Tyrion Lannister

"Never forget what you are, for surely the world did not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be you weakness. Armour yourself in it and it will never be used to hurt you"

Tyrion is probably one of the most complex characters in the entire series as he tries to balance the good he does and portrays with all of the bad that he does.  From birth he was treated as a literal and figurative monster, as he was the incidental cause of his mother Joanna's death from childbirth complication. Tyrion himself was described as a literal monster (possibly with a tale), which can probably be ascribed to the lack of knowledge on children born with different disorders. It's told that his father almost through him down the well, but only the thought of his beloved wife kept him from doing it. This is a very crucial point in the contentious relationship that occurs between Tyrion and his father Tywin. At this point in the books, Tyrion is 26 (show Tyrion is more in his 30s) and you can clearly see the affect of desperately wanting his father's love and acceptance. Because Tyrion was seen as useless in his father's eyes, he turned to books as his solace from the cruelties of the world. Perhaps to get back at his father or to show the world his worth, he took to getting heavy into vices and flaunting his wealth.

There is one effect that Tyrion thinks of often and has profoundly affected his life, his first marriage to a girl named Tysha. He briefly mentions her in the show, but she serves a heavy reminder through the entire series, especially as he is preparing to marry Sansa. At 13 he rescued this beautiful young girl from bandits and they fell in love. They took advantage of a drunken septon and used that to say their marriage vows. Tywin, ever the controller was furious and wanted to make Tyrion learn a lesson. He called Tysha a whore and Jaime also confirmed the story to Tyrion who was devastated. Tywin then had 100 of his men rape the girl, after which they would pay her a silver coin. Tyrion was made to watch and go last, paying her a gold coin (cause he was a Lannister). This whole story changes Tyrion as he feels he will never have love willingly (which leads to his penchant for whores).

Another thing is his father's rejection of Tyrion as an heir. This leaves Tyrion feel like less than second-best since his father would rather put all of his hopes on Jaime quitting the Kingsguard to maintain his birthright. The most interesting fact is that despite his denial Tyrion is the child most like his father (with his wits and savvy), which becomes more apparent with Jaime's refusal to become heir and Cersei's growing paranoia.

I think for Tyrion to truly make his life the best he can, he needs to stop selling himself short and settling for what society says he deserves. Hopefully this means he can separate himself from Shae and focus on being Master of Coin and his marriage to Sansa. At times he has great intentions but they either get overshadowed or ignored due to his past history (as a lecherous person). His brewing confrontation with Cersei is sure to come to a head and right now she has advantage being the Queen Regent, so Tyrion needs to watch his footing especially since he is constantly making a fool of his nephew, the King. It'll be interesting to see what his relationship with Jaime will be like now that he himself a "Cripple, Bastard, broken thing". This is something that could potentially bring them closer (or divide them if Tywin shows his typical favoritism). Tyrion has the best potential right now out of all of the characters prior to season 4 and I hope he can turn that into something great, possibly earning his father's approval/respect (since love isn't an option).