Why Tywin Lannister is the BEST Villain in GoT

[@ioanevans6763]

What made Tywin great to me was that he never really felt like a villain half the time, he was just such a responsible and cunning character, it was hard not to respect him.

[@mellemadswoestenburg1296]

It's like what Olenna said to Cersei: "I didn't trust your father. I didn't particularly like him. But i respected him. He was no fool."

[@godemperorofmankind3.091]

@@mellemadswoestenburg1296 plenty of what tywin did was foolish, and got him killed in the end.

[@frname7665]

@@godemperorofmankind3.091 No, not plenty. Just his untamed resent against Tyrion was his undoing

[@godemperorofmankind3.091]

@@frname7665 i would argue the Sack and Red Wedding, while they seemed good ideas at the time, were stupid

[@frname7665]

@@godemperorofmankind3.091 The Red Wedding worked out exactly as he intended, it was far from stupid. The sack got the Lannisters in the royal household through marriage, it was horrible but not stupid at all.

[@retro.raider]

Loved his line “how is it more honorable killing thousands of men at battle than a dozen at dinner”

[@claymusicoff5663]

How is it more honorable to say a thousand men in BATTLE then it is to r*** a child?? You see why despite the other technically causing less harm… a man fighting other men on equal footing and killing them is much more honorable then murdering them at a table

[@C-handle-r]

In Charles' voice ... 👀😍

[@gryphonbotha1880]

Of course, this ignores that those thousands of soldiers were killed anyways while they were partying outside the Twins, thinking they were with friends.

[@seliussanctus3100]

​@@gryphonbotha1880Has Robb's whole army slept near the twins? I think those soldiers were escorting Robb and the most important people for the wedding.

[@DS3Enjoyer]

Because it was an underhanded tactic

[@shadowking9739]

I LOVED Charles Dance's portrayal of Tywin. He felt like the perfect embodiment of lawful evil; he acted as though he was this lone vanguard of the realm that kept it from falling into chaos and ruin and we, as the audience, sided with him based on all of the evidence pointing to this fact. I think his scenes with Tyrion were also brilliant because, going off of his tone and body language, you got the sense that deep down, past his hatred of the Imp, he saw Tyrion as the child that was the most like him and this clearly pissed him off to no end. In fact, I dare say he respected Tyrion to some degree but saw him as squandering his talents and ruining the Lannister name. If Tyrion had Jaime's good looks, "normal proportions" and charisma, as well as lacking a propensity for wine and whores, then he probably would've been Tywin's favorite.

[@randysavage1011]

I also think his wife’s death giving birth to Tyrion caused an unshakable rift and spite in whatever relationship could have been.

[@cashthecurator666]

If Joana hadn’t died giving birth to Tyrion, he would have been Tywin’s pride and joy. But the whoring and drinking would probably still annoy him. In an alternate universe where Joana didn’t die in childbirth, I can imagine Tywin saying to Cersei and Jaime, “Why can’t you be more like Tyrion?”

[@shadowking9739]

@@cashthecurator666 Oh my, what a universe that would've been!

[@shadowking9739]

@@randysavage1011 True. If Joana had lived and Tyrion was born normal, then he could've been the Lion of Casterly Rock and the apple of his father's eye.

[@wingsoftwitchbots5613]

Tywin did say that he respected/admired Tyrion for his will to survive.

[@videt7459]

Charles Dance and Peter Dinklage are basically the two best 'face actors' alive, so watching them together is an overload of joy at the apex of the craft.

[@barnabusdoyle4930]

While that’s true, they also need a script worthy of their talent. Writers nowadays would not be able to do half of what the early seasons of GoTs did. Dance and Dinklage elevated great work in the same way that Patrick Stewart took great writing in TNG and elevated it to legendary status. There aren’t many actors who can enhance writing the way these 3 can. I will say that Matt Smith did pretty damn well in both Dr Who and HoD, but I don’t think it got to their levels.

[@veggiesnake4430]

@@barnabusdoyle4930 Nah, don't start on the "kids these days" thing. Early GoT had top-tier dialogue, but that's not something ONLY GoT can do.

[@barnabusdoyle4930]

@@veggiesnake4430 The ratio of great dialogue to garbage dialogue we have gotten in movies and tv shows in the past decade has moved heavily to the garbage side. You have to admit that this statement is true.

[@veggiesnake4430]

@@barnabusdoyle4930 It is true. But I don't think it's because "writers these days" are bad writers, I think it's because the TV and Film industries are overinflated. Good dialogue doesn't maximise short-term profit, so the executives at Netflix, and Prime, and every other streaming service/production company (because somehow the distributors have usurped the producers, and these two very different things have become the same) don't care about good dialogue. Now everything gets made for profit, and only the things that prove profitable get renewed, so anything that isn't easily consumed by the largest possible target audience gets pushed aside. Not to mention the growing exploitation of writers that has only recently been challenged. The good dialogue is still in there, somewhere. But it's drowned out by an ocean of cheap and lazy _content_ that's been substituted for cinema.

[@peezyorpj]

I always appreciated how Tywin used his brutality as a tool of necessity rather than for his own sick enjoyment like Ramsay or Joffrey.

[@patrickmonahan5272]

What about when he had a innocent woman sexually assaulted for a perceived insult on his pride?

