Hand to: Joffrey Baratheon
Being an actually decent Lannister, Tyrion really does try to do good things as the Hand — but in a city ruled by people with secret loyalties and elaborate deceptions, his time gets taken up fast. Tyrion holds his own for the most part, though, by deploying his own formidable wit and deception to figure out who he can (and can't) trust in King's Landing.
A Hand under a weak king can wield serious power, but a Hand under an oppressive boy-king is gonna have a bad time. Joffrey's general awfulness (especially toward Sansa) could only be reined in and smoothed over so much. Perhaps most of all, Tyrion brings the metaphor of the Hand acting on behalf of the king to life at the Battle of Blackwater Bay, when Joffrey hides like the little coward he is and Tyrion leads the charge against Stannis's forces himself. And after all that? Tyrion is unceremoniously removed from his position . . . by his own father.
