The 30 most iconic moments from Game of Thrones, ranked

23. Tyrion’s speaks in his own defense

After Tyrion is accused of murdering Joffrey, he’s put on trial by his family — although the trial, of course, is a complete sham, since they’ve already decided he’s guilty. The final twist of the knife is when Shae, the woman he loves, testifies against with lies fed to her by Cersei. It’s one step over the line too many.

When Tyrion finally speaks in his own defense, all the anger and resentment that’s been building up his whole life spews out. In spite of his efforts to appease his father and siblings, Tyrion has never fully been appreciated by his family. The audience knows this already, but this scene seems to be where it fully sinks in for Tyrion himself. He admits his “crime” of being a dwarf, telling Tywin that he’s “been on trial for that my whole life.”

Tyrion has spent his life trying to wear his weaknesses life armor, but everyone has a limit, and this was his. Tyrion has internalized all of the slights against him, from both his family members and the people in the city he worked to defend against Stannis. It’s a beautifully monstrous speech, delivered with passion and vigor by Peter Dinklage in his show-best performance.

This is the moment Tyrion stops allowing his family to decide his fate. At the end, when he demands a trial by combat, he makes it clear that he’s done making sacrifices for a family that doesn’t value him. He declares that he won’t die for Joffrey — or really, any of the Lannisters — and that he’ll instead let the gods decide his fate. But what he’s actually doing is taking his fate into his own hands.