[@Alejojojo6]

He wasnt super brutal, he knew brutality had to be used which is different. We see that he isnt when he goes to Harrenhal and get mad that they are torturing and killing people instead of having them put to a better more productive use instead (saving them).

[@peezyorpj]

@@Alejojojo6 Facts

[@patrickmonahan5272]

@@Alejojojo6 he had a woman gang raped because he perceived her marrying Tyrion in secret a assault to his pride

[@meoff7602]

​@@patrickmonahan5272Even that was done with the idea of using it as a tool to punish his son. Not, because it hurt his pride. Your using his son's prospective to describe that event.

[@PrinceIsot]

Charles Dance is one of the greatest character actors ever. And he's certainly one of the best of our time.

[@shreyanshsharma2722]

Tywin might be the only "villain" in a story for which I was sad when he died, he was such a great character, GRRM's writing and Charles's acting (especially his voice) made him so iconic. I hated him but I also understood him, but I'm also happy that he died before D&D ran out of books and were able to ruin his character like they did with Tyrion and all the others.

[@PumpkinHoard]

Tywins death marked the end for Game of Thrones. That was the peak, it was all rapidly downhill from there.

[@metallol5337]

I didn’t know this before, but D&D didn’t run out of books for s5. They probably could’ve made s5-7 as adapted out of what was left, but instead they rushed it all into the 5th season and making a lot of stuff up. Their ego was their downfall.

[@Grivehn]

Agreed. Tywin encapsulates a classic, regular medieval noble the most. They were only caring about the family, keeping power and keeping up appaerances. He is pretty much what was going on in Europe x10 for over a thousand years. And in the timeframe of these ages, there was nothing wrong with this mindset at all. (Between nobles, of course.) His actor and character was amongst the best, if not the best in the entire show. The show, alongside pretty much all of its nuance and intelligence, also died with him. Enough said.

[@LucLB01]

They never ran out of books. They were just two egocentric morons who thought they could do it better than the man himself and decided to pick loose plot points from books 4 and 5, cram them into season 5, reuse some of it in season 6, and make the rest up. Which resulted in season 5 & 6 being very inconsistent, and 7 & 8 being total garbage.

[@sheep2826]

For what it’s worth, the scenes between him and Arya were written by D&D, and weren’t in the books. A lot of people didn’t like the later seasons but people forget that they were still competent writers and were just responsible for some of the show’s greatest scenes as some of its worst.

[@AkamoriArt]

My favorite thing about Tywin is Charles Dance's performance, but also, how he is written as "being busy" in almost every scene he is in. Talking to Jaime? Skinning a Buck. Talking to Cersei? Writing a letter. Head of the army. Hand of the King. Always in meetings. He is always shown as having his mind on something else other than the conversation he is having. Even in his death scene, he is trying to take a doody, and can't even do that in peace.

[@thedoctor4327]

Great villains we should have gotten: - Lady Stoneheart. Would have helped nailed in the point that the Lord of Light' resurrections are not a pleasant experience. IMO it would have been a better use than keeping Beric around waiting for death, a better lesson to Arya about not to let revenge consume you, and in combining the two we could have seen Stoneheart be the one to save Arya at Winterfell, allowing Stoneheart to succeed at saving one of her children after failing to save the one during her first life. - Patchface. Technically not a villain in the books, but there's just something so creepy about him (i.e., the nonsensical prophecies that keep coming true) that he could easily become one if something sets him off (like say someone murdering his only friend). - Book accurate Euron Greyjoy. Instead of being the "Frat Bro in Florida For Spring Break" version of Ramsay, Euron in the books is a dangerously charismatic and is steeped in the Dark Arts, including having a Valyrian Dragon Horn that binds dragons to his will (thus making him a REAL danger to Dany). He won the Driftwood Throne using both of those and taking intelligent steps to remove opposition (bribing Victarion's captains to ensure their loyalty and then sending Victarion off on an implied suicide mission, kidnapping Aeron immediately after the Kingsmoot lest he turns the Ironborn against him and "marrying off" Asha to a loyal captain) instead of losing the Iron Fleet to his niece because he left the proverbial keys in the ignition. He's shaping up to be possibly the most dangerous antagonist south of the Wall instead of being psycho party animal obsessed with being Cersei's f**k-boy. - Book accurate Tyrion, post Trial By Combat. GRRM described Tyrion's ASOIAF story as a villain origin story and frankly its one you can sympathize with. Most of his (living) family despises him no matter what he does, the decadent aristocracy treat him like a monster/a scapegoat for their own crimes, and he finds out his beloved brother lied about Tyrion's first wife Tysha being a wh*re leading to Tysha's gang r*pe (which Tyrion was culpable in. The result is Tyrion snaps and begins to become the very monster society said he is but the reader is fully supportive of his fall from grace. The result is once in Essos Tyrion is becoming more venomous and ruthless, becoming an even better political chessmaster (ie convincing an entire mercenary army to defect back to Dany's side). Instead of becoming a pathetic and stupid loser like D&D portray him as, Tyrion in the books is becoming Tywin 2.0 but without any of Tywin's hypocrisy, which I find another fine "F**k You" to Tywin.

[@danyf.1442]

Book Euron is the scariest. If you haven't already I highly recommend the unreleased chapter The Forsaken (GRRM read it at some convention and it should be easy to find it online) . That's downright disturbing.

