4. What If Bronn Had Been Struck Down By Hill Tribesmen?
HBOWhen Tyrion stood accused in the Veil, he faced an almost certain end as he decided to invoke a trial by combat, luckily Bronn the sell-sword was willing to fight for him, had this not been the case, Tyrion would have fought himself and almost certainly lost. The possibility of Bronn not making it to The Veil is a valid one, as Catelyn, Bronn, Tyrion and several northerners were on their way to the Eyrie, several of their party were killed by hill tribesman armed with axes and slings. Had one of the several rocks flung hit Bronn directly, he'd either be dead or in no condition to defend Tyrion's name. What if Bronn had been struck down by hill tribesmen? Had Bronn been dealt a premature demise, Tyrion would have no possible way to survive his trial and would be promptly thrown out of the moon door. If Tyrion shares the same fate as Bronn, then there's no one to orchestrate the defence of King's Landing against the Baratheon fleet. It could be argued that Tywin would return home to defend his family, but then there'd be no one to continue leading the Lannister forces or to bring home the reinforcements - as we must remember Jaime was in chains at this point in time. Either way, without Tyrion and his wildfire scheme there'd be no defence against Stannis or his fleet, making him the new king of Westeros.