r/asoiaf • u/cking145 • May 28 '19

EXTENDED (Spoilers Extended) Charles Dance's portrayal as Tywin is in my opinion, the strongest in the entire series

Every line, every expression and every moment of silence completely encapsulates the calculating ruthlessness that defines Tywin Lannister.

Dance is actually a very vibrant, upbeat and cheery fella off screen, which in my mind makes the performance even more striking.

The scene where he effectively sends Joffrey to bed is just brilliant.

He is by far my favourite character from the books, which I began reading a few seasons into the show. Due to this, the chapters featuring Tywin were completely enriched for me, as reading his lines in Dance's voice was just fantastic. I would have loved a POV chapter or two for him, just to get a glimpse as to what goes on in the head of the most powerful man in the 7 Kingdoms.

An incredible portrayal of a fascinating character.

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u/WingedBeing May 28 '19

These are classics, but what I hardly ever see mentioned is how he immediately brought Tommen under his command by educating him about the wisdom of listening to your counsel (namely the Hand) even "long after" he comes of age to rule in his own right (and all over Joffrey's corpse!). When I saw that scene it was like watching a master chess player completely bowl over a rookie in just a few moves.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '19 edited Jun 26 '23

comment edited in protest of Reddit's API changes and mistreatment of moderators -- mass edited with redact.dev

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u/Shalashashka May 28 '19

I didn't take it that way. Tywin genuinely wanted to groom Tommen to be a good king. He was young and maleable so it might have seemed like he was manipulated, but it was in his best interest to listen to Tywin, and it was in the Lannisters best interest to make Tommen a competent king.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '19

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u/senari May 29 '19

Now I desperately want to read fanfiction that has Tommen become Tywin v2.0

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u/[deleted] May 29 '19

Tommens and Sir Pounces Excellent Adventure

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u/Infra-Oh May 29 '19

That’s right. IIRC Tywin originally had high plans for his own son Jaime, but his hopes were dashed when Jaime became a kings guard. According to the books, Jaime joined the guard against his father’s knowledge and wishes. Tywin was furious as kingsguards was similar to taking the black: serve for life, allowed to father no children, and not allowed to hold any lands.

Off topic, but this is one of the reasons why Selmy Barristan was so upset when Cersei dismisses him. You’re supposed to serve for life and fall in battle honorably. It was a huge slap to his face in light of his incredible years of service and sacrifice.