Original artwork, not a still
Never forget what you are. The rest of the world will not. Wear it like armor, and it can never be used to hurt you.
— Game of Thrones · 2011
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
Tyrion hands Jon a survival strategy learned from living as a dwarf in a family that despises him: take the insult before anyone can use it, and it stops being a weapon. It sets up the show's central kinship between its two outsiders and Tyrion's habit of joking first. Fans quote it as a reclamation motto, and Jon's own story spends years testing whether the armor holds.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Game of ThronesShow the scene
In Game of Thrones season 1, episode 1, "Winter Is Coming" (17 April 2011), King Robert's feast is under way inside Winterfell while Jon Snow, a bastard thought unfit to attend, hacks at a dummy in the courtyard and begs his uncle Benjen to take him to the Wall. Tyrion Lannister wanders over, tells Jon he is the bastard, and offers this advice. Jon snaps back that Tyrion knows nothing about it, and Tyrion answers that all dwarfs are bastards in their fathers' eyes. In the next episode the two ride north together towards the Wall.
Sources (3)
- Game of Thrones S1E1 transcript, Springfield! Springfield!Tyrion and Jon courtyard exchangeReference checked
- Winter Is Coming (episode), Game of Thrones WikiSynopsis and Behind the scenesReference checked
- The Kingsroad, Game of Thrones WikiPremiseReference checked
Context reviewed