[@emiliodelcanto4179]

Lady stoneheart was okay that she was not in the show. I think she is unnecessary

[@TheJosman]

I honestly like that Lady Stonehart is not part of the show. I feel that Catelyn's death is more emotional that way. Her resurrection kinda takes away some of the impact that the Red Wedding had.

[@RonPaul42069]

People need to stop complaining the show didn't turn out exactly how they wanted it to. We should be grateful for what we got.

[@spacemegalodon5049]

@stephenball70 why should we grateful for shitty writing?

[@jasonvazquez8652]

I honestly wish that we'd gotten an interaction between Ned Stark and Tywin Lannister. That conversation would've had me at the edge of my seat.

[@jaimenazaryan860]

tywin is out of his league he is way too sharp for ned ,ned who let's face it was one of the most naive charachter , tywin would have easily manipulated him and used him as a pawn like all the other lords who bend down to tywin

[@jasonvazquez8652]

@@jaimenazaryan860 You tend to forget that Ned knew Tywin well, and would NOT have been intimidated by him in the slightest. In fact, it's even said at one point in one of the books that Tywin was hesitant to war with Ned.

[@jaimenazaryan860]

@@jasonvazquez8652 i've read the book and there is no mention of this sort , you are obviously bias because u like ned since he's presented as the main guy or hero , and you saying that ned knew tywin well ) these are just assumptions from u , we rely on verifiable facts here and the fact is that litllefinger (a less clever version of tywin ) fu*** up ned and his entire family and made it look outrageously easy , if it was tywin instead of littlefinger ,NED would have been even more doomed than ever 😏

[@jasonvazquez8652]

@@jaimenazaryan860 In the book, Ned saw right through Tywin;s plan. Send the Mountain to ravage the Riverlands under no banner, which would trick Edmure into attacking the Westerlands. If that happened, Tywin could say that the Tully's broke the peace instead of him. Ned figured out Tywin's plan and these were his exact thought's, "Thank the gods for Hoster Tully". Oh and also, in ACOK, when discussing the rebellion with Tyrion, Tywin outright says that he wanted too reach the capital before Ned did, otherwise it would've come to swords had they met on the road.

[@spartangreg1]

​@@jasonvazquez8652Thank you for clearing this up. He said you're biased and likes Ned when he's obviously biased and likes Tywin. It's stayed in the lore that Ned knew Tywin's plans and motivations and saw through them but didn't understand the larger game at whole. Just like people think he'd automatically lose in a fight with Jaime, who's one of the best fighters in history, but Ned became a better fighter after the ToJ, but gets downplayed too much. Tywin is one of my favorite characters and so is Ned, but Ned gets disrespected too much because he was honorable and wanted to follow the laws of men. Be saw men are corruptible and if left unchecked would and could ruin the realm. Basically like Kanye said, "No one man should have all that power"

[@lane5686]

Tywin was a villain to the audience but a hero to/for his family. When he was Hand under Aerys, the realm was at peace and prospered for 20+ years.

[@fightingmedialounge519]

Depends on the family member.

[@sanjaykarthicks1226]

Tywin also almost broke down when Cersei blackmailed him that she would reveal that her children are truly bastards. He didn't see that coming.

[@DvornyashkaDiaries]

I think that was one of reasons he later used Tyrion to strongarm Jaime. Cersei and her mouth have put their relationships with Jaime at risk. If not for Tyrion's pride, she might have ended up loosing him forever. She is so reckless.

[@matthieuzglurg6015]

Charles Dance is also a wonderful voice actor. His short performance as Emhyr in The Witcher 3 is memorable

[@brooke5258]

He also narrates the animal documentary Savage Kingdom. And he says "dynasty" exactly the same.

[@TyLeeEnjoyer]

I don't think his actions in the Riverlands can be waivered like that "because it is war time". He deliberately sent his most vicious first like Gregor Clegane and the Brave Companions, who went on campaigns of rape, pillage, destruction -- if not genocide -- throughout the Riverlands during the War of the Five Kings. Tywin knew exactly who he was sending (he knew Clegane for decades at that point). His campaign there ravaged the whole region and caused death and suffering on an unprecedented scale, which triggered indirectly many of the events in Feast. This was not inevitable-- Rob, for example, never went down to that level (though Roose did). To say that Tywin didn't "go out of his way to cause harm" simply isn't true. Among the noble lords, Tywin was notorious for using excessive violence to crack down on any perceived slight to his house, which started with his extermination of Castamere.

[@playz8538]

Exactly. This dude just rambling most of what this video says is just not exactly true.

[@TheNewPrometheus]

Tywin was never unnecessarily cruel (by ASOIAF standards) in his actions against the smallfolk (his treatment of Tyrion however was extremely cruel) but he also understood where power lies and how to handle over mighty vassals and lords and that they are where problems arise not from the smallfolk and that those lords along with their money and fighting men must be swiftly and decisively brought to heel for the good of the realm and those very smallfolk. When it came to ruling and keeping things more or less stable Tywin was a pretty reasonable leader. Horrible father, terrible person...but a pretty decent Hand for the most part. It's never black and white which is why I see Tywin as a pretty good representation of most politicians/PM/PotUS or people in power

[@FrankeNamensKarim]

​@@TheNewPrometheushe was cruel for the normal people in the riverlands. There is no number for all the cruelties happening there because of the lennisters

[@FrankeNamensKarim]

