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At the end of S2E10 "Valar Morghulis" Game of Thrones Tyrion has been disgraced, removed from his role as Hand of the King and left in a small room following a successful defence of King's Landing?

Why is he in such disgrace after successfully defending the city?

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Whilst he lay recovering from his wounds his father, who had little regard for him and wanted to ensure his own position of power set to work.

He had authority when he was hand which his father took. He had power due to his wild men who had been removed. He had influence over the Gold Cloaks and guard via Bron etc. This had been removed.

All of his allies and supporters had been bought by his father or sent away whereas his enemies now enjoyed the protection and power of his sister and nephew.

He now has no political authority and no muscle to back his claims.

He was also given no credit for what he did in defending the city. Overall he was not so much disgraced as had his status and power taken by Tywin which left him vulnerable.

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  • Is it fair to say that the reason Tywin installed him in the first place was so that when the inevitable attack came he could sweep in, save the day and seize power and prestige for himself?
    – Liath
    Commented Aug 8, 2013 at 12:15
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    Possible but unlikely imho. Many things which Tywin could not control had to happen for that to work. I think he sent Tyrion there because he lacked respect for Cersei as a leader and mother and needed someone cunning enough to keep the city safe and assertive enough to control Joffrey.
    – Stefan
    Commented Aug 8, 2013 at 12:24
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    @Liath - Tywin viewed Tyrion is the lesser of two evils. While Tywin hated his youngest son, he trusted his judgment to rule better than Cersei. But in the end he still hated Tyrion, so as soon as it was possible he took back all the power for himself.
    – System Down
    Commented Aug 8, 2013 at 17:47
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Stefan's answer sums this up nicely but I would just like to add that Tyrion's position as Hand of the King was given to him on a temporary basis by his father anyway.

Tywin was named Hand of the King following Eddard Stark's death but as he was out fighting Rob Stark's army he could not attend to the duties of the Hand and so took advantage of Tyrion's intellect by telling him to take the position on his behalf whilst he fought the war. When Tywin returns to King's Landing to save them from Stannis, he assumes his given role as Hand while Tyrion is resting.

Tyrion was Hand only on behalf of Tywin, Tywin has therefore always been Hand despite his absence from King's Landing. Tyrion should have been honored for his role in the battle but Tywin's contempt for Tyrion is boundless so he seeks to convey his late arrival as the heroic part of the battle and overlook Tyrion's merits.

Tywin sees Tyrion as an expendable resource. He knows Tyrion is skilled at manipulating people which is why he uses him in the first place but he also knows that King's Landing is a mess with the Crown half in debt to Tywin and knows Tyrion will remove some of that for him but he intends to show himself as the savior of the capital. The only thing Tywin couldn't predict for his son is what happens at the end of S4.

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