Yeah, the show cut Penny, and you're absolutely right about it really showing up Tyrion's personal flaws. I don't actually feel that Tyrion has had enough to do on the show since arriving in Meereen. He's there and he gets a good line or scene once in a while, but he definitely doesn't have much going on until the very most recent episode.

also agreed about the writing style. I get why he chooses not to outline, but as someone who tried to write fiction without outlining when I was younger, and has learned a lot more about like... outlining, effective scene structure, character arcs, etc... not doing it for the full structure of a complex novel really seems like you're absolutely asking to be where he is now, which I'm pretty sure he's described as a Gordian Knot of plot. Short stories are easier if you're used to writing in the form, and probably also a palate cleanser if you're the author of something like AFFC/ADWD.