I must say I really like Robb, but I think he could have learned some stuff from Roose Bolton. He shouldn't be cruel to the normal people, Roose really did horrible things, but you have to FIGHT against your enemies and you have to punish those who fight against you. Roose and his people torturing lennister commanders or killing whole garnisons make sense in a war, what he did with the normal working people in harrenhall was extreme

[@TheNewPrometheus]

@@FrankeNamensKarim ok sure except time and time again in Westerosi history the Riverlands are always the worst to be hit, no matter who the lord is. We get clear examples that the Lannisters aren't the only ones committing atrocities against the smallfolk (i.e. the hanged tavern wenches that "laid with Lions"). It also seemed that Tywin did not necessarily approve of what Clegane nor the Brave Companions did. He understood what they were capable of and just like the Targaryens and their Dragons the idea that he could control the Dogs of House Clegane was just that- an idea, an illusion. Tywin was EXTREMELY flawed and despicable but to put the razing of the Riverlands soley on Tywin just seems very naive. If Catelyn hadnt taken Tyrion (the son of the man The Rains of Castamere was written about, someone who everyone knows wiped out multiple ancient houses) captive for literally nothing, it might have never even happened.

[@sletzorz]

charles dance deserved a golden globe for his performance, in the show, he was by far the one who shined the most, dinklage got the emmy or golden globe in S7 but wasn't really earned, even peter was baffled that he got the award and not niklolaj waldau

[@neutchain7838]

Every scene with Olenna and Tywin was a joy to watch. Impeccable writing and acting. Also when he put Geoffrey in place, walking slowly up next to him to the throne was such a great scene.

[@JGr2000]

I love that we didn’t have to see a decline of his character since he died at the end of season 4

[@Wilburytry]

One theory i loved is that Tywin was already dead from poisoning (why he was stuck on a shitter for SO LONG, giving Tirion all the time he needed and some other signs like fast decay of his corpse mentioned in the books) by Oberyn. Oberyn knew that Tywin is dead, hence his playfullness and carelessness after he acheved his second goal - killing the mountain. So, in that sence, Oberyn's demise is kinda poetic. And, Tyrion perfectly gets in a way of said plans, unknowingly, but he does this often enough to become character's trait.

[@andyroobrick-a-brack9355]

Eh, I perfer the more symbolic take on this. George is a bit of a romantic ,after all, he's still a high fantasy writer. Tywin was simply rotten to the core,

[@THI5GUYY]

Yeah, Tywin MADE Game of Thrones for me. I can’t tell you how many times I rewound Tywins scenes because of how amazing Charles Dances performance was…an absolute…no holds bar…masterpiece….just a masterpiece by Dance

[@DisturbedMinds]

Charles Dance' 11/10 performance just makes Rhys Ifans in HotD so much better. To follow THIS and still become iconic in your own way is impressive.

[@nickbrown638]

The thing about Euron Greyjoy. I know this is something everyone who’s read the books agrees with, he is a significantly more interesting and evil character. His ambitions are the greatest among any of the main villains. Tywin may want his house to be the most powerful in Westeros. But Euron is after cosmic, eldritch power in order to leave the world in silence. Literally to silence the song of ice and fire.

[@gerarquiaFM]

Agree

[@lorabriggs935]

Thank you for doing these videos still, GoT will always be a big thing in my life and videos like this keep that going x

[@dreamday988]

Because you had to have respect for the man at all times. Like daymn, even in the books he is just commanding the whole room, not giving a single flying feck, and when you know his background its even better. He was a gift of a character and I believe that maybe charles dance gave him that charm because Tywin in the books doesn’t have that much presence. It was just…brilliant 🙏🏻

[@alexiavya722]

it’s kinda crazy how the show really only uplifted 2 villains from the books imo. Tywin and Joffrey, which makes sense since they are the main antagonists of Rob Stark and are the reasons for the Red Wedding. Great representation of what it means to adapt a story from one medium to another. Post SoS is done better in the books because George understood what was important for the story and what could be skipped. The show did not :(

[@MyCarnageExtreme]

Exactly! Is crazy how the show elevated characters like Joffrey, Tywin, even Robb.

[@View619]

Can you imagine if Tywin loved and accepted Tyrion, who's basically his mirror image politically? The show probably would have been over after Season 1.

[@colinbaker3916]

That stare, that voice, right down to how he says “Careful girl.”

[@truebeliever786]

When Tywin died, the best of GOT died with him... That's proof of what an iconic villain he was.

[@MrGreenJester]

I would love to see you make a video of your favorite GoT actors. I imagine Charles Dance would be near if not at the very top

[@purpleheadedhedgehog3821]

It’s always a delight when super cuts uploads , also a video on daddy Tywin is the cherry on top Also I don’t think Tywin is a bad guy or at least Trys ti be , but he’s been around and he knows how the world works and he does the clever things that keep him and his family safe , until he didn’t

[@jarmoliebrand2005]

Charles Dance’s voice is so riveting to listen to. I would eagerly listen to him reading a manual out loud. There are only a few other people I that would have the same effect (probably David Attenborough, Christopher Lee and James Earl Jones).

[@bradlesmcgee9566]

Tywin's my favorite character in all of GoT, not just as a villain.

[@ArtKO171]

The series began to fall apart after his death. He was my favorite character. There has never been such an intelligent, charismatic and complex antagonist after him. Thank you for your video, you said it all!

