Throughout the Game Of Thrones series, there’s no shortage of tumultuous relationships. In fact, that’s practically what the entirety of Game Of Thrones is based on. Few families are quite as filled with drama as the Lannisters are. With a variety of allegiances for each member of the Lannister family, they make for one of the most varied and interesting houses in all of Westeros’ history.
The house that called Casterly Rock home was led by Tywin Lannister, though his children Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion take up much of the screen time for the family throughout all eight seasons of the show. As one might expect from one of the proudest and yet most pompous houses in the lands, there was plenty of turmoil between the Lannisters. While some of them seemed to love each other (sometimes a little too much for most people), they all seemed just as happy to stab each other in the back whenever it could work to their advantage.
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Why Did Cersei Hate Tyrion?
While Cersei certainly held a bit too much fondness for her brother Jaime, she really hated her impish younger brother Tyrion. Over the course of Game Of Thrones, the two siblings are constantly at one another’s throats thanks to the separate paths that their lives take. While Cersei somehow managed to always hold on to some level of hate for her younger brother, seemingly for different reasons at different points, it always seemed like Tyrion wished he could get back on his sister’s good side.
There are a lot of potential reasons to point to as to why Cersei hated Tyrion, with the simplest being that she blames him for the death of her mother. Thanks to both that very fact and his stature as a dwarf, Cersei viewed her younger brother as nothing more than a monster that killed their mother as he crawled out of her. Obviously, this is an incredibly unfair way to view the circumstances of their mother’s death, but Cersei was never equipped with any kind of kindness and understanding required to heal from and move past such an event.
Another reason why Cersei likely hated Tyrion is because he, in her eyes, brought down the Lannister name through his appearance and behaviors. Even Tyrion is quick to admit that if he wasn’t born a Lannister, his existence likely would have been sad and short as the people in the lands of Westeros don’t look kindly upon people like him. Then there are all the services of women that he employs throughout the series, something that generally isn’t frowned upon in Game Of Thrones, but Cersei is anything but a typical character for any series let alone Game Of Thrones. These factors bring shame to the proud and historic Lannister name, so much so that Cersei seems willing to turn her back on her brother even when their vile father would not.
Yet another potential reason for Cersei’s hatred of Tyrion comes down to the fortune he has in life when compared to her. Cersei looks down on her little brother, and as a result, props herself up as a woman deserving of everything that Westeros has to offer while believing Tyrion is simply lucky to be called a Lannister. Cersei believes that her rightful place is on the Iron Throne, ruling over Westeros as the most powerful woman that the realm has ever seen, and somehow, Tyrion constantly ends up standing against her desires.
Whether she blames Tyrion for the death of her children, something she eventually acknowledges she doesn’t truly believe, or hates him for standing by Daenerys Targaryen’s side, Cersei’s twisted mind has a lot of motivation to hate Tyrion. Despite viewing him as a monster, he is continually handed major positions of power, whether that be acting as the hand of the king, lounging around castles, or standing against the biggest challenge to the Iron Throne. Cersei likely just can’t wrap her head around how someone she views as a heinous creature can end up wielding so much power, and that vitriol only boils over further when the power he wields threatens her own.
Did Cersei and Tyrion Ever Reconcile?
The sad truth is that Cersei and Tyrion never truly have any kind of major moment of reconciliation. Even in moments when it seems like the two are seeing eye to eye or moments where it seems like they’ll finally work together, Cersei still holds nothing but disdain for Tyrion. When it comes to Tyrion, it seems as if he truly would be willing to reconcile with his older sister at nearly any point throughout the show, something that may seem foolish to some, but it is Tyrion’s heart and brain that allows him to make it through the entirety of Game Of Thrones where Cersei does not.
Despite all of that, there is technically one moment that could be viewed as some kind of twisted reconciliation, although it is one-sided. After Cersei and Jaime are crushed by the destroyed Red Keep, Tyrion is the one who finds their bodies, lying together under the rubble. While Cersei could never truly reconcile with Tyrion, she was able to do so with her stoic brother Jaime, a figure that Tyrion actually viewed as a brother. Upon finding their bodies, all Tyrion can bring himself to do is cry, knowing that his family was able to see the end together, leaving him as the sole Lannister left to carry on the family legacy.
It likely wasn’t intentional, but in a way, Tyrion could view the death of his two siblings as them giving a kind of tacit approval for him to carry on and lead the Lannister name to a better place. After all, as Cersei says, "you win or you die." That sort of reading does involve granting a level of kindness to Cersei that likely didn’t exist, but an argument could be made considering she did share the Lannister values of how important family is, something that is demonstrated all the times she could have killed Tyrion but ultimately chose not to.
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