69 replies to this topic

[atia-]

So, what do you think of TV Tywin?  Charles Dance is perfect, but this episode he started to seem really out of character.  Chit-chatting with his cupbearer, telling her stories, smiling at her, etc.  IMO he is just way nicer than book Tywin.  Plus, Arya has completely given herself away as a highborn with her being able to read and her speech.  Not to mention, Tywin has smiled and raised his voice quite a bit in the show.  I know it's a show...but book Tywin is infamous for never smiling or raising his voice, or showing much emotion at all.  It's talked about all of the time in scenes that he's in.  Are you liking this TV change or no?

[CrypticWeirwood]

Tywin never smiled. Not even once.  Really and truly.  I studied all his scenes with plenty of stop action and zoom.  It never happened.

It is a tribute to Charles Dance’s immense skill at the Craft that he managed to exactly convey the very thing that we learn of Tywin, how although he never smiled, that now and again he would threaten to smile, and that this was terrible to behold.

Dance nailed it.  Perfectly.

[atia-]

I guess I have no idea what a smile is.

[tfoxx22]

I have watched some of the episodes with interactive features and in one interview with Charles Dance he mentioned how his character is really intrigued by Arya and that he likes her which i think explains why he seems to like talking to her and having her around. But i agree that he is different from the book and seems, at times, a lot less formidable, but i dont so much mind the change

[Pliny]

I was a Tywin fan before, and I think the series really isn't changing him, but rather just showing us more. Seeing more of him, he naturally seems more human. In the books, we are so often only hearing of the reputation, the legend that is Lord Tywin of House Lannister.

CrypticWeirwood, on 07 May 2012 - 07:47 PM, said:

Tywin never smiled. Not even once.  Really and truly.  I studied all his scenes with plenty of stop action and zoom.  It never happened.

It is a tribute to Charles Dance’s immense skill at the Craft that he managed to exactly convey the very thing that we learn of Tywin, how although he never smiled, that now and again he would threaten to smile, and that this was terrible to behold.

Dance nailed it.  Perfectly.

I agree 100%.

There really is a lot of outstanding acting this season, isn't there?

[SerArthurHeath]

Cersei said that Tywin had a special smile for her and I think Arya reminds Tywin of a young Cersei. It is clear in the books that Tywin loved Jaime and Cersei when they were young. It is also specifically stated in the books that Tywin did smile, by his sister, and it is only because so many of his scenes are through Tyrion that we get the impression that he doesn't

[dtones520]

I think he plays Tywin exactly how I pictured him. A confident, stern ruler. Someone who isn't afraid to make the tough choice or rub someone the wrong way.

I actually think he may know he has Arya, but doesn't want to let it on to Arya. He makes her feel comfortable and she is less apt to run away. She thinks she has him played, but I think he is a bit smarter than that. Especially in the scene where she is talking to him about her stonemason father. He just had a look of he knew a little bit more than she thought he did.

[Sxxman]

I see it as more of a grin rather than a smile but it really does depend on how you see a smile.  So far I love what they're doing with Tywin and Arya but if in the next episode I see him breaking down in tears next to Arya I might have to rethink my stance.  I think Arya to him symbolizes what he wanted his children to be, hence why he is nicer to her than other characters.  I also think that when he is with Arya it is like reading a Tywin POV chapter, which I don't believe is in the book.

Edited by Sxxman, 07 May 2012 - 09:06 PM.

[scurvy]

I liked his description of his father (knowing the book Tywin). "He loved us..."  Then he described himself.  "I'm cold."  I don't think he meant physically.  It was Freudian.

[wolverine]

Dance is awesome.  In the books I all around hated Tywin and it felt great when Tyrion slaghtered him.  In the show I think he seems sufficiently like a prick, but he is certainly more likeable.  I think it does make more sense that he is not totally despicable, but they should maybe show him giving more despicable orders.

[Winterfell is Burning]

dtones520, on 07 May 2012 - 08:52 PM, said:

I think he plays Tywin exactly how I pictured him. A confident, stern ruler. Someone who isn't afraid to make the tough choice or rub someone the wrong way.