[@krismate2895]

Great video and couldn't agree more. Some of my favourite dialogue scenes in the show involve Tywin. Charles Dance just absolutely kills it in the role and his screen presence is just off the charts. It's no surprise the best seasons of GoT (1-4) all have Tywin. I need to see more of Charles Dance's work. I think the only other movie/show I've seen him in, which he's amazing in as well, is Last Action Hero haha.

[@benderthepirate]

Everytime I read the books, even though I have my own image of Tywin’s physical appearance, I cannot help but hear Charles Dance’s voice. Perfect acting.

[@benderthepirate]

Tywin may not have been a sadist like Joffrey or Ramsay, but he is undeniably an evil character. His treatment of Tyrion’s wife, Tysha, is indefensible. Also, Tywin’s peace the Red Wedding bought was never going to last. With the sacred custom of guest right obliterated, Westeros will only become a more distrusting place, which will in turn lead to more chaos and violence.

[@andyroobrick-a-brack9355]

The way I see it, if a goal involves genociding a region, commanding the rape and murder of innocent people for your own family's pride, it's not a goal worth pursuing. Tywin is an antagonist because he goes against everything that George presents as good and noble in ASOIAF, even in a world as complex as Westeros.

[@lateam9786]

All his children have aspects of him too which makes it interesting. Cersi has his manipulation, Jamie is the Knight, and Tyrion has his wit and intelligence. Funny how his children drive him crazier than anyone else in the show.

[@treali]

I would say Cersei has his cruelty, Jamie his charm, and Tyrion his wits and intelligence. While Cersei did a lot of manipulation it was always that resembling of an immature child with no regard for long-term consequences. Most of her manipulation comes back to bite her.

[@jaimenazaryan860]

@@treali not cruelty , more like ruthlesness ( CRUELTY is when you do a horrible thing to someone for no reason ( RUTHLESNESS is when you do a horrible to someone as a response to something wrong he did

[@arclight7892]

Cersei is not good at manipulating. She couldn't even manipulate an idiot like joffrey. She always had help from expert manipulators like Tywin and Baelish.

[@Ballin4Vengeance]

@@jaimenazaryan860which is not being ruthless either. That’s vengefulness. To be ruthless is to act without compassion or regret of your own vile actions. To have full knowledge of the harm you will cause, yet still doing so. Cruel is similiar.

[@jaimenazaryan860]

@@Ballin4Vengeance no. You Can also be ruthless with people who want you harm but still didn't manage to do it , would you call it vengefulness if the ennemy didn't manage to do anything to you ? No and Cersei was doing things even to people who didn't harm her yet but were trying to , so the right word IS ruthless 😉

[@doctoralla2067]

Hey Supercuts, you're one of my favorite youtubers of all time. You really opened my eyes on how flawed Game of Thrones was after season 4. I legitimately didn't mind the ending the first time I watched it. I was a lesser mortal back then who just enjoyed spectacle. Keep up the awesome work.

[@PowerHubShorts]

The Witcher 3 music is fantastic

[@junkyarddweller]

The amount of people who don't understand that tywin IS A VILLAIN is fucking mind-blowing.

[@rustyshackelford4224]

Why is that?

[@marion817]

Tywin has so many memorable scenes that are so simple/understated yet show so much of his real character. To name a few: his Arya scenes in Harrenhall and his conversation with Joffrey in the throne room. Such a well written character which was played to perfection by Charles Dance. GOT's true essence really died when he died.

[@NikolaiPCulp]

I’m rewatching game of thrones(I won’t watch season 8. That’ll show hbo lol it won’t but let me think I’m doing something) and I loved Tywin originally obviously, but I truly forgot how amazing he was. Charles dance with an all time great performance.

[@jurajhrico6236]

I really appreciate that you put Witcher music into your GoT videos, it fits so well, and it combines my favorite game with my favorite show. Very good job.

[@iosifszarvadi3998]

Just for the record: Tywin never faced Robb's army, Roose Bolton was the one who fought Tywin's army for most of the time during the war.

[@Ballin4Vengeance]

It’s also implied Roose was losing on purpose to expend the troops of the other northern lords while preserving his own

[@thedragondemands5186]

good to see you back, ser

[@IAmDaldondo]

Great video. I would love to see a video analysis on more characters like Robb, Jon or even Alister Thorne

[@StueyPie]

Charles Dance and Tywin is the pinnacle of Game of Thrones. If you stop watching when he dies, it's right at the top of the best television series of all time.

[@Genji-Agito]

I consider Tywin easily my favorite character(not just villain) is mainly because he's just a man. He doesn't skin change, no magic and no dragons. When I think of everything this man managed to achieve it just screams "merit", and merit is one of the most beautiful words in the english language.

[@zakataMan]

"You are being counciled at this very moment" one my absolute favorites. So much subtext from his lack of fear or respect for Joffery to his building impatientence with him

[@scaroian]

I will say this 1000 times: Game of Thrones died with Tywin

[@CrimzinEclipse2010]

Tywin was such an amazing villain, specifically because there were multiple times in the show where he really didn’t feel like a villain. I found myself several times thinking “If Tywin was named king of the Seven Kingdoms, the realm would be soooo much better off.”

