Are Tyrion and Dany Heading Toward a Feud?

After the first few seasons of Game of Thrones, Tyrion seemed like the most gifted political advisor in the Seven Kingdoms. But since he shipped off to Essos to begin Season 5, he’s been on a cold streak. His time in Meereen, when he tried to broker a deal with the slave masters that quickly backfired, was less than promising. Now his plan has resulted in more disaster for Dany, and she snapped at him on the latest episode. On Binge Mode, Jason Concepcion questioned how many losses Tyrion can continue to take.

"Tyrion has been whatever is beyond fortunate," Concepcion began. "You know, slapped on his butt cheeks on the morning of his birth by fortune herself. Just the simple fact that he was born into House Lannister, among the most respected and feared families in the realm, gave him a huge advantage in life. He's smart, capable, and ruthless, sure. No one in our story can talk his way out of a life-or-death situation like Tyrion. But, just like his siblings, when Tyrion got in jams, he always knew that he could play his trump card: ‘My father is Tywin Lannister.’ What would have become of Tyrion if he were born a commoner or to a lesser house? And for almost his entire life, he's been smarter and richer than anyone he met or could possibly even meet. In that sense, the arrogance that Tyrion has always displayed is something he's come by honestly. Now, that arrogance has never hurt him before. I mean, think of the way he handled Pycelle in Season 2 after becoming Hand or the way he strong-armed Lancel into spying on Cersei. His arrogance has usually helped him. Not now. His hot streak is over."

Just as a reminder, Concepcion went through a list of Tyrion’s recent mistakes. It’s longer than you might think.

"The dice began cooling in Meereen, and since landing in Dragonstone, they've been just ice. Frigid. Tyrion's reckoning in the form of Dany's harangue has been a long time coming. I mean, how long should Dany let a trusted adviser and teammate fuck up this thing they're trying to do without at least mentioning it to him once? Yara's fleet, almost a total loss. Dorne, off the board. The Reach, at best crippled. At worst, actively against her. The Unsullied, trapped on the other side of the continent. Euron's navy's rule the seas. Fuck-up after fuck-up after fuck-up after fuck-up after fuck-up. She's never mentioned it once. Now's the time. These are all the things that have happened because Tyrion made a bad plan."

"It is notable that Dany chose to rip Tyrion in front of Davos and Jon, two outsiders. I mean, technically, King Jon is a traitor. He's not even in this."

Maybe this is all we’ll see of a potential Dany-Tyrion feud, or maybe it’ll lead to a much larger fight. Concepcion speculated about how it might play out:

"Very tense, and very dangerous for Tyrion, because this is a serious charge. But you know, all that stuff needed to be said. You can't let this fester for too long. You have to imagine that if the Kingslayer survives falling to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, he'll be pulled from the river and captured, putting Tyrion in the unenviable position of owing his brother a debt -- remember, Jaime sprung Tyrion from jail back in Season 4. And being on strike two with his very irritated queen who ominously loves to watch dudes get burned and devoured by dragons. Tyrion has been making mistakes for a while now. Will he make one more? Does he free Jaime and repay the debt? Interesting question."

Listen to the full podcast here. This transcript has been edited and condensed.

Disclosure: HBO is an initial investor in The Ringer.