I don't always avenge your father and brother, but when I do...

Warning!

Swearing with aplomb inside! Proceed with caution and a decent brain please.

Note!

I've never had any first hand experience with the novels let alone HBO itself. Therefore, do not be surprised at any glaring screw ups. That Jon Snow post N ages ago has surely stressed me out by now. x.x

So who is Jaime Lannister?

Okay, enough of the memes. Let's do one decent montage...

Moral of the story: It's good to be a Jaime Lannister fan, but not so much for the others.

So how did GRRM describe him?

He is considered to be extremely handsome, his tall frame complemented with comely features and "a smile that cut like a knife." ~source: A Wiki of Ice and Fire

We all know what SPG stands for. And it's not Sarong Party Guy. That's my self-invented parody/satire. No seriously, it truly stands for all things negative stereotypes. [1] Simply put, one could say that Jaime's Sarong Party is... well, indeed that damned desirable I guess. But if you think he's your lover-boy material, please think twice.

"a smile that cut like a knife."

I re-pasted this part for a very good reason. Is he a certified psycho? To be fair, I've seen worse off blokes like the Super Clegane Bros, Ramsay Bolton, and Euron Greyjoy. [2]

I won't really bill him as a nutjob mainly because he's still capable of rational thinking 24/7. More on that later on...

Direct contrasts: Before vs After

Early in the series, Jaime comes across as arrogant, amoral, and dishonorable...
~source: A Wiki of Ice and Fire

He's pretty much your everyday Lannister due that final word. [3] Yet, it can be argued that Jaime's subsequent development wasn't really something out of the blue, but something much closer to the Kingslayer of yore, i.e Jaime the idealistic Lannister, NOT Jaime the cynical Lannister.

So any difference between a Kingsguard and the Kingslayer?

For Jaime's case, maybe not that much. Jaime the Kingsguard had something to fight for, ditto for Jaime the Kingslayer also. Let's talk a bit about King Aerys Targaryen II. He's utterly crazy, but it's not his fault. Tywin was the indirect cause due to his conservative approach during the Defiance of Duskendale. Granted paranoia is never the best way to reward your ministers in-charge, yet Operation Hijack was that one event bringing the house down. The greatest victims of them all? Dead people and a living Lannister.

Firstly, Aerys' refusal to wed Rhaegar with Cersei played a major role in this political wrangle. Tywin wasn't a happy Lannister, that's why Aerys decided to give one more middle salute. By instilling Jaime as part of the Kingsguard, the resultant oath sworn taken would mean House Lannister will never have a heir. As it turned out later on, Aerys' greatest decision would be his greatest act of unintentional suicide.

Strike two will be the fact that Jaime had to endure His batshit crazy Majesty. One particular episode of note would be Queen Rhaella's lot in marriage. Let's ignore the fact that the Targs are incest-bait, let's talk about the fact that the royal marriage was one without love. Long story short, Aerys abusing his queen both physically and sexually was a recipe for mind rape.

As per Ser Jon Darry's reply to poor young Jaime's question of protecting the queen, it's all about protecting Queen Rhaella from everybody BAR King Aerys himself. Spoken like a true knight there, bro. Pragmatic asshole obeying rules painted in red ftw. To think why people castigated Ser Jaime Lannister as an asshole for breaking the rules...

And please don't give me the crap excuse stating Jaime was still young. He had taken the vow for fuck's sake! So don't tell me he didn't know a shit about the rules.

Quintessentially, cynics could virtually call the entire Kingsguard a craven organisation. Never to question nor making their doubts known, this also means people like Ser Barristan Selmy and Ser Arthur Dayne were not that dissimilar to Oathbreakers like Jon Arynn, Robert Baratheon, and Eddard (Ned) Stark.

Strike three is Jaime's dilemma on whether it's truly right to judge his King even though he's truly in the wrong. [4] Again, yet another yes-man in the form of Ser Gerold Hightower invoked a logic similar to Jon Darry's. That as members of the Kingsguard, none should be judging the King, but rather guarding the King.

To me, it's not so much of courtly red tape, but legit worries of going overboard in terms of rightful duty. Then again, this will also mean King Aerys tell you to go and die, you must go and die. Tell you to go rape your daughter, no choice, go suck thumb. Would the likes of Gerold Hightower and Jon Darry obey such an absurd command once their time comes? I fear they will.

They said a King is the ruler of a kingdom, I say a King is the symbol of a kingdom. How your people fare depends on you as the King, not the other ass backwards order. In such an event tantamount to non-commonsense logic, things like good and noble people breaking their oaths will be your greatest birthday present ever. Full stop.

So if logic above implies Jaime the Kingslayer, then what about Jaime the Kingsguard?

That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead. [5]

This was Jaime's musing someplace along the way. Ser Arthur Dayne was a certified badass even though he's forced to be a yes-man just like the rest back then. In fact, via Bran's vision, Ned actually commented that... Dayne would have killed him "but for Howland Reed."

So who's the Smiling Knight?

Let's just say he's a psychotic fucker who can kill the shit out of anyone easily.

Case in point: It took Ser Badass Arthur Dayne a prolonged duel to kill him. Before that, Jaime managed to fend him off when they briefly crossed swords. Given how Jaime got warped by events all too major, it's only natural for him to over-analyse his predicament. [6]

Ironically enough, I believe he's a lot more of a Ser Arthur Dayne than the Smiling Knight. Remember why he earned the Kingslayer moniker?

So do you obey a mad fucker even though he's wearing a golden crown?