[@jarmoliebrand2005]

When it comes to many other franchises I like, I mostly rewatch epic fight scenes. When it comes to GoT, I mostly rewatch epic verbal fight scenes.

[@jimbob4447]

Charles Dance is always poggers in whatever role he's playing.

[@Cunnysmythe]

Tywin and Arya actually only met because D&D wanted to see the two actors perform together In the book it's Roose Bolton and I don't think they even meet

[@Mammel248]

The only performance of Charles Dance that was off was imo after he sent Joffrey to bed without his supper ;) in the books Tywin walks to the window to turn his face away from Tyrion, and Tyrion thinks this is because he doesn't want to show how shaken he is by Joffrey's actions. Because Joffrey's actions show that he is completely incapable as a ruler and that his dream of a 1000 year old Lannister dynasty is falling apart. In the show you don't see any of that, while Tywin freaking out a little after witnessing just how twisted Joffrey is would be completely in-character.

[@TRDTYukiTV]

i both loved and hated Tywin, his character and the actor Charles Dance was beyond amazing, by far one the best characters i have ever seen, from what ive read its almost like his real personality, when he walks in a room everyone listens

[@parsimoniousplantpeep]

I so enjoy these longer vids. I'm a bit obsessed with ASOIAF and don't have anyone to discuss it with. Partly because, as you know, after that bungling disaster of a series end, everyone seems to have blocked the whole thing from memory. Please keep making these videos forever so I always have GOT related content to watch lol

[@maidenofiron]

Tywin, book and show, has always been one of my favorite characters. I may prefer the books more but Charles Dance was perfect for the role.

[@jaybee5315]

7:20 “explode, “release”, “build-up” the use of such words factoring the scene makes your writing also a masterpiece 😁

[@abhikmoj5853]

"7 kingdoms united in fear of Tywin Lannister" - Tyrion Lannister

[@Arkanyte]

oof, I can feel the comments coming from what I'm about to say. While I agree with you that Tywin is a compelling villain (in the show at least), I feel inclined to disagree with some of your points in the first section. Yes, Tywin believes his actions are just, but he does not see himself as good. He deliberately seeks to command respect through fear. And his reasons for hating Tyrion go deeper than simply the idea of him disgracing the Lannister name. If Tywin had loved Tyrion, Tyrion no doubt would've been a most dutiful son. Tywin despises Tyrion because he is a dwarf, which brings mockery to the family. This mockery reminds Tywin of his father, who was weak and openly laughed at court. Tywin harbors resentment towards Tyrion because he believes Tyrion is responsible for Joanna's death during childbirth. Joanna was Tywin's world; she was the only one who truly understood him and could make him smile. Tyrion's birth, in Tywin's eyes, took away the only source of happiness he had left. Tywin's pursuits in life are all driven by his desire to establish a lasting legacy for House Lannister, one that is untainted by the shortcomings of his father. His entire existence is fueled by anger towards his father, and now he sees his children: two seemingly perfect ones and one ill-made, devious, and spiteful. Tywin's intelligence may have won him his war, but in the end the legacy of House Lannister was left in shambles. (I might be biased in this, but, If you've read the book, then you cannot blame for not liking Tywin, as a person. There is a key plotline for Tyrion that they removed in the show for some reason, and I just... ever since that chapter I just couldn't like him.) But yes, every other factor you've described us spot on

[@kryzzan7039]

Tywin is probably my favorite character in the books and the show, he is a villian although more complex than most, and he is repsonible for likely 100ks of deaths and several atrocities, but at least he dosen't do cruel things just to be cruel and usally has a reason behind most of the things he does. He's such a great villian that it's hard to dislike him even after everything he does.

[@RandomNorwegianGuy.]

Twyin and Joffery are both my favorite villains in the show, for two completly different reasons. The actors for these two characters does their roles perfectly

[@Rhodophon]

My personal favorite was always Roose Bolton and House Bolton. I love everything about them, whether in the books or the show (where Michael McElhatton played Roose ice cold and perfect). I like the idea of a Dark North ruled by dark people.

[@everettparker1313]

I Honestly Agree with you. Tywin Lanister is My All Time Favorite Antagonist’s in Game of Thrones and My All Time Favorite Role for Charles Dance.

[@FunFilmFare]

This is why I think Tywin's actor be a great Mr. Beeston (from "Emily Windsnap"). He does some pretty bad things, but for logical reasons and arguably good reasons from his perspective. And he does have some soft spot for the young female protagonist. Like Tywin and Arya.

[@TheFaulkned]

I absolutely agree. Reading got I didn't think much of Tywin. But Dance's performance remade him in my mind. He was more sympathetic and much more intimidating. I ended up loving him even though his best scenes are with Aryia.and those belonged to Roose Bolton.

[@Darkrose912]

-He really won the genetic lottery. Me: Indeed he did

[@stevengarman4848]

There are many times when Tywin does something good; like stopping the torture at Harrenhall and keeping Tyrion alive in his childhood.

