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In A Storm of Swords, who initiated the rescue of

Tyrion Lannister when he was locked up in a cell, about to be executed for the murder of Joffrey?

I know Varys and Jaime were both involved, but who came up with the rescue plan?

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Jaime initiated it.

In fact he had to threaten Varys at dagger-point in order to make the eunuch go along with it. The details (including hidden passages) might have been worked out by Varys, but the whole idea was Jaime's.

Quoting from Chapter 8 (Jaime-PoV) of A Feast for Crows, in a flashback scene:

He had waited in the eunuch's chambers that night, when at last he had decided not to let his little brother die. As he waited, he had sharpened his dagger with one hand, taking a queer comfort from the scrape-scrape-scrape of steel on stone. At the sound of footsteps he stood beside the door. Varys entered in a wash of powder and lavender. Jaime stepped out behind him, kicked him in the back of the knee, knelt on his chest, and shoved the knife up under his soft white chin, forcing his head up. "Why, Lord Varys," he'd said pleasantly, "fancy meeting you here."

"Ser Jaime?" Varys panted. "You frightened me."

"I meant to." When he twisted the dagger, a trickle of blood ran down the blade. "I was thinking you might help me pluck my brother from his cell before Ser Ilyn lops his head off. It is an ugly head, I grant you, but he only has the one."

"Yes . . . well . . . if you would . . . remove the blade . . . yes, gently, as it please my lord, gently, oh, I'm pricked . . ."

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  • 7
    Of course, ASOIAF being what it is, it's perfectly possible that Varys had the idea of making sure that Jaime would have the idea of... :-) etc etc – user56reinstatemonica8 Sep 15 '15 at 22:08
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    @user568458 Inception. Varys-ception. What is Varys may never die; but rises stranger and Eunuch-er. – Möoz Sep 16 '15 at 0:03
  • @user568458 It would be very unlike Varys not having at least considered the possibility of Jamie threatening him to free Tyrion. I guess he at least let it happen because it fitted into his plans. – ben Sep 17 '15 at 16:20
  • @Ben Given how well prepared Ilyrio and the ship were, plus other preparations made such as leaving the old coin somewhere it would be linked to Tyrion's escape, I rather suspect Jaime simply threatened Varys into doing something Varys had already made plans to do anyway... And so the only difference Jaime's intervention made was in accidentally pushing an emotionally confused Tyrion towards patricide... No conclusive proof, but it seems too GRRM to not be true :-) – user56reinstatemonica8 Sep 17 '15 at 17:17
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    It seems Varys was pricked for no good reason. :0 – Elaine Sep 17 '15 at 19:10

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