One of the most popular character of the Game of Thrones series is Tyrion Lannister as he uses his wit to get himself out of all sorts of predicaments. Currently, Tyrion is being setup to handle the politics of Meereen while Ser Jorah Mormont and Daario Naharis locate the missing Daenerys. For his troubles, Tyrion receives the help of his old buddy Varys and the seemingly oddball sidekicks of Greyworm and Missandei to aid him. All seems right in the world since it’s Tyrion who gets to play ruler once again, but this time without the conniving sister, idiot nephew, oppressive father and backstabbing court attempting to see him fail. Many of the cards seem to favor Tyrion, leaving a for once positive backdrop for him to do what he does best.
Of course, in the world of Game of Thrones, nothing is ever that simple and we can use history to figure out what Tyrion may do here. Although Tyrion may have the smarts, he also has his vices. Peter Dinklage himself admitted that given the opportunity of claiming the Iron Throne, Tyrion would probably fuck it all up in a day by throwing a huge party. Considering his drinking habits and the fact that he wished to transfer to the Summer Isles where people worshipped a goddess with many teets, Tyrion quite probably might attempt to convert Meereen into a party town.
The thing is that Tyrion has no one overseeing him outside of Varys in terms of providing ethical structure. Also, he might still be a bit lost after the slaying of his father. He might resort to drinking when things do not work out as he plans. Perhaps, he makes a few moves that proves successful and bolsters his confidence, which leads him to make critical mistakes. He might discard Daenarys as a lost cause after a small period if/when Jorah and Daario do not return.
Either way, the point at which we leave Tyrion off in season 5 is a lot of uncharted territory. The TV series completely has truncated off the stories of Aegon, Jon Connington and Quentyn Martell. There’s no mention of the Golden Company. But I’m hoping that the entire season isn’t a comic relief routine between Varys and Tyrion in failing to bring peace to Meereen.
I do think at some point Tyrion will learn about the other two dragons kept locked “safely” away. This is important as we have yet to find out the deeper thoughts Tyrion has with regards to dragons. In the books, it is known that Tyrion has long held dreams of dragons. Some people theorize that Tyrion isn’t Tywin’s son but another bastard like Jon Snow. More than that the theory goes that Tyrion may in fact be a Targaryen since Joanne Lannister possibly was raped by Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King himself. If this is the case, Tyrion not only would have a claim to the throne vs Daenerys, he may have some form of influence with dragons.
Tyrion might interact with the dragons and find that they treat him peacefully. I think if this happens, Varys will unveil Tyrion’s true heritage. The thing here is that Varys may have been urging Tyrion to seek out Daenerys not just to act as her consort, but to affirm that he has Targaryen blood and become part of the “three headed” dragon. Some of this partly hinted during Tyrion’s self-abnegation speech in episode 1 of season 5 where he claimed that he would never sit upon the Iron Throne.
From there, the city might be thrown into utter chaos, forcing Tyrion to try something outrageous (for him), which is to ride a dragon. When he breaks through with the two dragons, the city might be hushed in fear of what happened during Drogon’s assault. Realizing that he has a critical connection to Daenerys, Tyrion will go to find the missing princess.
Along the way, I think Tyrion will groom both Greyworm and Missandei as rulers over Meereen. It would suit both well since both were former slaves and would find camaraderie from the other former slaves (unlike Daenerys who still is just an outsider despite freeing the people to a degree). Maybe Tyrion will leave instructions to Greyworm to begin training an army as Tyrion theorizes that Daenerys will head to King’s Landing via Drogon (if she manages to escape the Dothraki).
Another thing we may find out from Varys is that Jon Snow is a critical piece of the puzzle. If the three headed dragon is meant to be Daenerys, Tyrion and Jon Snow, then Tyrion needs to reconnect to Jon and reveal the truth about his heritage. Doing this will connect Daenerys to Jon, whom she has not yet met in the series and provide motivation to finally travel north and perhaps witness either the destruction of The Wall or the plight of the White Walkers.
Either way, I see season 6 to be a huge season in terms of revealing larger pieces of the overall puzzle. Much of what may be contained in the season depends upon if the showrunners and HBO decide to hit more than 7 seasons. I’m kinda hoping that they stop at 7 just because of how long it takes each season to produce. Nonetheless, Tyrion always has big scenes that are game changers and I expect no less coming up.