Heart wrenching betrayals, gruesome battles, and fire breathing dragons are all what make Game of Thrones one of the best shows on television. With great TV shows come great characters and Game of Thrones has more than enough interesting and memorable ones. Some personal favorites of mine are Tyrion Lannister, Jon Snow, Jaime Lannister, and Bronn of the Blackwater. But of the few, one character in particular stands high above all others, Tyrion Lannister.

Whether it’s through his miserable family relationships or silver tongued remarks, Tyrion makes it difficult to not enjoy every scene that he’s in. One of the most interesting and unique characteristics about Tyrion is his size. Being a dwarf is certainly not an advantageous trait in the land of Westeros. In fact many would say it’s one of the worst possible things one could be, next to being a bastard. But being the “imp” or dwarf is what makes Tyrion so unique. It allows viewers to see Tyrion as an underdog despite his family, the Lannisters, being immensely powerful and manipulative. Even then, his family, apart from his brother Jaime, despise him for being a dwarf and making a mockery of their prided family reputation. Because of this interesting dynamic with his family, Tyrion has learned to love himself even when despised by those around him.

Often, characters throughout the show have some sort of clever insult for the dwarf to which he’ll respond with a remark that’s bound to have viewers giggling.

For instance his sister, Queen Cersei, once commented, “You know that you’re not half as clever as you think.”

To which Tyrion responded, “That still makes me twice as clever as you.”

And these one liners aren’t hard to come by. An episode of Game of Thrones is rarely complete with some sort of conversational sparring involving Tyrion. Not to mention, the various goofy scenes that involve Tyrion, his partner in crime, Bronn of the Blackwater, and his squire, Podrick, are some of the most memorable and hilarious scenes in the entire series.

Now people will argue that the best Game of Thrones character is Khaleesi or Jon Snow and while both are fantastic characters, they’re not on the same level as Tyrion. Khaleesi is bold and strong as well as the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, but she lacks familiarity. She’s a constantly changing and evolving character and is thus hard to constantly agree with and relate to – causing her to lack a certain warmth that attracts the majority of the audience. Jon Snow is similar in that he is a brave, strong character who consistently tries to make the morally correct decision, regardless of the consequences it brings.

However, both of these characters have received sound lessons from Tyrion in the show which they’ve used to develop. Although Tyrion has his minor character flaws – such as being a drunk and having little to no fighting ability – they’re a part of what makes him such a unique and funny character. In fact, some of Tyrion’s best quotes occur when he’s on a drunken rampage in the company of those he hates.

Drunken adventures, hilarious comments on every situation, and an unchangeable personality are some of the things that make Tyrion so great. But the true hit at home factor that makes Tyrion the best character is the important life lesson he teaches all viewers. Tyrion shows time and time again that his peers’ opinions rarely affect him, which demonstrates that people in society today should respect themselves, regardless of their peer and family’s opinions.

So next time you’re watching Game of Thrones, relish Tyrion’s humor and bravado, because who knows how long the best character will continue to exist in the land of Westeros.