Tyrion Lannister and Shae
"Game of Thrones" fans thought they had seen the last of Shea, but in the Season 4 finale she and Tyrion will be reunited. However, the reunion will most certainly not be a pleasant one. HBO

“Game of Thrones” fans were left in pure shock and awe last night during episode 8, “The Mountain and The Viper.” The highly anticipated episode featured the trial by combat requested so vehemently by Tyrion Lannister, only when fans believed that the Red Viper had won, the fight took a terrifying turn in which the feared spear handler from Dorne not only lost the battle, but also his life. While all of King’s Landing stood shocked, except Cersei of course, one citizen in particular has the most to lose following the Red Viper’s crushing defeat. Oberyn Martell volunteered as champion for Tyrion Lannister, which means that his defeat and loss of his head, will result in the loss of another head, Tyrion’s.

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Season 4 of “Game of Thrones.” If you do not want to know what will occur in forthcoming episodes do not read any further.

So will Tyrion really lose his head? Fortunately for fans, no, the clever Lannister lion will not be killed for the poisoning of Joffrey Baratheon. Despite Oberyn’s death condemning Tyrion, another Lannister intervenes in his sentence. His brother, Jamie, visits Tyrion the night before he is set to be executed and frees him from the black cells with the help of a reluctant Varys. During Tyrion’s escape, Jamie begins to come clean about the past, fans will most likely see this scene in episode 10 “The Children.”

The synopsis for the Season 4 finale reads, “Tyrion sees the truth about his situation." The truth that “The Children” synopsis hints at is a sad story, revealed by none other than his brother Jamie. Long before Shea, Tyrion was in another relationship, her name was Tysha and she was his first true love, and wife. Tyrion met Tysha on “a lonely road,” she was being accosted by a group of men, Jamie drove off the men and Tyrion comforted her. He fell deeply in love with Tysha and decided to marry her. However not all were approving of the young couple, Tywin Lannister was dismayed by his son’s marriage, and insisted that Jamie lie to his younger brother and “expose” Tysha as a whore, who was merely playing the young imp.

George R.R. Martin’s “A Game of Thrones” reveals that Tywin passed the young girl among his guards to have sex with her; for each guard, he gave her silver. To drive the lesson home, Tywin forced his son to be the last man, for whom Tysha was paid a gold coin, because Lannisters were worth more. Following the trial as Jamie releases Tyrion from the cells, he also reveals this truth about Tysha, Tyrion’s first wife and one true love. Jamie tells his younger brother, that Tysha was not a whore; instead he finally admits that Tywin instructed him to lie, but that Tysha “was what she seemed to be.” After learning this Tyrion confronts his father, seeking the truth from him, but like every interaction between Tyrion and his father, Tywin, it will not have a happy ending. Well, not for Tywin, because after revealing the truth regarding Tysha, Tyrion finally gets his revenge and kills his father by shooting him with a cross bow while he is on the chamber pot.

In episode 8, “The Mountain and the Viper” Tywin’s impeding death was hinted at, seemingly unknowingly by Littlefinger. When counseling Robyn Arryn, Littlefinger claimed, “People die at their dinner tables. They die in their beds. They die squatting over their chamber pots. Everybody dies sooner or later. And don’t worry about your death. Worry about your life. Take charge of your life for as long as it lasts.” Another death that is foreshadowed in this quote, is Shea’s. Fans last saw Tyrion’s girlfriend or “whore” as she described herself, at his trail where she had clearly been influenced by Cersei Lannister. After testifying against Tyrion, many fans expected her to be disposed of by Cersei, now that she had served her purpose of condemning the imp to death.

In the Season 4 finale fans will once again see Shea, but the interaction will be shocking. After Tyrion is freed from the black cells he enters the Tower of the Hand, where he confronts his father and kills him, however, Tyrion will also discover Shea, who will be Tywin’s bed, acting as his whore. In a fit of rage, Tyrion strangles Shea in the bed with a golden Lannister lion necklace he gifted her. After he has settled the score in King’s Landing, Tyrion flees across the Narrow Sea to an unknown destination that Varys arranged. And while he may be out of harm’s way for the moment, Season 4 will most likely end with Cersei offering a lordship to any man who brings her Tyrion’s head. A reward like that will travel to all parts of Westeros, including Essos, Tyrion’s dangerous next chapter is really just beginning with his escape.

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