His Watch Has Ended: Jaime Lannister

Game of Thrones has entered its final season and that means it’s time to take stock of the show as a whole. But rather than do a set of episode reviews, we decided to take a little inspiration from the books for our post-mortem. George R.R. Martin’s still unfinished series features chapters based on the point of view of its characters, so each of these posts will review their individual journeys in the show as they come to their end, whether peacefully or violently - this is Thrones, after all.

We’ll ask the same set of questions for each character, reflect on where they came from, where the events of the series took them, and where we leave them. How effective was the show’s approach to the character, and is their ending satisfying? What purpose did each character serve throughout the series?

If it isn’t already obvious, this is MEGA-SPOILER territory, so beware if you’re not fully caught up on the show.

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JAIME LANNISTER

Where Did He Come From?

Jaime is the eldest son of the rich and powerful Lannister family, who control the noble house at Casterly Rock. He’s the older brother of Tyrion and the younger twin of Cersei. He’s a handsome charmer and one of the best fighters in Westeros, having famously killed the mad King Aerys II before the ruler could murder his subjects. But when we’re introduced to Jaime, the show spends a lot of time cementing him as one of the key villains, especially after he pushes Bran Stark out of a window in the series premiere to cover up his incestuous relationship with Cersei. He goes on to arrest Ned Stark and generally support all of Cersei and the other Lannisters’ nefarious plans.

Where Did The Show Take Him?

Jaime is one of the most well-traveled characters on the show. He’s spent time in the various battlefields across Westeros, has been occasionally captured by the Starks and Brienne of Tarth, and even went on a rescue mission to Dorne to bring back his daughter. Along the way, we’ve slowly been encouraged to see Jaime in a more complex, sympathetic light. He seems remorseful for the things his family has done, and Tyrion has always credited Jaime for standing up for him. By the time the final season rolls around, Jaime appears to have sided with the Starks, a decision we would never expect from the Jaime of Season 1.

Where Does His Story End?

A theory floated around before the fifth episode of Season 8 that Jaime was destined to return to King’s Landing to kill Cersei and thus end the war with Daenerys’ forces. It becomes clear that Jaime’s creepy love for his sister is too powerful, and instead he plans to escape with her. This goes awry, however, when he encounters a newly fleet-less Euron Greyjoy outside the castle and is mortally wounded in a duel (not without killing Euron first). Jaime stumbles inside, reunites with Cersei, but the two of them are apparently crushed by falling debris in the keep below the castle, as Daenerys and Drogon lay waste to the city above.

Does The Character Redeem Himself?

This is complicated one. On one hand, Jaime prevented a massacre in his youth, and his actions during the recent events on the show suggest he’s ultimately good-natured. But some viewers would argue that Jaime’s actions to advance the Lannister cause and protect his secret with Cersei make him irredeemable. Jaime is perhaps one of the best examples of the core themes in Game of Thrones (and George R. R. Martin’s source novels): that the kind of heroic pure-heartedness we see in other works of fantasy is unrealistic, and that people are a lot more self-centered than we care to admit.

Is Jaime’s Ending Satisfying?

Not as satisfying, perhaps, as seeing him kill Cersei (even if he dies in the process). There’s a poetic quality to an ending like that, and perhaps the writers on Thrones felt that it might be a little too much so. Nevertheless, there’s still some symbolism in having the castle that has long acted as an icon of the Lannisters’ greed and bloodthirst be the thing that crushes Jaime and Cersei.

What Role Did This Character Play In The Overall Storytelling?

Jaime is an essential character on the show - a perfectly conflicted character whose loyalties are prone to shifting and who acts as an important go-between for the more idealistic characters on the show. Earlier in his life, he represents the power and influence of the Lannister family, and later on, he represents how their campaigns have withered the land around them and generated blowback for everyone involved. Even though Jaime doesn’t have a huge impact on plot of the final season, his fade-out from the show mirrors the overall collapse of his family and the arrival of a new era.

Best Moment On The Show

Jaime’s had a lot of fun moments over the years, but a couple of the ones that stick in my mind are his banter with Bronn, his rescue of Tyrion in Season 4 (which enabled Tyrion to kill their domineering father Tywin), and the cliffhanger in Season 3 when he loses his hand to men from House Bolton.