Game of Thrones Season 5 Spoilers: Why Did Tyrion and Daenerys Meet in Latest Episode?

The latest episode of HBO's Game of Thrones finally brought Tyrion Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen to the same place, which means Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke will finally have some scenes together. But why did this happen now as opposed to later in the season?

Many fans assumed that the show would continue its usual slow pace and drag out Tyrion's journey to the Mother of Dragons for most, if not all, of Season 5. But showrunner David Benioff said the writers did not want to wait.

“We’re really excited to see these two characters we love so much finally set eyes on each other,” Benioff said. “Creatively it made sense to us, because we wanted it to happen. They’re two of the best characters of the show. To have them come so close together this season then have them not meet felt incredibly frustrating. Also, we’re on a relatively fast pace. We don’t want to do a 10-year adaptation of the books, we don’t want to do a nine-year adaptation. We’re not going to spend four seasons in Meereen. It’s time for these two to get together. It’s hard to come up with a more eloquent explanation, but this just felt right. [Varys] puts Tyrion’s mission out there [in the season premiere] and the mission ends in Meereen.”

Of course, this has yet to happen in the books, but the show has diverted from the source material significantly in Season 5. And Benioff said the course of the books cannot hold back the show.

“There will always be some fans who will think it’s blasphemy,” Benioff said. “But we can’t not do something because we’re afraid of the reaction. I like to think we’ve always done what’s in the best interest of the show and we hope most people agree.”

In case you missed it, here's some of our review of last week's episode, "The Gift."

First, let's get to the part for which I've been hyped since the season began. Tyrion Lannister finally made it to Daenerys! I know, I know. There's no way this is going to work out correctly at all. The Queen of Dragons has absolutely no reason to trust a Lannister, especially if she's heard rumors and stories about Tyrion, and there's no guarantee that she'll believe Tyrion once he tells his entire story (or even want to listen to him). But it's Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke acting together! It's the sharp tongue of Tyrion telling Dany everything she's been doing wrong thus far! This is going to be amazing!

The buildup to their meeting was solid, too, as Jorah decided waiting was for losers, strapped on his helmet, strolled out into the fighting pits, and casually knocked out every single competitor (and even the organizer guy) in the ring. The scene worked well because Jorah didn't kill anyone, which made Khaleesi smile, but you just knew that smile would fade as soon as Jorah took off his helmet. And that's exactly what happened. It seemed for a moment that the meeting between Tyrion and Dany would be delayed yet again, but now we're on pace for them to spend the rest of the season plotting and planning in Meereen. Woo!

And speaking of plotting and planning, Cersei continued to unfold her scheme against the Tyrells back in King's Landing. She continued to manipulate Tommen, who is showing flashes of being an angry and possibly dangerous king. But can you blame him? The beautiful woman he genuinely loves was just thrown into jail and he's powerless to stop it. He's frustrated, and Cersei is using that against him.

Unfortunately for her, the consequences are now coming back to bite her. She armed a fanatic religious group and now that same group has turned its sights on her. It's unclear why the Faith Militant agreed to work with the Queen Mother if Lancel Lannister had already told them about her incestuous acts, but it's possible they knew they needed Cersei to acquire the power they would need to affect change. Now, Cersei is also residing in the Black Cells, and it was a moment of delicious comeuppance. Wins are rare on this show, so it's always satisfying to see a character as hateful as Cersei get what she deserves.

What do you think of Benioff's remarks? Let us know in the comments section.