Ser Jaime Lannister is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by Danish actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Jaime becomes a prominent point of view character in the novels beginning with the third volume, A Storm of Swords (2000).
Introduced in A Game of Thrones (1996), Jaime is a knight of the Kingsguard and one of the best swordsmen in the Seven Kingdoms. He is a member of House Lannister, the wealthiest and one of the most powerful families in Westeros. He is the elder son of Tywin Lannister, twin brother of Cersei, with whom he has a longstanding incestuous relationship, and brother of Tyrion. Although Jaime first appears unscrupulous, immoral and highly cynical, he later proves to be more complex, honorable, and sympathetic. His lengthy character development has been praised by critics of the novels and the television show.
Jaime is one of the most popular characters in both the novels and the television series. Coster-Waldau received critical praise for his portrayal and several award nominations, including a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television, a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, People's Choice Awards Favorite TV Anti-Hero, and two Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series nominations. He and the rest of the cast were nominated for five Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.
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, and 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:
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:
Specifically addressing Jaime's attempted murder of Bran, Martin said:
Jaime's later chapters in the books give an explanation for his pessimistic and dismissive views of honor. Jaime often recounts his childhood idolization of great knights and members of the Kingsguard such as Ser Arthur Dayne and Barristan Selmy and how he sought to achieve the honor and courage of these men. In A Feast for Crows, he reminisces on the day Dayne knighted him, describing it as the birth of the Young Lion he would become. These idyllic perceptions of Westeros's noble lords and knights would soon sour as Jaime began to grow up. Soon after, Jaime became the youngest member of Aerys II's Kingsguard during the tourney at Harrenhal. This appointment was not made for his skill or honor, but rather was a political move by Aerys to deny Jaime's father, Tywin, his heir and humiliate his house. Regardless, Jaime embraced the honor and used it to remain close to his sister and lover, Cersei. The major turning point of Jaime's mindset came when he betrayed King Aerys II to save King's Landing. Condemned as an oathbreaker and Kingslayer for his act of heroism, Jaime began to shun the notion of honor. In A Clash of Kings, Jaime reflects on this action and the weight of his vows, seeing his adherence to knightly values, such as protecting the innocent, as forsaking his other vows like protecting the King. He places the blame of his actions on these codes and vows, contradictory in nature, that force him to choose between one evil or another. Similar to his brother Tyrion using his disability as a shield, Jaime also hid behind his title of “Kingslayer,” as he made mockery of the values of honor that ostracized him. While Tyrion's disability was physical, Jaime too sees himself as disabled, haunted by divine punishment for the wrongs of his life. Exemplified by his shining golden armor, a contrast to the traditional white uniforms of the Kingsguard, Jaime hid his disillusionment behind arrogance and sarcasm. In A Storm of Swords, Jaime recounts how he had once striven to be an honorable knight like Ser Arthur Dayne but instead views himself as the more twisted and cynical Smiling Knight.
After losing his hand to defend Brienne of Tarth, Jaime again has his world-view transformed. No longer able to rely on his swordsmanship to substantiate his knightly appearance, Jaime begins to re-explore his meaning of honor and redeem himself in his own eyes. Saving Brienne and entrusting her to protect Catelyn Stark's children with his Valyrian steel sword “Oathkeeper,” serve as quiet acts of redemption that push him closer to the honorable knight image he once strived to attain. In A Feast for Crows, he refuses his sister when she asks him to champion her in a trial by combat, marking a separation of his new self from his old. Jaime's complexity throughout the books paint him less as a villain and more as a misunderstood hero.
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:
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