Like many of the most popular television shows and movies of recent years, Game of Thrones adapts a book series. And like many adaptations, it doesn’t completely follow its source material, taking some liberties with the story.
This is both for space and a different format and because the book series still isn’t complete, even though the television series has ended. There are some characters, like Tysha, Tyrion’s first wife, who appears very little in the series and are only mentioned in passing, whereas they have slightly bigger roles, with more details about who they are and how they relate to the story.
10 She Is The Daughter Of A Crofter
In the TV show, Tysha is the daughter of a wheelwright who makes and repairs the wheels that go on wooden carts. But in the book, she is actually a crofter’s daughter, a crofter being essentially a farmer. The impact on this change's story is fairly small, and it’s mostly meant to show that she doesn’t come from a noble family. This difference in status between her and Tyrion is the major conflict in their relationship.
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9 Tysha And Tyrion Are Younger When They Meet
Television series often age up characters from their source material. This is usually done to give them a wider audience and so that the content of the series can be a little more mature.
But the Game of Thrones books doesn’t have this problem. Tysha and Tyrion are good examples of this. In the TV show, Tyrion is 16 years old when they meet, but he is 13 years old in the book.
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8 Littlefinger Lies To Sansa About Her
When Tyrion ends up betrothed to Sansa, it’s in the best interests of many people to make sure that the two of them don’t feel any sense of loyalty or affection toward each other. When Littlefinger talks to Sansa about Tyrion’s relationship with his first wife, Tysha, he lies about why she is no longer in his life, saying that Tyrion got bored with her and “gifted her” to his father’s guardsmen. He does this solely to make Sansa dislike and distrust Tyrion.
7 Jaime Tells Tyrion The Truth About Tysha’s Feelings For Him
Jaime has always known the truth about what happened with Tywin and what he did to Tysha. Tywin told Tyrion many lies about Tysha, particularly that she was only interested in him for his money. Still, when Jaime helps Tyrion escape from the Red Keep's dungeons, he confesses everything he knows about the situation. In particular, he tells him that Tysha actually loved him, which is why she married him.
6 Tywin Was Able To Orchestrate His Plan To Get Rid Of Tysha Because Of Her Innocence
Tysha really was just a young farm girl who ended up running into and being rescued by Tyrion when she was in a bad situation with some people trying to hurt her. But thanks to her innocence, and her lack of power in the situation, Tywin was able to manipulate her into doing what he needed to trick Tyrion. He told her he would kill her if she didn’t, and the threats were enough to convince her.
5 Tyrion Tries To Find Her
Though Tywin successfully convinces Tyrion for much of his life that Tysha betrayed him, after Jaime tells him the truth about the situation and that Tywin orchestrated all of it, Tyrion does try to figure out what happened to her from Tywin. He wants to find her and to make sure she’s okay. But, Tywin pretends that he doesn’t even remember who she is, and he ultimately says he doesn’t know what happened to her after he turned her out.
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4 Tyrion Ultimately Kills His Father Over Tysha
This is a fairly big difference between the book series and the television series. In the show, Tyrion doesn’t mention Tysha when he finally faces his father and takes vengeance on him, killing him in his home.
But it’s actually the final straw in his confrontation with Tywin in the book after Tywin calls Tysha by a name that Tyrion demands that he not say. After he says this word, he stabs his father, ending his life and avenging himself and Tysha.
3 She Was Only A Year Older Than Tyrion
Tyrion ultimately believes in Tysha because she has more experience than him in the arena of love and intimacy, which is part of the reason Tywin can convince him of the lies he tells about her. But Tysha is actually only a year older than Tyrion. This means that she’s 14 years old when they meet in the books. She's innocent and hasn’t seen much of the world, which puts her in the same boat as Tyrion when it comes to relationships.
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2 Tysha Sang For Tyrion When They Were Married
One of Tyrion's many things about Tysha, when they were married, was how she sang to him. Whenever the two of them were alone, Tysha showed affection for him by singing him lullabies and folk songs. It’s one way that Tysha proved she actually cared for him. Even after Tywin convinces Tyrion that she was only after his money and status, he remembers that she fondly sang to him.
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1 Tywin Convinces Tyrion That Tysha Was Using Him
Tywin is a pretty evil figure in the relationship between Tyrion and Tysha. He successfully convinces Tyrion that Tysha betrayed him by going to Tywin’s guards to sleep with them. In reality, he has threatened her into it, telling her that he will kill her if she doesn’t go along with it, which is why she doesn’t fight back. This works to convince Tyrion that this was actually something she wanted to do, which is exactly what Tywin wants so that Tyrion will let him dissolve the marriage.
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