123 ACOK 50 Tyrion XI Demonized

Tyrion’s arrogance is on display and setting up to backfire. As he busies himself preparing the defense of King’s Landing—one he’s repeatedly warned will break—his every act is at best a waste of time, like attending the Kingsguard investment ceremony, or, worse, a self-sabbotage in progress. He makes time to instruct Shagga in the art of raiding, sincerely threatening to desecrate Shagga’s remains if he dies stupidly and seeming to fail to remember how he met Shagga, but when he reminds the High Septon to preach that the gods are on the side of the king, he goes on to recommend adding that Stannis means to burn the Great Sept of Baelor, shrugging when asked if it’s true. He burnt the godswood at Storm’s End. (Unbeknownst to Tyrion, Stannis also destroyed Aegon’s Sept on Dragonstone, though it was a historic site.) Even if he’s right, the High Septon isn’t preaching to harden soldiers but to comfort mothers. The idea Stannis would burn the Great Sept won’t ignite the people against Stannis but will only inspire fear and create more chaos. More may flee the city than would have: a sight that makes soldiers want to desert.

Tyrion would similarly self-sabotage when he asks Lord Jacelyn the plan for Tommen. Jacelyn reminds Tyrion he instructed him to tell no one. Either, Tyrion would shoot himself in the foot by learning information he’d meant to keep from himself or allow the information of Tommen’s whereabouts to be lost, as Aerys’s wildfire caches have been. He should simply insist on being told and then perhaps write to Tywin about it, so anyone knows the plan.

Having witnessed Bronn misunderstand the path to lordship, we see how Jacelyn might take advantage of his position. Tyrion needed to have either not tested Ser Jacelyn or insisted on being told the plan for Tommen. His choice of what to do with his precious time should shake our confidence in him.

A perfect example is Tyrion’s burning down the fish market. He notes it’s the only source of food for the city and that even the rich are struggling to afford fish, so precious is it, (while hungry naked children fight over the squalid splatter of the rotten fish thrown at Tyrion) before deciding that, since it presents a climbable scaffolding for Stannis’s soldiers, it must be burned to ashes. The idea of relocating the market it within the walls does not occur because battle is so immanent. Will those devastated by the loss even be reminded they’d lose it to Stannis’s attack soon enough before having the stall they built and paid for burnt down by thugs in royal colors? Tyrion has Bronn handle it in a way that strikes the sellsword as unnecessarily brutal. Tyrion doesn’t dwell on it until the chapter’s end, but he knows his rulings will inspire passionate hatred of himself, personally. “So be it; they’ll have something else to curse the evil monkey demon for.” 712

Feeling naked that he’s sent the mountain clansmen into the kingswood, Tyrion despairs of Bronn’s sellswords providing the same level of protection. He thinks of the castles that have recently fallen: Storm’s End, Harrenhal, Winterfell. Yet, The chapter is about Tyrion’s illusion he rules. Actually, he is a burden to a city already straining under Tywin’s war crimes and Joffrey’s philosophy of entitlement. The role of Hand has turned Tyrion into Cersei and so focused his attention on her as a rival that she seems a more important enemy than anyone who would ever assault the walls. Tyrion has been reduced to his lesser self by the Handship, much as Ned was. He came to the city with the naive aim to rule justly and immediately diverted funds from defense to feed the people. Now, a destructive, reactive egotistical schemer with no love for the people and a growing sense that his hard work is all to be demonized, Tyrion is no better a ruler than Cersei who he was sent to replace.

Rulers Don’t Rule; They’re Just Figureheads Who Become Despots

The chapter title, Demonized, refers to the irony that Tyrion has long felt undeservedly hated by the people of King’s Landing, yet now must realize that his actions will provoke further demonization, though he only performs in a role of office. Someone has to sign the warrant to arrest the Antler Men. However, the rush and chaos of war mean there’s no time to investigate further. He must trust entirely in Varys, who we know works against him. Tyrion is helpless to stop the demonization he must know hurts his family’s grip on the throne. Yet, he also accelerates it with the reactive, short-term thinking that comes to characterize his decision making and that is so reminiscent of Cersei’s put-upon helplessness in her reactive, short-term thinking. How could any Hand be popular and inspire confidence the way Tywin has historically done? (It must have been the lack of political turmoil under Aerys, whose dynasty seemed so etched in stone.) Tyrion despairs because he knows he’s persecuted for being a dwarf and deformed rather than for his actions. Salloreon offered to forge him a demon helm to ride into battle with before he knew the people blamed and hated him. While Tyrion can’t earn love, he can certainly provoke hatred. It reminds of his childhood under Tywin and builds towards his turning on the world.