[@desertdove]

...this man ordered a hundred of his men to rape an innocent girl then made his own son, who was in love with her, rape that same girl. what are you talking about, that he's a "good guy" from his perspective? the whole point of the story behind "the rains of castamere" is that Tywin is ruthless and unforgiving. Tywin doesn't want to be a good guy, he wants to be feared and respected at any cost. he is terrified of being laughed at, that is what motivates him. Tywin wants to think that he's purely logical and cunning, but he makes decisions based on emotion all the time. why didn't he remarry after Joanna died? that would be a logical decision, seeing as he doesn't like the one viable heir he has. speaking of, if he didn't let his emotions cloud his relationship with Tyrion, maybe he would have raised him in a way to make him more suited towards being an honorable lord. but Tywin lets his feelings about Tyrion get the better of him. it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. the origin of their issues isn't Tyrion, it's Tywin, who hated his son as soon as he was born. this video was kind of bewildering. a villain can be complex without thinking they are a good person. I think Tywin is extremely compelling, but I think his intentions aren't "good"

[@rustyshackelford4224]

Because fanboys.

[@LT_ZephyruS]

I high key would love to see you do a deep dive on Skyrim lore 🙌🏼

[@eleonoredelcourt3481]

A spin-off show based on Tywin Lannister 's life with his point of view, that would be great 🤔 To an antagonist, to be the main character and the others Houses his antagonists, his ennemies. Sorry for my mistakes, English isn't my native language.

[@melissaking6019]

The Tywin and Arya scenes are some of the best in the series. His respect and fondness for her shows that he has a heart, in contrast to his heartlessness to all his children and everyone else for that matter.

[@annemayers8761]

I really really love the idea of his character, and Charles Dances performance makes Tywin very easy to love. If looked under right perspective his actions indeed are smart and cunning and not-as-cruel-as-their-look cause you know, it's game of thrones, kill or be killed. All I need to do to love show-Tywin is to pretend that his sleepover with Shae didn't exist. The potential that his character holds is also a point for him - imagine how unstoppable house Lannister would be if he was capable to unite his children under his cause, or if Joanna was alive and there to guide him to be a better man. Though all of this only applies to the show (and not the books) - where whole Tysha storyline is cut off, and we do not have the insight into his children heads where they build him up as some godly-like figure, when in fact he is does many things out of insecurities and pure cruelty that serves no purpose. Not to mention that all his "work" for the promotion of his house went nowhere as it only held while he was alive and went away with his death, making all his actions really useless and takes away whatever justification for his actions that ever was there. I can hardly believe that D&D managed to make Tywin into such great and loveable character with the type of character that he is in the books.

[@Galvatronover]

What he did was also kinda in vain do to Tyrion being the only one left alive the one he hated the most

[@seen921]

Thankyou for pointing out that Tywin thinks he's a good guy with good intentions. All well written villains believe they're doing the right thing. Nothing worse than bad guys/girls who rub their hands together in glee to the point of absurdity. And Tywin is my favorite character on GOT. So disappointed when he was killed offf.

[@godemperorofmankind3.091]

well there is some things that i think are pure spite, like his treatment of tyrion and banging his son's girlfriend.

[@seen921]

@@godemperorofmankind3.091 Agree.. which falls under the bad for bad’s sake category His motivations are justified

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

"Nothing is worse than bad guys/girls who rub their hands together in glee to the point of absurdity" We live in a world in which Dio Brando exists, your argument is invalid

[@seen921]

@@whensomethingcriesagain odd response...

[@whensomethingcriesagain]

@@seen921 It's a counter-example

[@birdup6663]

Tywin slowly and deliberately walking up the steps to Joffrey's throne and saying "We can arrange to have you carried" was so indescribably badass that he became my favorite character from then on. Nevermind that this was one of the rare times where Joffrey actually had a point about something.

[@truegrit1229]

Tywin wasn’t a Villain. Anyone who thinks so lost the big picture. The conflict between him and the Starks, was because of little finger. Tywin was simply defending his family.

[@CFBDeepDive]

Definitely the GOAT. From the moment he made his first appearance on screen in season 1 to when Tyrion killed him, you knew he was the true ruler of Westeros.

[@andrewward5891]

For 20 years as the Mad King’s hand Tywin effectively did rule Westeros (and ruled it well). The mad king even pulls out the tongue of one of Tywin’s men who says that truth.

[@NovaLena22]

Arya had plenty of space to kill Tywin once Jaquen the Death Genie came on the scene and offered her three deaths. Arya already had a list of people she wanted dead. She could've easily given him Tywin's name (and perhaps prevented the Red Wedding)... but she didn't. She didn't even offer up Cersei and Joffrey, who were long on her list.

[@lorabriggs935]

Just imagine if she had of given those 3 names how it would have totally changed things x

[@chromicm6686]

​@@lorabriggs935Given Tywin is heavily based on Edward Longshanks, I would not be suprised if much like in the real life example, the assaination failed The faceless man slips into his chambers at night, only for Tywin to strangle the man to death while in his own bed.

[@treali]

@@chromicm6686 I assume you're trolling, but yeah the faceless men simply cannot fail, that's why they are so insanely expensive that basically no one can afford them and depending on the target it can take years to accomplish. Heck, there are even rumors of them being the cause of the Doom of Valyria.

[@chromicm6686]

@@treali If the faceless men never fail then how come Arya gets out of them scott free? As long as you kill the assasin apparently you are in the clear. If any lord of westeros were cabable of choking out a faceless man it's be Tywin or Stanis

[@TataMataAkrobata]

​@@chromicm6686 how come she escapes? Because that part wasnt written by George. Dont take anything after season 4 as logical lore.

