Game of Thrones MVP Watch

In the Game of Thrones, you win or you die.  Every year there are multiple winners and losers, but one always dreams bigger and rises above the competition.  This person/creature/ice scythe is the Got MVP.

This Father's Day Game of Thrones will explore what Father/Daughter dinners are like in Westeros for it's season 4 finale, "The Children."  This season of GoT has been incredible, cashing in on a wealth of great storylines and characters for must-watch television just about every week.  The finale looks to be no different as showrunners are touting it as possibly the best episode yet of the series.

But who has had the best season this year in Westeros/Essos?  While nothing is final until the direwolf howls, lets attempt to give it our best guess as who will be riding the highest going into the break.

But first a recap of past MVPs:

Season 1 MVP: Daenerys Targaryen

Runner Up: Cersei Lannister

This is actually a much closer contest than it first appears.

Sure, Dany goes from being the abused younger sister of a psychopath to the forced bride of a (slightly dashing) murderous barbarian to the mother of three bad-ass dragons, but lets not forget Cersei Lannister and all she accomplished.

Cersei self maneuvered her way from being the unappreciated queen to a fat, drunken king to nominal Queen Bee in Westeros.  Sure, she had a little help along the way, what with brother/boyfriend Jaime pushing a small child from a high window, Lysa Arynn poisoning her husband juuuusst before he got Cersei sentenced to death, and Ned Stark fumbling the ball on the 1-yard line.  But, it takes that kind of luck to win it all.

In any other season Cersei would have locked up the MVP with ease, but alas, dragons.

LVP: Visery Targaryen

There were other losers, but none of them whined more or lost with less grace than Viserys.

Seaon 2 MVP: Tyrion Lannister

Runner Up: Tywin Lanniser

Tyrion was given his chance to shine in season two and shine he did, like wildfire.  As the acting Hand of the King, Tyrion was largely responsible for holding King's Landing and Joffrey's regime together during the tumultuous War of the Five Kings.  While he had allies, he went most of the season as a player/coach both designing masterful game play and carrying it out with precision and spirit.

Tyrion is also the only player on the season that kept his scorecard free of any major losses.  Roadwarrior Robb Stark lost key battles on the home front thanks to incredibly incompetent or traitorous subordinates.  Dany had success but she also didn't seem to understand anything going on around her.  Tywin gets the nod for his late season "heroics" but early in the season he did little more than exchange mildly witty banter with a sort-of-in-disguise Arya Stark.

LVP: Xaro Xhoan Daxos

Talked a big game, but had absolutely nothing going for him.  Had man boobs.

Season 3 MVP: Dany Targaryen

Runner Up: Tywin Lannister

It was a great year for most anyone named Lannister or Bolton in season 3, but Dany takes home her second trophy and it isn't even close.

Tywin upped his game this season, absolutely eviscerating anyone that dared sit down with him for a conversation.  But, Dany conquered two cities, recruited an army, started using her flippin' dragons as weapons, recruited a bigger army, and managed to also pick up something like four or five new boyfriends in the process.  The worst she had to endure were a couple of insults flung her way by guys that would either end up getting killed by one of her aforementioned boyfriends or cooked by one of her aforementioned mother-effing dragons.  Pretty flawless play all around.

LVP: Theon Greyjoy

It was a rough year for anyone with the last name Stark, but they all had a holiday in the sun compared to the seven hells that Theon Greyjoy experienced this season.  The only thing worse than what happened to Theon was the fact that we had to watch it.  All-time LVP season.

SEASON 4 MVP Projections

Odds:

Cersei - 5:2

Littlefinger - 3:1

Jon Snow - 6:1

Dany - 8:1

The Hound and Arya - 9:1

Tyrion - 16:1

Tywin - 19:1

Bran - 22:1

Stannis - 26:1

Ser Pounce - 50:1 

Theon - 250:1 (His odds might be better if he were dead)

Oberyn - R.I.P.

Right now it is a dead heat between Cersei and Littlefinger.  Cersei smoothly handled rival Margaery Tyrell, her father Tywin (who's table game has taken a drop in quality this season), and even held her own against Oberyn Martell.  If Cersei gets her ultimate revenge on her little brother and Tyrion's head ends up on a spike it would be hard not to give her the title.  

Littlefinger is a character that came out of nowhere this season.  Always fun to watch but rarely the center of attention, he not only orchestrated some pretty big plays this season but a few very impressive past accomplishments came to light (Being responsible for the murder of Jon Arynn essentially means everything that has happened in Westeros the last 2 years is because of him).  The guy might not be the flashiest player but his accomplishments are unparalleled.  being born with almost no money, fame, or holdings he has risen to become one of the most powerful men in Westeros and nominally rules over nearly a third of the continent.

If Jon Snow manages to survive his meeting with Mance he'll have had a very strong season in surprisingly limited play, even if he probably won't get much credit for it.  The tag team of The Hound and Arya have been fun to watch but it seems unlikely they're to pull off a big enough win late to give them the points needed to take home the trophy.  

Will Jon Snow know the glory of an MVP? Maybe, if he lives.

Dany and Tywin have surprisingly played themselves out of contention.  Tywin was unable to ever get his feet under him this season and failed to command his usual control.  Despite a strong start for Dany her decision to banish Jorah reeks of bad karma.

Both Bran and Stannis look to make late plays this weekend, but they're unlikely to cause a big enough splash to come away with anything but an honorable mention.

Tyrion is all but out of contention as well but fans would likely be more than happy to settle for his survival.

Regardless of who wins the coveted MVP for Season 4 one thing is for certain, it will not be Theon Greyjoy.