Jaime Lannister

Character description

In A Game of Thrones (1996), Ser Jaime is introduced as one of the Kingsguard, the royal security detail, the son of the wealthy and powerful Tywin Lannister (the former Hand of the King), and one of the greatest swordsmen in the Seven Kingdoms with few able to match him, such as Barristan Selmy, Garlan Tyrell, Loras Tyrell. Jaime's twin is Cersei, the Queen of Westeros by her marriage to King Robert Baratheon. Jaime is derisively referred to as "the Kingslayer" because he killed the "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen in the coup that put Robert on the Iron Throne.

Eric Dodds of Time described Jaime as "handsome, an incomparably skilled fighter, and disarmingly witty". The New Yorker called the Lannisters "a crowd of high-cheekboned beauties ... who form a family constellation so twisted, charismatic, and cruel that it rivals Flowers in the Attic for blond dysfunction". Lev Grossman wrote for TIME that while Jaime and Cersei's younger brother Tyrion is a grotesque dwarf, "the rest of the Lannisters are stunted too, but on the inside." The Los Angeles Times called Jaime "handsome and unscrupulous", though Dodds noted in 2014:

Sure, he's done some of the most despicable things on a show full of despicable things—including but not limited to fathering children by incest, attempting to murder a boy who discovered said incest, and the cold-blooded murder of one of his own cousins—but despite all that, the Kingslayer remains one of Game of Thrones' most popular characters.

Darren Franich of Entertainment Weekly noted that in the novels, "[Jaime is] a vaguely villainous minor character in Game of Thrones, then is basically absent from Clash of Kings, and suddenly he becomes a tragic hero in Storm of Swords." In A Game of Thrones, Jaime is not only carrying on an incestuous affair with his twin sister, but he pushes a young Bran Stark out a high window to his likely death after the boy witnesses them in the act. Jaime admits these crimes to Catelyn Stark in A Clash of Kings (1998) and tells her a horrific story of Aerys Targaryen's cruelty. In A Storm of Swords (2000), Jaime initially loathes the female warrior Brienne of Tarth, but both his honor and his reluctant respect for Brienne compel him to lie to their captors to prevent her from being raped. He later explains to Brienne that he killed Aerys because the king had planned to incinerate all of King's Landing and its inhabitants rather than let it fall into Robert's hands. When Jaime is released to be sent back to King's Landing in deference to his father, he first saves Brienne, who has been thrown into a bear pit for the mercenaries' amusement. Martin told Rolling Stone in 2014:

Storylines

A Game of Thrones

Jaime Lannister accompanies the royal family to Winterfell, wherein King Robert Baratheon hopes to persuade his old friend Ned Stark to serve as his Hand of the King. During the visit, Ned's young son Bran inadvertently observes Jaime and his twin sister, Queen Cersei Lannister, having sex in a remote tower, at which point Jaime pushes the boy out of a window, intending to kill Bran to keep their relationship secret. Bran survives, though paralyzed from his waist down and with no recollection of the incident. When an assassin later tries to kill Bran, his mother, Lady Catelyn Stark, accuses and arrests Tyrion, believing him the culprit. In revenge, Jaime instigates a brawl with Ned and his men in the streets of King's Landing, killing many on both sides, including Jory Cassel, the captain of Ned's household guards. Ned later discovers that Robert's three children are the products of Jaime and Cersei's affair, but the oldest, Joffrey Baratheon, executes him upon his ascension to the throne. Jaime then rides for the Riverlands to aid his father, Tywin Lannister, in his campaign against the Riverlands, taking command of half the Lannister host. He besieges the Riverlands' capital of Riverrun, but Robb Stark's army waylays his army in the Battle of the Whispering Wood. Jaime is taken prisoner and incarcerated in Riverrun. In the meantime, Joffrey has named Jaime as commander of his Kingsguard.

Hillary Busis of Entertainment Weekly called the twist of Jaime and Cersei in the tower "lurid and shocking, exactly what I needed to jolt me awake and make me start paying closer attention ... By the end of the chapter — 'The things I do for love' — I was totally hooked on Thrones". Mikal Gilmore of Rolling Stone noted in 2014 that the moment in which Jaime pushes Bran to his likely death "grabs you by the throat". Martin commented in the interview:

I've had a million people tell me that was the moment that hooked them, where they said, "Well, this is just not the same story I read a million times before."

