Game of Thrones Final Episode Features Major Surprise for Tyrion Lannister

The Game of Thrones series finale is finally here. Who ultimately sits on the Iron Throne has been revealed. The fates of the beloved characters of the HBO fantasy epic has been revealed and while there were many shocking twists, turns, and deaths in tonight's finale, it's Tyron Lannister who may have ended up with the biggest surprise at all.

WARNING! MAJOR SPOILERS for tonight's series finale of Game of Thrones below.

Going into the episode, fans already had an idea of how things ended for two of the Lannister siblings. Jaime and Cersei died in each other's arms, buried in the rubble as Red Keep collapsed around them. That left Tyrion as the long remaining Lannister sibling and, in a surprising turn, he is the one Lannister left standing at the end.

After being thrown into prison for treason by Daenerys, things looked kind of bleak for Tyrion. He had denounced his role as Hand of the Queen even before his arrest due to Dany's vicious actions in destroying King's Landing and it was expected that Tyrion would ultimately end up dead just like his siblings. Instead, though, Jon managed to convince Jon that he needed to turn against Dany as she posed a threat to his family. Jon ultimately kills Dany leading to a crisis of sorts: who will rule now? A council ends up voting for Bran to be the King on Tyrion's suggestion because stories bind people more than anything else -- and Bran has a good one. It's Bran who levels the biggest surprise for Tyrion: he makes the surviving Lannister his Hand of the King.

Tyrion ending Game of Thrones as Hand of the King feels like such an unlikely outcome, especially after the most recent episodes of the series. Tyrion, after all, is the one who revealed Jon's true parentage to Varys after being told the secret by Sansa. Varys, for his part, had attempted to convince Jon to turn against Dany and take the Iron Throne instead. Tyrion had also attempted to assist Cersei escape by assisting Jaime so that he could try to rescue her and the pair escape to Pentos. Aiding the rival queen itself is an absolute act of treason and considering that Dany had Varys burned alive for his treason, it wouldn't have been a surprise had Dany done the same to Tyrion. By putting him in prison, however, it let him on a path back to the role of Hand and position of power, leaving him the last surviving Lannister and the one who will get to shape the future of Westeros to come.

What did you think of Tyron's fate in tonight's Game of Thrones series finale? Let us know in the comments below.