Long story short, Rhaegar took Lyanna Stark away [7] and Brandon Stark decided that being a loudmouth asshole is the best way out. Come the end, not only did Brandon die a horrible death through strangulation, daddy Rickard Stark also got roasted alive. Aerys demanded the heads of Robert and Ned next, this was to be Jon Arryn's only answer:

Now Jaime was not an idiot, for constant observation equals to constant surveillance. This young lion could never predict what Aerys will do next, but it also means any danger signs would be all too apparent. If you cannot predict accurately, assume accurately. Surely for good, Aerys decided that a roasted King's Landing would be the perfect landing gift for all usurpers. However, that's only under the worst case scenario where rebel forces would huff, and puff, and blow King's Landing down. [8]

Of course once Tywin turned heel into Aerys' face, everything kicked into gear. Jaime was ordered to bring his father's head to him with insidious preparations underway. If there's any major failure on Aerys' part, it would be Jaime learning how to maintain a facade.

Initially, "going away inside" means blocking oneself away from reality. That's Jaime's only way in maintaining sanity, it ended up being the only way where Aerys would never suspect him. As it turned out, Jaime DID slay Aerys and quite a good number of his cronies.

All for his father's sake? I say he did it for the people at King's Landing as well. In between a resultant sack or firestorm, Jaime could only choose one. It's either the lesser of two evils or he could just say "fuck it, ragequit."

Tywin's success was only a by-product of Jaime's decision because the young lion's intent was far towards making a clean break with his demons.

Of course, I believe Jaime cared for the folks out there even though the Sack of King's Landing was nothing less than a humane atrocity. To him, failure in making the correct choice would only mean living out a meaningless life. Dead man walking ftmfw.

House Darwinism - Part 1

Firstly, let's touch on his capability. Nothing inhumane since we're not talking about Plotkai. GRRM is way beyond Kubo Tite's level anyway. vOv

An able warrior:

Fella's a real talent in this field. At the age of thirteen, he won his first tourney melee. Two years later, Ser Arthur Dayne knighted him on the battlefield. This was the same conflict with the Smiling Knight. Being the Kingsguard under a holy order? Blame it on that Once and Future Bitch.

A sharp analyser

We first detected signs of this during his years around Aerys. Escapist mentality do have unintentional consequences [9] after all. During his fallen years without his right hand, Jaime managed to make everything count on the learning process.
Without this capability honed by disability, there's no way he could coerce Edmure Tully to surrender. [10]
Without this capability honed by physical disability, there's no way he could settle the siege at Raventree Hall through diplomacy alone.
And above all, he tried giving his best political counsel to Cersei and uncle Kevan. [11]

A fast learner?

It still remains to be seen on where Ilyn Payne will take this one. Indeed Ilyn Payne is a proven badass. [12] Of course whether Jaime will regain his former glory remains to be seen, let alone surpassing himself. Given GRRM's way of doing things though, chances are that we won't. [13]

Lannister Darwinism Part 2

Demons, demons and more demons

"I left my wife and children in your hands".

~Rhaegar Targaryen

Was Elia Martell and her two children's fate something rigged? To be fair, that wasn't part of Tywin's intent. Above everything else, Jaime failed in his line of duty. Said duty entrusted unto his hands wasn't ordered by Aerys, but rather holy orders given by Rhaegar Targaryen himself. Simply put, Jaime trampled on his own honour out of necessity. Again, he would have most likely knew about Aerys' plot since the plan was drafted way before the fateful Battle of the Trident (plus Rhaegar's death in process as well). As it turned out, everything went terribly wrong and Jaime was never able to forgive himself since. Not even currently by my own reckoning.

Redemption and She-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named

Jaime is indeed someone hell bent on redemption. Back then, his only feelings for Aerys was contempt born from helplessness
.

For Cersei, we need to go a bit more in depth. Firstly, Jaime's past life was a life full of killing and fucking. Cersei's version is all about dominating and fucking. After episode final shag, however, things spiralled downhill.

The greatest question is why?

Brienne of Tarth. I believe she's the answer. I'm an ardent Jaime x Brienne shipper, but that's another thing reserved for another day. In an actual sense, Brienne was Jaime's shock therapist. The dynamic duo didn't get along well at the beginning, their bonds grew stronger later on. Minus all the romantic speculation, I believe Jaime saw in her what he should have been rather than what he had been. Where this would take his future journey remains to be seen, but most likely he'll die a tragic death in trying.

Guess GRRM will pull off this face for all the correct fanbase reasons:

P.S: Have to stop here now. I could and should have gone further especially Cersei's role, but it's really damned late now at night now. :(

[1]: Not intended as Xiaxue bashing. I value my family despite me still single, thank you very much.

[2]: "Balon was mad, Aeron is madder, and Euron is the maddest of them all"

[3]: "A Lannister always pays his debts."

[4]: If you think this is me politicizing stuff, you're overestimating this SGH porter here.

[5]: "I learned from Ser Arthur Dayne , the sword of the morning, who could have slain all five of you with his left hand while he was taking a piss with his right." ~ Proof that you're following a badass idol

[6]: Nothing to do with Mr Eric Soh here. Or even myself for that matter. -.-'

[7]: And we all can guess the rest where this fella is concerned.

[8]: Which isn't saying anything much anyway given the situation by then.

[9]: Now if only I can know where did I stash that damned thing...

[10]: No one tosses a Frey. At least not from a trebuchet.

[11]: Not to be confused with another Keven. This is for those in my workplace.

[12]: And so is Podrick Payne as well. Badass family ftw.

[13]: Remember Ned, guys?

 

"I think it passing odd that I am loved by one for a kindness I never did, and reviled by so many for my finest act."