A Clash of Kings

Tyrion makes several attempts to free Jaime, first by having disguised Lannister guards attempt to break him out and then by offering to swap Arya Stark and Sansa Stark for Jaime. After hearing of the supposed deaths of Bran and Rickon Stark, Catelyn interrogates Jaime. Jaime admits to pushing Bran out the tower window, to his incest with Cersei, and to fathering her children. Jaime then mocks Ned for having tarnished his own honour by fathering a bastard, prompting Catelyn to call her bodyguard Brienne of Tarth for her sword.

A Storm of Swords

Jaime is freed by Catelyn and sent to King's Landing in exchange for Sansa and Arya, escorted by Brienne of Tarth and Jaime's cousin Ser Cleos Frey. Cleos is killed by bandits, and Jaime and Brienne are captured by the Brave Companions, who were formerly in service to Tywin but have defected to Roose Bolton. Their leader, Vargo Hoat, cuts off Jaime's sword hand in the hope that Tywin will blame Roose and prevent the Boltons from defecting to the Lannisters. While held captive at Harrenhal, Jaime reveals to Brienne the circumstances surrounding his murder of King Aerys II Targaryen. Roose Bolton releases Jaime but keeps Brienne hostage. While returning to King's Landing, Jaime has a dream about Brienne and decides to return to Harrenhal to rescue her from Hoat.

Continuing on to King's Landing, Jaime and Brienne learn that Robb and Catelyn have been murdered at the Red Wedding, and that Joffrey has been poisoned, with Tyrion on trial for the murder; Jaime refuses to believe Tyrion is guilty. Tywin gifts Jaime with a Valyrian steel sword forged from House Stark's ancestral sword Ice and reveals that he plans to have Jaime released from his vows to the Kingsguard, disowning him when Jaime declines. Jaime passes the sword on to Brienne and tasks her with finding and protecting the fugitive Sansa Stark. He then forces Varys into helping Tyrion escape, confessing to Tyrion that he owed him a debt for his role in Tysha's fate. Outraged, Tyrion spitefully reveals to Jaime Cersei's affairs during his imprisonment, swears vengeance on Jaime and the rest of House Lannister, and lies that he did indeed kill Joffrey, before killing Tywin.

A Feast for Crows

Jaime and Cersei's relationship breaks down after he repeatedly declines her requests to become the new Hand of the King, and he becomes more disturbed by Cersei's arrogance and impulsive leadership. Jaime tries to reconcile Kevan and Cersei, in hopes that Kevan will take the role of Hand. Kevan rebuffs Jaime's efforts, and implies that he knows of Jaime and Cersei's incestuous relationship. Cersei orders Jaime to go to Riverrun and dislodge Ser Brynden "Blackfish" Tully. Before he leaves, Jaime has an armorer forge him a prosthetic hand. He takes the King's Justice, Ser Ilyn Payne, with him to teach him to fight with his left hand, using the lessons to confess to his numerous crimes. During the march, he encounters his cousin Lancel, who confesses to his affair with Cersei. Jaime persuades Edmure Tully to force the Blackfish's surrender by threatening to sack the castle and kill Edmure's child when it is born, though Edmure assists the Blackfish in escaping. Jaime later receives a letter from Cersei, who has been imprisoned by the High Sparrow and is awaiting trial. She begs Jaime to be her champion in the trial by combat, but Jaime burns the letter without replying.

A Dance with Dragons

Jaime travels to Raventree Hall and negotiates Lord Tytos Blackwood's surrender, officially ending House Stark's insurrection. In the aftermath, he is approached by Brienne, who claims that Sansa is in danger from Sandor "the Hound" Clegane. This is untrue, as Brienne has been forced by Lady Stoneheart, the reanimated corpse of Catelyn Stark, to bring Jaime to her to punish him for his family's role in the Red Wedding.

TV adaptation

Jaime is portrayed by Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau in the HBO adaptation of the books, Game of Thrones. His casting was announced on August 20, 2009.

In October 2014, Coster-Waldau and several other key cast members, all contracted for six seasons of the series, renegotiated their deals to include a potential seventh season and salary increases for seasons five, six, and seven. The Hollywood Reporter called the raises "huge", noting that the deal would make the performers "among the highest-paid actors on cable TV". Deadline Hollywood put the number for season five at "close to $300,000 (equivalent to $407,998 in 2025) an episode" for each actor, and The Hollywood Reporter wrote in June 2016 that the performers would each be paid "upward of $500,000 (equivalent to $670,757 in 2025) per episode for seasons seven and the potential eight. In 2017, he became one of the highest paid actors on television and earned £2 million (equivalent to £2.7 million or US$3.5 million in 2025) per episode for the show.

