Jamie Lannister – initial thoughts


I have not read the books of Game of Thrones TV series, yet here are what I am thinking about the character of Jamie Lannister:

  1. He is twisted (has a relationship with her twin sister), trolling, talented, misunderstood, arrogant, and many other things. Yet, it is the only character that is constantly changing (from a bad and misunderstood character to a more decent one, albeit still twisted) and evolving. I wonder why?
  2. His name is one of the few names in the series that is “usual” in today’s life. Another one is Jon (Snow); I wonder what his name, if ever, signifies or signals.
  3. I wonder why he never made a case about himself after killing the Mad King to protect the others, especially the civilians. Does he not care or does he like his own misery (I am inclined to think so)?
  4. What exactly did he mean when he said “we do not get to choose whom we love” and “all these things I do for love”. I wonder the meaning of love for this character; love for his sister, kids (from his sister by the way), father, brother Tyrion (which is palpable), and others.
  5. What exactly does he find in Brienne that he did not find in others? What is the nature of the bond between these two characters?

It is possible that none of these are relevant, connected, or meant to be this important by the author George RR Martin. I really would like to know whether Martin initially planned the Jamie character to develop this way and with this speed and consistency?

I am not curious about the fate of this character in the novels, as the author Martin has already trained us the fans that only one thing is certain; that everybody dies and there is no guarantee for any of the characters in this story.

Yet, selfishly, I would like this character to survive a little bit more so that we can get to know it.

19 thoughts on “Jamie Lannister – initial thoughts”

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  1. Jaime really never made a case for himself in regards to killing the mad king, ever since he saw the look in Ned’s eyes condemning him. “By what right does the wolf judge the lion?” Ser Jaime complains to Brienne when he tells her of choice to kill Aerys, to keep the city from being immolated.

    He just didn’t want to establish or acknowledge that he owed anyone anything. Especially an explanation.

    But there’s a lot going on. A tad of self loathing, frustration over being put into such a position, having to keep the secret of his love for his sister. Ser Jaime is a complicated man.

    If I can tell a personal story… people talk about throwing the A Storm of Swords book across the room, angrily, when they got to the Red Wedding, but that happened to me much earlier in the book when Ser Jaime gets his hand lopped off. I was so shocked, not that something bad happened to him, but because without even realizing it, I had become very fond of him. It’s the insidious nature of reading chapters from Jaime’s point of view. I hadn’t even realized that I had kind of fallen on his side, that I was invested in him.

    I was angry at myself, since I also wanted him to pay for pushing Bran off the tower.

    So complicated!

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    1. I am reading your post now, thank you. before I finish it I would like to say that somehow this sentence may be saying that Jamie has a regret about his love for cersei or cannot understand himself why her? he is well aware that his love for cersei is wrong and with consequences (constant hiding, not being able to truly father his children (however gross these are I am not going to get into discussion on this). I wonder whether Jamie was not able to get out of this, like being addicted to cigarettes, knowing its negative effects but continuing to smoke anyhow… I do not know. Now back to your post! 🙂

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      1. I completely agree! There’s definitely some kind of regret involved with Jaime and his love for Cersei. He always seems to have two minds on the matter.

        Jaime: Why can’t I quit you?
        Cersei: *bats eyes prettily*
        Jaime: That’s why!

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  3. I liked what you wrote. First, you were certainly faster than me in realizing the Jamie character. I had seen the TV show last summer but my attention was mostly (at least thru the end) with Jon Snow and Sansa and Arya, BUT never Brienne or Jamie.. I am not sure what prompted me to pay attention to them lately, now I am watching the 5th season after the previous seasons, I am getting some more ideas. Bu I guess I will have a better picture when I read the books (hopefully they will arrive next week).
    Second, yes Jamie has never made a case about him and the Mad King before, but then he tells all to Brienne. A moment of weakness? A moment of finally being fed up of the hidings/involuntary inaction on his side (by not giving any explanations or trying to fix others’ opinion on him). Jamie despised being called a kingslayer and as such I am inclined towards him somehow liking his own misery and finding a kind of pleasure in not letting others know what he truly is, coupled with the power and protection he would have because of his father/family and his reputation as a great swordman. I believe his relationship with cersei and the kids they have are another example of how he would not like to share his true identity or feelings. But again, as you said he is a complex character.
    I have not read the books yet, but somewhere on the net somebody said that at the bath, Jamie not only tell Brienne about the truth behind the kingslayer incident, but also pushing Bran out of the window and his relationship with cersei (i.e. ” do you despise my slump? it is the same hand that I killed, I pushed, I bla bla). Why to reveal all of these that he has been hiding for so long to Brienne? even knowing that the last two are putting him and cersei at risk. Very interesting….

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    1. On the show, he tells Catelyn about pushing Bran out of the window (it happens in season 1) so that secret’s kind of out in the open. I’m trying to remember if he tells Brienne about he and Cersei in the books, but I’m not so sure if I recall that.

      Jaime and Brienne are TOTALLY worthy of a lot of discussion. I think you mentioned previously that you might read the books, or you had started. The Jaime point of view chapters, particularly when he’s with Brienne, are great.

      Brienne is so great, just in general.

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  4. Jamie is certainly one character I have grown to love. I loathed him when he pushed Bran down the window.
    I feel his character has a lot of depth. Makes me wonder why he has chosen to be with Cercei all this time. I wish he would find a better woman to love. There was certainly something more genuine with Brienne, something he would never have with Cercei.
    He sees people for who they truly are.
    He is probably the only Lannister after Tyrion I would like to see survive & thrive.
    I really look forward to see how this character further develops.
    Great Post!

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    1. Thanks! I love reading your comment, too. Certainly the jamie character has many layers, but the question is how many layers are in the same direction? this character has both bad and then good features. very intriguing.. I do not know why he thinks he loves cersei either. Brienne is exact opposite in so many ways, but I think neither Brienne and certainly nor cersei have the full picture of love for him… there are so many shades of love and sometimes we end up with the gray one rather than the white. both cersei and Brienne are gray (not completely and fully love). (that was too much of a philosophical thought 🙂 )

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      1. I completely agree. It might not be love in the romantic sense between Jamie & Brienne, but a different kind of love. One filled with Respect & Trust for the other. I really hope the coming layers are in the right direction. I would hate see him going bad again 🙂

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        1. hah ha! me too would hate to see him going bad again, but he may and eventually frustrate us. he is one confused character and until he is settled, I guess we can expect some more bad layers from him. In his change I find something very interesting – let’s see the next chapters. GRR Martin, please do not kill this character yet 🙂

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          1. Yes! For all we know GRR might just kill him, like he did with Ned Stark! When the first season started, I though Ned Stark was going to be the mighty hero of the story!

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  5. Pingback: I think Jamie Lannister will “choose” love | Life as I interpret it

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