I actually think he may know he has Arya, but doesn't want to let it on to Arya. He makes her feel comfortable and she is less apt to run away. She thinks she has him played, but I think he is a bit smarter than that. Especially in the scene where she is talking to him about her stonemason father. He just had a look of he knew a little bit more than she thought he did.

Does Tywin even know that Arya escaped?

Anyway, even if he does, I think he would have dismiss Ned Stark's daughter becoming his cupbearer as too much of a coincidence.

[House Balstroko]

I like Tywin's portrayal in the show. It does give him gretaer depth than what we got in the books and somehow makes him a bit more of a sympathetic character.

[The Smiling Eye]

One of the best actors in the show IMO. I love his scenes so much. I actually really like the show Tywin and I feel like he could be a good man, if I didn't know any better. His scenes with Arya are a bit heartwarming... almost.

[boojam]

hk47, on 07 May 2012 - 05:53 PM, said:

So, what do you think of TV Tywin?  Charles Dance is perfect, but this episode he started to seem really out of character.  Chit-chatting with his cupbearer, telling her stories, smiling at her, etc.  IMO he is just way nicer than book Tywin.  Plus, Arya has completely given herself away as a highborn with her being able to read and her speech.  Not to mention, Tywin has smiled and raised his voice quite a bit in the show.  I know it's a show...but book Tywin is infamous for never smiling or raising his voice, or showing much emotion at all.  It's talked about all of the time in scenes that he's in.  Are you liking this TV change or no?

You know I think George does mention in the books that Tywin does smile , rarely, but can happen.
Anyway Dance and I think D&D have mentioned that they are tweaking the Tywin character for the series.
I don't mind , thought he was a wee bit one dimensional in the novels.

[Darth Pipes]

Dance is fantastic and I love his portrayel of Tywin on the show.  Although I can't help but think of Tywin doing a "Reading is fundamental" commercial after yesterday.

As I recall in the books, Tywin was said to have smiled during his wedding and when Tarbeck Hall crumbled.

[Patchface12]

Yeah, the only smile I remember Dance doing was the one where Arya tells him "anyone can be killed," and that smile was damn creepy

[AegonTheUnlikely]

I'm walking a middle line between Tywin knowing he has Arya, and him being completely oblivious.  Recall that there is some speculation that Roose Bolton may, or may not, have known who Arya was in his time at Harrenhal.  His later conversation with Theon, about betraying one's birth by speech, is illustrative.

My theory is: Tywin, being the observant man that he is, recognized Arya nearly from the get go as possibly high born.  He almost certainly doesn't suspect her of being Arya Stark, but he might suspect that she is the daughter of some minor lord, or landed knight.  Her speech, and mannerisms shout her heritage to anyone capable of looking.  Tywin probably figures that once everything settles down, she'll be worth something to someone.  Best to keep her around.

I think that Dance nails Tywin, all the way through.  There was one point in the war council scene where he had what I might describe as the makings of a toothy grin.  But it looked to me like the kind of smile a cat has while its toying with a mouse.  I wouldn't want to be the recipient of that look.

[FiveByeSeven]

Hey guys, so it turns out in the TV series, young Jamie had dyslexia! As a kid, my grandmother once confined me to my room an hour a day rewriting sentences when my elementary teachers reported I had squiggly penmanship. I can only shudder at how Tywin must have spent his four hours a day making sure Jamie learned his letters.

Edited by FiveByeSeven, 07 May 2012 - 10:59 PM.

[Honey Badger]

I think the TV Tywin is very different from the books, but I'm willing to enjoy a different take on him given Dance's great performance.  They are succeeding at humanizing him.  But when you rack up the Rains of Castamere, his wedding "gift" to his son Tyrion, his actions with the Mountain and Bolton, how Robb gets his at the Red Wedding ... well there's a reason people think him a villain.  And it's not for being practical.

[Ponyo Payne]

He reminds me of The Penguin from the old Batman TV show for 2  reasons. First, there is something in the way both actors will keep there heads still, and shift their eyes while looking at people and you can tell the wheels are turning quickly. Second, The Penguin's henchmen were a bunch of bumbling idiots. The last few episodes, it has been the same for Tywin.

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