Matt Fowler of IGN noted in 2013 that "the people who do seem to get redemption arcs on this show are the villains". Over the course of the first three seasons, the series transitioned Jaime from an obvious villain to an antihero of sorts. Eric Dodds of Time wrote that Jaime had become "a complex, bizarrely likable character". Andrew Romano of The Daily Beast explained:

But Jaime wasn't a black-and-white baddie for long. In fact, GoT spent the next three seasons transforming him into a pretty sympathetic character. The turning point was when Jaime was captured and chained up by the Starks—an ordeal that humbled him, humanized him, and eventually left him without a sword hand, struggling to find a new, post-Kingslayer identity for himself. Sure, Jaime could still slaughter his own cousin to escape captivity. But he could also rescue his sidekick Brienne of Tarth from a bear. And pledge to return the Stark girls to their mother, Catelyn. And refuse to kill his brother Tyrion on Cersei's behalf. And so on. He was a compromised, conflicted asshole—but he was basically trying to do the right thing.

Fowler wrote that Jaime's adventure with Brienne was "the best storyline of the season" in Season 3, aside from the Red Wedding.

Storylines

Jaime's storyline in the first season remains, for the most part, identical to his book storyline, with only minor details altered. Introduced in the pilot, "Winter is Coming", Jaime is established as Queen Cersei Lannister's twin brother and a knight of King Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard. After being discovered by Bran Stark to be having an affair with Cersei, Jaime pushes the boy to his presumed death, only for Bran to survive the fall, admittedly with life-altering disability and little recollection of the event. As the season continues, Cersei expresses her concern to Jaime that Bran will one day remember being pushed and expose their incestuous affair, which has spawned all three of Cersei's children. Jaime soon joins his father Tywin Lannister in the field as they face off against Robb Stark's army following the imprisonment of Ned Stark in King's Landing. At the Battle of Whispering Wood, Robb captures Jaime from the Lannister forces and uses him as a hostage. In the aftermath of Jaime's capture, he confesses to Catelyn Stark that he tried to kill Bran, but refuses to reveal why.

Robb brings a captive Jaime with his camp as they march through the Westerlands, as Robb fears Tywin may coerce one of his bannermen into freeing Jaime. At one point, Jaime attempts to escape by beating his cousin and fellow inmate Alton Lannister to death and strangling his guard, Torrhen Karstark, when he comes to investigate. Jaime is soon recaptured by Robb's bannermen, but the anger of Torrhen's father, Rickard, proves fatal for Robb's campaign in the coming months. After Jaime goads Catelyn by mentioning Ned's rumoured infidelity, she releases him and has Brienne of Tarth escort him to King's Landing to trade for her daughters, Sansa and Arya Stark.

After spending several weeks on the road, Jaime attempts to free himself from Brienne's escort and return home to King's Landing by himself. During his attempts, however, they are soon captured by a squad of soldiers bearing the banners of House Bolton. As their prisoner, Jaime manages to convince them not to rape Brienne, but their leader, Locke, takes umbrage when Jaime tries to use his status to secure his own release. He chops off Jaime's sword hand. In the days following this incident, Jaime is shown to be weak and delirious, with his wound becoming increasingly infected. The two are taken to Harrenhal, where the former maester Qyburn treats Jaime's wound. Jaime reveals to Brienne the truth about why he killed "Mad King" Aerys II Targaryen during Robert's Rebellion. Roose Bolton lets Jaime return to King's Landing but insists on keeping Brienne prisoner for abetting treason, though Jaime ultimately returns to rescue Brienne from being killed by a bear for Locke's amusement. The two return to King's Landing, and Jaime is reunited with Cersei.

Reception and recognition

Matt Roush wrote for TV Guide that Coster-Waldau plays "dastardly" Jaime "with malevolent charisma", and Dodds noted that, despite the "despicable things" he has done, "the Kingslayer remains one of Game of Thrones' most popular characters". Matthew Gilbert of The Boston Globe wrote:

The most riveting characters are the most self-serving, notably the queen, Cersei ... and her twin brother Jaime Lannister ... with whom she is having an incestuous affair. They have gorgeous, aristocratic features, but they are pure, compelling evil.

Coster-Waldau received several nominations for his portrayal of Jaime, including the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2013, the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film in 2013, the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Anti-Hero in 2014, the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television in 2014, the Zulu Award for Best Actor in 2017, and two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series nominations.