[@JustyourMarco]

the witcher 3 soundtrack made me emotional I miss you geralt

[@skelet8663]

The Witcher score👌🏼

[@nickbrown638]

My favorite part specific to the books is the final line in the paragraph that details Tywins demise. “He did not in fact, shit gold.” (may be paraphrasing)

[@lmao7177]

I dare to say, he wasn't just the best villain, he was the best character.

[@rileyobrien8349]

He’s 100% going OUT OF HIS WAY TO WAGE WAR what’re you talking about? The whole point of the story is that being smart doesn’t make what he does cool.

[@lawrencewilson3862]

Tywin Lannister is not a villain, he is a man of the times.

[@寂び侘び-b6s]

He is 100% a villain. Anyone who would allow much less order something like the Red Wedding to happen is a villain. That said, he is absolutely brilliant as a character. The standards for character writing are incredibly high in the first four seasons of GoT, and he still manages to have one of the most commanding presences on screen, thanks in part to Charles Dance’s perfect performance. Tywin is a flawless fictional depiction of a flawed man who acts flawless. He is almost invincible mentally and you can’t help but respect him for his conviction alone. Still, a villain though, but a brilliant one no doubt.

[@chrisfromsouthaus2735]

2:25 It's also great, because it's exactly what the Mad King did to Jaime, to spite Tywin. Show it shows his capacity to learn from his past.

[@inFamousguy101]

Man why do you need to remind us how good this show was?! Just let us forget it happened

[@markthompson180]

I agree that the episodes with Tywin and Arya are fascinating. I love to see the interaction between them. It's so different from the rest of the show.

[@afonsosilvestre7626]

Tywin is the GOAT, once he died, the show went to hell, while Tywin was alive, the series actually made sense, and had a lot of great scenes, and great dialogue, The dialogue Tywin had with every character, mainly with Tyrion and Olenna IMO, were one of the bests scenes of the show, Tywin is one of the few characters that escaped the bad writing, but only because it was GRRM who killed him not D&D

[@pathendlem]

Tywin is my favorite character in all of GOT and I can attribute that to Charles dances performance

[@freddyacuna8829]

GoT died with him

[@MrWest-ph5yg]

Yeah it did.

[@dkb138]

I rewatched seasons 1-4, and I noticed a great subtle point in Charles Dance's performance that makes it seems like GRRM or someone told him from the beginning (like JKR did with Alan Rickman) that Tyrion is actually a bastard of the Mad King but Tywin can't ever admit this or denounce him because it would make him appear a weak cuck. Tywin's own pride in his name and house outweighs all, so he has to constantly call Tyrion his son but you can see how much that burns him inside. Plus Tyrion killed Joanna, which makes it so much more painful. You can just feel the rage and disdain he's trying to suppress in Dance's performance. So fucking good.

[@GALAKTUS]

Why is he a villain tho? Like seriously, his only downfall is his relationship with Tyrion but the exact same thing could be said for Catelyn and John Snow (The fact that he is not her own seems irelevant since the hate is unconditional)

[@fightingmedialounge519]

Pretty sure Catelyn didn't have jon snows lover viciously raped. The same can't be said for tywin when it came to tyrions first wife.

[@ashleydavall]

From an acting stand point, some of the best characters in Game of Thrones are played by actors who have incredibly expressive eyes, often large eyes in relation to their face. This allows a lot of subtly and subtext to be delivered without dialogue. All actors learn to emote with their eyes, but some are more naturally gifted than others. Charles Dance, Lena Heady, Emilia Clarke, Gwendoline Christie, Maisie Smith, Peter Dinklage, Diana Rigg, Natalie Dormer, Jack Gleeson etc, all have large eyes, often piercing ones, that express far more than any other facial feature or expression.

[@ProjectEkerTest33]

He's a villain... but I also kinda think he'd have been the best king out of any of the characters

[@guanxichen4400]

absolutey, he was already the best king that never was a king

[@ajvela4310]

I find it so interesting that in thebooks tywins feats are more complicated like the books normally are. But even the book narrator and vibe of tywin isn’t even close to the god like performance charlie’s gives even with the plot more thinned.charles portrayal is better than anything george could have hoped for. Love tywin second favorite character. First is jamie.

[@TotalTech2.]

Do you know what made Tywin absolutely *TERRIFYING* For as evil as Tywin was he set up a system where his successor (Joffery) was even worse than him and the ruler after that (Cersei) was even worse than Jofferey. Once he died in the books things started going south real fast. Tywin is terrifying because for as bad as he is the world is a better place with him in it and because of that you need to serve him.

[@rustyshackelford4224]

Scary

[@kingkongchief1177]

Tywin Lannister would’ve been the greatest king in Westeros history. He was a bad guy but he definitely knew how to run the 7 kingdoms. He would’ve made king Jaeherys look like an amateur.

[@chaosiscoming9184]

I wish season 7 and 8 were as great as the first 6 season :( I could forgive them if the Final Ever episode wasn't the worst thing ever! Bran... Still to this day I can't get over that Bran sits on the throne X'''D Season 8 is the WORST writing I ever seen

[@sammedina550]

My favorite scenes are when he talks to Tyrion and becomes very clear Tywin has learn how smart Tyrion truly is. And then the scene with tommen where he is teaching him what it is to be a good king, that scene showed a softer side of Tywin was well

[@joeroscoe10117]

"...like screwing over Rob Stark at the Red Wedding." That's one way to put it.