Game of Thrones returns for its last season this week and viewers will witness the last chapters in a story that has captured worldwide imagination. From Tyrion to Cersei and from The Hound to Sansa, these characters have developed and grown before our eyes. We’ve seen heroes, villains, and masses somewhere in between come and go over the years. Only a handful from the beginning remain. One of those is Jaime Lannister, and this blog post will act as a defence of one of the show’s most notorious characters and my favourite.
The Kingslayer is a lot of things. Incestuous, murderous, condescending and a man without honour. In the climatic scene of the first episode, we witnessed Jaime push a child out of a window. By any measure, attempted murder of a child is a bad introduction for Jaime. Everyone has bad days…
The Kingslayer
Before the events of the show, Jaime embraced a dire reputation. As a king’s guard he murdered the previous king, which is a terrible interpretation of the job description. What viewers and fellow characters alike did not know was the true motivation for the crime. The King had caches of wildfire beneath the city, enough to murder the best part of the capital’s population. The fictional equivalent of a nuke ready to explode, an army at the gates, Jaime took one for the team. Job done, king murdered, thousands saved and everyone hated him for it.
Captivity
The start of Jaime’s transformation came in the second season. Captured for around a year, Jaime plots an escape that involves murdering his own cousin and then fails. Still not the nicest guy, I’ll admit. But eventually Jaime is freed, goes on a bit of a road trip with Brienne of Tarth. They get captured, she’s about to get raped, and Jaime intervenes to ensure she doesn’t. In the aftermath to follow the captors chop off his sword-hand- a limb that defined everything he was as a knight. Eventually freed again, he saves Brienne a second time by jumping into a bear pit. Word on the street is fighting a bear with only one arm is difficult. I’ll take those critics at their word.
A Nasty Breakup
Jaime returns to the capital city. Fella has lost one arm. Can’t get much worse, right? In the coming seasons all three of his children DIE. I’m no parent, but that sounds like a terrible time for all involved. Even when his brother is found guilty of the murder of the eldest Jaime steps up and frees him. Sound bloke. If anyone reads this blog whose favourite character is Tyrion owes Jaime a massive thank you for that one.
That leads us to recent events. Now all his incest kids are dead, Cersei sits on the iron throne as Queen. Remember when Jaime murdered the king for trying to blow up the capital? Jaime steps away for five minutes and Cersei does just that. Still Jaime back up his sister/ lover.
Yet loyalty has a limit. With the last season ending with an army of the dead breaking through the wall, Jaime finally ditches his sister for the greater good. Until that point, Jamie had to lie to himself. He forced himself to believe that Cersei’s actions would lead to peace in Westeros. Cersei rejects a temporary truce to the war to fight an army of the dead, committing to a strategy even more insane than the Mad King’s “burn them all” plan.
A Hero Born on the Wrong Side?
Introduced as a villain Jaime has become one of the best written and consistently engaging characters in the show. Let’s look at the others. Jon Snow? Moody for seven seasons. Tyrion? He’s done nothing interesting since leaving King’s landing. Remember those multiple seasons of Daenerys ruling a city and the politics? YAWN.
The reason Jaime is my favorite is the characters that interest me most are those that blur the line between hero and villain. The Hound and Cersei are the other examples of characters who display this. Strengthened versions of their original characters, yet the changes in reaction to events make sense. For eight seasons Jaime has been an integral character on the more villainous side of the narrative. In the final, we get to see him switch over.
Kingslayer, attempted child murderer, saviour of thousands. The last season will hold a lot in store for Jaime Lannister, maybe even a chance for complete redemption. I doubt it has a happy ending for the man himself or the many others. If you think it does, you haven’t been paying attention. I’ll end this blog with a quote from the man himself. Hate him or like him, you cannot deny he has been interesting. “There are no men like me. Only me”
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