How did Tyrion Lannister go from the first Game of Thrones breakout character to second banana?

Slate

The emergence of Peter Dinklage's "dwarf" character helped the HBO series subvert heroic tropes. But after Tyrion killed his father Tywin at the end of Season 4, Game of Thrones hasn't given him much to do, says Inkoo Kang. As Kang points out, the last time we saw Tyrion, he was watching Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow engage in "accidental incest." Kang adds: "Sidelined, desexualized, and overcome with worry, Tyrion’s was a position more familiar to the castrated spymaster Varys—not coincidentally the figure the black-sheep Lannister had spent the most time with for the past two seasons as the pair crossed continents in search of Daenerys’ favor. Tyrion once loomed largest among the HBO drama’s approximately 17 million characters, serving as the show’s default protagonist (and garnering the actor who plays him, Peter Dinklage, three Emmy wins, another four nominations, and a Golden Globe). But that brief moment in the finale seemed to confirm the second-banana status of Daenerys’ recently promoted hand. How did the fan favorite—the character most beloved by author George R.R. Martin himself—lose his place in the spotlight? And is Game of Thrones better for that loss?" ALSO: Comedians help finish the joke Tyrion keeps starting.