The eighth episode of "Game of Thrones" season four revealed the fate of Tyrion Lannister in the most epic trial by combat.
First, there was a major moment for Sansa Stark at Petyr Baelish's "trial" at the Vale. Sansa had every opportunity to ruin Baelish and expose his secrets, but decide to pull a play right out of Littlefinger's playbook. She blamed her Aunt Lysa's jealously and madness that drove her to jump through the moon door. Baelish was caught off guard, but went along with Sansa's story.
Baelish later confronts Sansa, asking her why she would lie to save him. Sansa reveals he was the lesser of two evils and she was looking out for herself. She basically tells Baelish she knows what he wants and isn't afraid to use it against him. Later in the episode, Sansa emerges looking like a woman instead of a scared girl, bearing a striking resemblance to her mother Catelyn Stark.
The second moment fans have been patiently waiting for was Tyrion's trial. Before the duel began, Jaime Lannister visited his brother at his cell. The two reminisced about happier times in their own way. Tyrion talked about his "simple" cousin who would kill beetles and he could never figure out why. In a strange way, it seemed like Tyrion was asking why him? Why all these bad things keep happening to him? The brothers heard the bells ringing, signifying it was time for the duel.
Oberyn Martell volunteered as Tyrion's champion and fought against The Mountain. Oberyn danced around the giant man with ease, eventually stabbing him and knocking him down to the ground. Oberyn wanted revenge against The Mountain, who killed his sister Elia and her children. He wanted the Mountain to confess, but the man refused.
For a brief moment, it looked as if Tyrion was going to walk away from the trial unharmed. The Mountain look dead, but out of no where trips Oberyn as he is too distracted about getting revenge to notice his opponent isn't actually down. The Mountain punches Oberyn, knocking out most of his teeth and getting him on his back. The Mountain confesses to his war crimes as he squeezes Oberyn's head until it explodes.
