his face.


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** While Tywin uses them and certainly loses no sleep over their worst actions, he isn't a sadist like The Mountain and even makes clear he finds men like him to be as reprehensible as everyone else.


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** '''Pride''': Tywin is obsessed with his image and will not tolerate any perceived insult to it and he utterly refuses to compromise with enemies even when it'd be far more pragmatic to do so. He won't entertain the notion of negotiating with Robb Stark, despite repeated losses and his family's increasingly dire financial situation, because that would mean the feared patriarch of the richest family in Westeros was forced to concede defeat to a boy and he won't be as feared as he'd like and he won't swallow his pride and make Tyrion his heir despite his considerable intellect and diplomatic skills because that would mean entrusting the son he's spent a lifetime hate with his precious family legacy.


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* PaperTiger: Downplayed. Tywin really is very ruthless and cunning but he's not the infallible genius he wants to appear to his enemies. He's a good military commander but not as good as the much younger Robb Stark and only "wins" by resorting to a reprehensible violation of Westerosi decorum that doesn't end the Northern Rebellion. He's also far more of an opportunist than he wants to seem as everyone knows he simply waited for Robert to emerge victorious, even if they are too afraid to treat him with the open contempt they do Walder Frey. He also relies on his family's enormous wealth despite the fact that they are broke and it will only be a matter of time before everyone knows it. Even if Tywin hadn't been murdered, it's unlikely he'd have been able to do much to stop House Lannister's fall. In short, Tywin is genuinely very formidable but he's not the unstoppable force of nature he wants everyone to believe and it doesn't take long for the cracks to appear in his facade even before his death.


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** Similarly, he has a serious issue conceding that he might have read anyone wrong or revising his initial judgements. He is often right to an extent but not as much as he thinks and ends up paying badly for his miscalculations.

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* ItsAllAboutMe: Tywin talks big game about the greater good of House Lannister but he really just means what best suits him as he sees the two as one and the same.



** While his disdain for Tyrion has been thoroughly established, he expresses annoyance at the fact that even when he gave him the opportunity, Tyrion opted to be contrarian to his instructions and ostensibly failed at the very task he had given him; meaning, the ''only one time'' that Tywin entrusted Tyrion to do something, ''he didn't do it''. Still, Tywin himself failed to acknowledge what Tyrion did accomplish while in office.
* JerkassToOne: While Tywin has no problem treating everyone around him as pawns, the fact that Tyrion's birth killed his mother means that he is the only person Tywin exhibits outright hatred towards.

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** While his disdain for Tyrion has been thoroughly established, he expresses annoyance at the fact that even when he gave him the opportunity, Tyrion opted to be contrarian to his instructions and ostensibly failed at the very task he had given him; meaning, the ''only one time'' that Tywin entrusted Tyrion to do something, ''he didn't do it''. Still, Tywin himself failed to acknowledge what Tyrion did accomplish while in office.
office and it's worth noting that what he expected, for Tyrion to reign Joffrey in and stop Cersei from making things worse, is a task even Tywin has struggled with.
* JerkassToOne: While Tywin has no problem treating everyone around him as pawns, pawns and barely conceals his disdain for them, the fact that Tyrion's birth killed his mother means that he is the only person Tywin exhibits outright hatred towards.



* TooCleverByHalf: [[InTheBlood His kids had to get it from somewhere, after all.]] It's less obvious with Tywin, because he's genuinely ''very good'' at playing the game of thrones, to the point where even his backup plans have backup plans. Nevertheless, his downfall comes from the one quarter he never expected: [[spoiler:His supposedly spineless, weak-willed dwarven disappointment of a son Tyrion]], who he assumes will once again be cowed into submission simply because that's how it's always played out in the past. [[spoiler:Except it doesn't this time, and Tyrion pulls the trigger]].

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* TooCleverByHalf: [[InTheBlood His kids had to get it from somewhere, after all.]] It's less obvious with Tywin, because he's genuinely ''very good'' at playing the game of thrones, to the point where even his backup plans have backup plans. Nevertheless, his downfall comes from the one quarter he never expected: [[spoiler:His supposedly spineless, weak-willed dwarven disappointment of a son Tyrion]], who he assumes will once again be cowed into submission simply because that's how it's always played out in the past. [[spoiler:Except it doesn't this time, and Tyrion pulls the trigger]]. Without Tywin around, House Lannister begins to fall apart as soon as his body is in the ground.



* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: While it isn't as pronounced in the novels as opposed to the series, Tywin seems to consider ''not killing Tyrion at birth'' and raising him as a recognized Lannister as a major sacrifice on his part, especially since [[MaternalDeathBlameTheChild Johanna died giving birth to the boy]]. He pointedly refuses to give Tyrion any support beyond what is necessary and bullies Tyrion for the 'crime' of existing.

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* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: While it isn't as pronounced in the novels as opposed to the series, Tywin seems to consider ''not killing Tyrion at birth'' and raising him as a recognized Lannister as a major sacrifice on his part, especially since [[MaternalDeathBlameTheChild Johanna died giving birth to the boy]]. He pointedly refuses to give Tyrion any support beyond what is necessary and bullies Tyrion for the 'crime' of existing.existing and is pissed at him for not sufficiently grateful to Tywin for not murdering him as a child.



* WickedPretentious: Tywin makes a big deal about maintaining regal composure in public, but he can stray into hypocrisy sometimes, like when he arranges for [[spoiler: his enemies to be killed over dinner, something that's the epitome of bad taste in Westeros; plus, despite calling it unfitting, he's apparently been seeing whores secretly for some time]].

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* WickedPretentious: Tywin makes a big deal about maintaining regal composure in public, but he can stray into hypocrisy sometimes, like when he arranges for [[spoiler: his enemies to be killed over dinner, something that's the epitome of bad taste disgraceful conduct in Westeros; plus, despite calling it unfitting, he's apparently been seeing whores secretly for some time]].
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->'''Jaime Lannister''': My father had a saying too. Never wound a foe when you can kill him. Dead men don't claim vengeance

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->'''Jaime Lannister''': My ->''My father had a saying too. Never wound a foe when you can kill him. Dead men don't claim vengeance
vengeance.''
-->-- '''Jaime Lannister'''

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* WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency: While it isn't as pronounced in the novels as opposed to the series, Tywin seems to consider ''not killing Tyrion at birth'' and raising him as a recognized Lannister as a major sacrifice on his part, especially since [[MaternalDeathBlameTheChild Johanna died giving birth to the boy]]. He pointedly refuses to give Tyrion any support beyond what is necessary and bullies Tyrion for the 'crime' of existing.



* WouldHurtAChild: Tywin will order the slaughter of men, women, and children alike as long as it benefits him. He certainly seemed to have no qualms over the murder of Rhaegar's children.
** Only Tyrion didn't inherit this quality from Tywin.

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* WouldHurtAChild: Tywin will order the slaughter of men, women, and children alike as long as it benefits him. He certainly seemed to have no qualms over the murder of Rhaegar's children.
** Only Tyrion didn't inherit
children. He also passed this quality from Tywin.on to his children, with the exception of [[WhiteSheep Tyrion]].
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* AppropriatedAppellation: Tywin is said to have flecks of gold in his shit because of his wealth. Tyrion knows that the man who came up with that joke is imprisoned in Casterly Rock's dungeon while Tywin commandeered his story.

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