No Loyalty

• They’ll Break. Tyrion has promised to knight twelve sellswords after the battle, should they win. Bronn reminds that they’ll kill for knighthoods, but not die for them, so will break easily and are ultimately disloyal. This is compared to the green gold cloaks Ser Jacelyn warns speak openly of treachery in the barracks. They have been promised no such promotions, but could more easily open a gate for Stannis than the Antler Men could. They joined the city watch for bread and ale and safety. Now they’re expected to hold the walls against an army.

• Swann Soup. Watching the kingsguard investment ceremony, he notes that Ser Balon Swann's father has sons in each camp: “Pleading illness, Lord Gulian Swann had remained in his castle, taking no part in the war, his his eldest son had ridden with Renly and now Stannis, while Balon, the younger, served at King's Landing. If he'd had a third son, Tyrion suspected he'd be of with Robb Stark. It was not perhaps the most honorable course, but it showed good sense; whoever won the Iron Throne, the Swanns intended to survive.” 714

• Anyone Can Buy A Man Who Is For Sale. Tyrion delights that Ser Osmund Kettleblack has been selling Cersei’s secrets to Bronn. He replaces Ser Boros Blount who Cersei decloaked for surrendering Tommen with alacrity. “And now she replaces him with another man just as hollow.” 715 This theme later builds to make Tyrion, as Master of Coin, recommend against supporting Slynt for Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch on the grounds that he might be bought out from under them.

• Not Every Man Is For Sale. Tyrion thinks the High Septon who was his choice is “wise enough to know who put honey on his bread.” 715 However, the selection process precludes the level of corruption Tyrion assumes. The Sept is an institution.

• Generally Incredulous. Suspicious of Hallyne’s success at producing wild fire, Tyrion would rather believe he’s buying jars of sewage than any other explanation, certainly that the spells are working better.

• No Judgement. Hallyne’s obsequiousness reminds of Pycelle’s and we see Tyrion again taking for granted, even bristling at, loyal servants while he empowers those of low character like Bronn and Shae, who’s eyes he says sparkle like black diamonds. Similarly, Ser Jacelyn reminds of Janos Slynt, as he did when promoted in the chapter where Slynt was sent to the Wall. He brags of knowing when to keep his mouth shut, just as Slynt did. The overall effect is a call back to Tyrion’s early optimism with the obvious note that he’s become what he sought to oppose.

• The Antler Men. “Men are such faithless creatures” Varys says (719) as he presents a scroll of names of traitors. Ser Jacelyn says Varys can’t have found them all.

Burn Everything

• Tyrion orders the fishmarket burned to the ground with nothing left standing.

• Later, the detail is dropped that Jaime left the city endangered by killing Rossart. As Tyrion notes it would have been nice if Lord Rossart had told someone the locations of Aerys’s wildfire caches. He did. Later, we'll learn Jaime made sure he killed every alchemist who knew the locations of the caches. 717

In this chapter:

• Hostage in the Kingsguard. Jaime having been hostage in the kingsguard is foreshadowed subtly in Balon Swann’s investment. Tyrion thinks Lord Gulian divided loyalties, sending one son with Renly and another to the crown so as to see his house survive, no matter who wins. More likely, Ser Balon, who came for the Hand’s tourney, was sniffing out opportunity for himself as a second son and stayed. While likely not as much of a hostage as the Redwyne twins became, they didn’t start as hostages either. Cersei’s interest in elevating Balon is likely related to his father’s being a storm lord, not to his being gallant and skilled. He’s just naive and looking for glory.

• Men to Defend. Similar to Ned’s slowly stripping himself of his own guard in the various efforts at general peace keeping, Tyrion has been slowly stripping himself. Five crewed ships went with Myrcella to Dorne, three hundred soldiers with Littlefinger. Now, when the city is about to be under attack, Tyrion has resorted to seizing trading galleys and promising knighthoods to sellswords to defend the throne. But, it was all done in the name of defense and those early political actions are worth magnitudes more than the count of soldiers required.

• Tyrion grieves Winterfell. Tyrion feels more for the Starks than for the Lannisters. News Winterfell has fallen means Robb will have to stop his raids on Lannister lands to return north and defend his own, but Tyrion has to remind himself not to grieve.

• Tyrion has gifted Shae with a golden collar embedded with black diamonds he says look like her eyes. 715

• Balon Greyjoy crowns himself king of the Iron Islands and the north and wants to meet to discuss borders and alliance. He seems to think the Lannisters would cede him the north for his aid against Stannis.