Is Tyrion Lannister Actually a Targaryen?

Not the Best Father/Son Relationship

So, if you've been watching Game of Thrones at all this season, you will know that everyone hates Tyrion Lannister. And, when I say everyone, I mostly mean his family. And, when I say his family, I mostly mean Tywin and Cersei. And when I say Tywin and Cersei, I mostly mean Tywin.

I mean, Cersei's hatred for Tyrion is sort of understandable; she believes he killed her mother and killed her son. Even though both those ideas are incorrect, one can understand why she feels the way she feels. Tywin doesn't have that excuse. Tywin is a logical adult, perhaps one of the most consistently logical people in the series. Cersei was a child when Tyrion was born, so one can understand why she felt that he killed her mother (for the record, in case you didn't know, Joanna Lannister did die in child birth with Tyrion and Cersei thinks that this was somehow Tyrion's fault). Tywin, however, was an adult and as such could understand that Tyrion wasn't responsible for Joanna's death. Also, Tywin wasn't Joffrey's biggest fan, so he couldn't hate his son for kill Joffrey (even if he really believed that Tyrion did it and I don't think he does).

So, Tywin's hatred of Tyrion is rather irrational. And that's rather an understatement.

I mean, you can argue that Tywin hates Tyrion because he is a dwarf (which is a fair argument) or that he hates him because Tyrion wasn't the sort of son that he wanted or because he associates Tyrion with Joanna's death, but I have a suspicion that Tywin hates Tyrion for another reason too.

I have a suspicion that Tyrion Lannister is actually a Targaryen.

I know that in Who is the Third Head of the Dragon, I argued that Tyrion wasn't the third head of the dragon, because he was Tywin's son. That's a valid argument, and, at this point, there's no way to prove that Tyrion isn't a Lannister. But what if Tyrion isn't Tywin's son?

There's a very real chance that Tyrion is actually the son of the Mad King, Aerys II. When Dany asks Ser Barristan about her parents, Barristan tells her that Aerys lusted after Joanna Lannister. Barristan recalls that Aerys behaved inappropriately and lewdly and Joanna and Tywin's wedding. Aerys wanted Joanna, and what Aerys wants, Aerys usually gets.

Joanna and Tywin had a happy marriage, so I don't think that Joanna would have willingly had an affair with Aerys. But that's not exactly a problem because we know that Aerys was not above raping women. I mean, he was a pretty disturbed individual. I mean, we know for sure that he raped his sister/wife, Rhaella on more than one occasion. In any case, no woman is allowed to say no to the king, especially Aerys. When it comes to Aerys, it's his way or the be-burned-alive way. So, it seems pretty possible that Aerys could have forced himself on Joanna. Furthermore, Tywin wouldn't have been able to put a stop to Aerys' behavior because if he did, he would probably be burned alive, which must have made Tywin absolutely furious. Tywin is a man of action, so inaction would have been worse than anything for him. This is especially true considering that all of this happened years before Robert's rebellion, so going against Aerys would have been very, very stupid and foolhardy.

Also, Aerys would have had access to Joanna because Tywin was the hand of the king. That means that Tywin would have spent most of his time in the capital, so Joanna must have been there at least half the time. Not to mention that Aerys would be perfectly within his rights to visit The Rock at any time.

My theory is that Tyrion was the product of this horrifying relationship.

If this was the case, Tywin would have known it. So, every time he looks at Tyrion, he remembers Aerys and the horrible things that happened to his wife. No wonder he hates Tyrion.

Elia and Rhaenys (gabzillaz.deviantart.com)

Now, there are two main arguments that could invalidate this theory:

Firstly, Tyrion looks like a Lannister. The Targaryens have a very distinct look and Tyrion definitely does not have silver hair and purple eyes. Tyrion looks like a Lannister; he has the Lannister hair and the Lannister eyes (or eye, he has one green and one black). This doesn't really mean anything though, because we know that Elia Martell's daughter Rhaenys took after her in appearance, not Rhaegar, her father. So it seems that genes associated with the typical Targaryen appearance are recessive. The same could also be said of Jon Snow (who looks like more of a Stark than a Targaryen) and Rhaegar Targaryen. Also, Joanna was a Lannister before she married Tywin, so she looked like a Lannister. Tyrion could easily take after Joanna in appearance, not Tywin.

Secondly, one could make the argument that if Tywin knew Tyrion wasn't his son, he would have gotten rid of him long ago. I mean, it doesn't seem like Tywin's style to raise a child that he knows isn't his. He is a very proud man. However, even if Tywin knew that Tyrion wasn't his son, it wouldn't make sense for him to expose that fact by publicly disowning or otherwise getting rid of Tyrion. First of all, it would be extremely embarrassing for him to admit that his wife had given birth to another man's child. Second of all, you can't get rid of the king's illegitimate child without offending/embarrassing the king. And, as we all remember, you can't offend the king or you die a horrible, painful death.

Also, in terms of practicality, Tywin couldn't be sure that Tyrion wasn't his son after all. I mean, I'm assuming that Joanna was also sleeping with Tywin around the same time as she was sexually assaulted by Aerys. Since Joanna died in childbirth, Tywin could never be sure if Tyrion was his son or not. Unfortunately, this was before the days of DNA testing. What seems most likely to me is that Tywin decided to assume that Tyrion was his son, even though there was a horrible, nagging doubt in the back of his mind. From a logistical stand point, it's always better to have more children. More children means more chances for politically advantageous marriages and more chances at having family members in positions of power. Tywin is an intelligent man; he understands this.

Of course, if Tyrion is a Targaryen, that puts him in prime position to be the third head of the dragon. It's a good thing for Dany that he has conveniently turned up outside Meereen.

Also, Tywins last words to Tyrion are "you are not my son". So, that's subtle. 

So there you have it; Tyrion Lannister might actually be Tyrion Targaryen. It has a certain alliteration to it, doesn't it?

Just sayin'