Game Of Thrones: Will Tyrion Betray Jon And Dany In Season 8?
So why WAS he hanging around outside their sex chamber?
In the wake of the exceptional season 7 finale of Game Of Thrones, there were immediately a lot of questions. Where was Gendry? What had Ghost done to deserve being left out entirely? Why didn't Bran tell Jon he was about to schtup his auntie before it happened?
All of these questions - and far more besides - will play on fans' collective minds for the next year and a bit as the final season is spirited into production. Some will find answers, others probably won't - that's just the nature of the show now. But arguably the most intriguing question centres on Tyrion's behaviour at the end of the season.
With Jon having eaten all of Davos' fermented crabs and gone to Dany's bed chambers for some taboo-breaking sexy time, the sequence was crowned by a creepy shot of Tyrion standing outside looking either disappointed or oddly suspicious. Cue lots of theories about what was going on.
One of the most enduring readings suggests that Tyrion has been compromised. That the only way he was able to negotiate his way out of Cersei's company earlier in the episode was to promise to work against his allies in some way. That's why he was spying, and why he looked so down-hearted, as a union between the Targaryens would be devastating to Cersei's plans for power.
The only problem with that theory is that it gives Tyrion precisely no logical motivation. Sure, he showed in his exchange with Cersei that he is still committed to his family, but it just as readily proved that he cares for the good of the Seven Kingdoms and its people even more. To accept that he would turn his back on Dany and Jon simply to ensure his safety (or in exchange for some sort of meaningless promise or wealth or power) would be a gross betrayal of his character.
So what was that moody little scene about then?
Well, there are two ways of thinking about this. Either Tyrion has become the latest character to fall in love with Dany (she has that effect on people, after all) - and Peter Dinklage did mention his character being "smitten" with her - or he recognises the danger of their union getting too close.
In terms of the second possibility, Tyrion has always been the voice of reason when it comes to Dany's impulsiveness - which is often her own worst enemy - and it's very possible that he fears that her channelling her passion so overtly will bite her. Jon is essentially a distraction now - a weakness, to borrow the beautiful parlance of Grey Worm - and he's just as impulsive as Dany is, which puts him in direct danger and Dany in danger of emotional compromise if he falls.
There probably is a little bit of love to Tyrion's reaction to Jon and Dany, but he's falling in line with Jorah Mormont, in that he primarily wants to protect his Queen. So it feels more likely that he is disturbed by the possible implications of their relationship, rather than simply being jealous of it.