Anyone remember when Jamie murdered his own squire in season 2?
Inside that makeshift prison by bashing his head in no less. And now he is seen as a good guy via his explanations. I think not.
shareHaha.
In thr very first episode, he pushed a little boy out of a window after he was caught having sex with his twin sister.
Let's say he's had a very long journey.
Exactly he tries to explain that. But people forget the face bash in. It didn’t even work he got caught straight away.
shareHe's flawed...
Funnily enough, the one thing he did get called up on in the last episode was arguably the most righteous act of his whole life: killing the Mad King.
It was stupid how he was labelled Kingslayer as a detriment when we find out exactly why he did it. Bad writing.
shareI don't think it's bad writing.
It just shows how distrusted the Lannisters are, and often with good reason.
All that stuff about the wildfire under the streets is NOT common knowledge. Dani herself had never heard any such thing, until Tyrion told her - and he only knows because he's Jaime's brother. The main reason his reputation was trashed among the nobility is that he committed just about the greatest sin there is: violating an oath of fealty.
Very few of the characters in this show are squeaky clean. The Hound killed at least one 12 year old boy, Arya's childhood friend, and that couldn't have been the only time. Yet he's become something of a reformed good guy (even if he'd never admit it). Arya herself has killed quite a few people - in her case maybe they were all bad guys who deserved it, but still. And what about Melisandre? She's done some good things, and some really awful things. If she sacrifices herself in the war as she seemed to imply was her fate, will that erase all the evil?
I never used to like Jaime, in fact I still don't particularly. I found him to be a cocky, smug, callous, self-regarding git, and yet, all of his kills have been for mostly honourable reasons, to either preserve the realm or his own family, and even when he killed his own squire, it was an act of self-preservation.
By contrast, Melisandre burned several people alive for a nutty religion.
As far as I'm concerned, her path back to redemption is far more remote than Jaime's.
No one is more totally convinced of their own righteousness and the urgency of their cause than a religious zealot. Does that make them evil, or insane? And does the difference matter in any meaningful way?
But yeah, Jaime has been the stereotypical arrogant aristocrat for most of the series. He hasn't done anything for the sheer love of cruelty though and he does take the code of chivalry seriously. That's what I meant. We have a lot of characters who are deeply flawed but not one dimensional. Most of them - with the exception of Cersei and the Night King - have good and bad sides to their personalities, have innocent blood on their hands but good deeds and lives saved too.
Even Cersei was borderline sympathetic during her 'Walk of Shame', and whatever else one says about her, she truly loved her children, well except for maybe Tommen, but that was right after she'd sacrificed whatever shred of humanity she had left.
The funny thing with Jaime is that although he's from the loathsome House Lannister, I can't fault many of his actions (save perhaps for pushing Bran out of a window). It's his attitude that I found unsympathetic.
But when Danaerys and Sansa were effectively interrogating him and calling him out on all his supposed terrible acts, just before Brienne rightly came to his defence, I was 100% on his side.
**** "Arya herself has killed quite a few people - in her case maybe they were all bad guys who deserved it, but still." ****
But still what?
I'm always baffled when I see people knocking Arya. By FAR my favorite cast member, and one of the reasons is, she's the most unsullied (to borrow the term) one. What has she done to screw anyone else over, or gain personal advantage at someone else's expense? Her path has been one of simple survival, with (for the most part) courage and grace.
Shrug.
It’s not as righteous as you think. He was knight, and he killed a king that he pledged his loyalty to. He is a traitor.
shareThat king threatened to set alight an entire city and everyone who lived in it.
I'd say that in breaking his vows, Jaime was putting his humanity first.
In fact turning traitor can in some scenarios be the bravest and most honourable thing a person could do. Do you think the German soldiers who plotted to kill Hitler were 'unrighteous'?
I think it’s a different world that can’t really be compared. A German soldier that killed off Hitler would be a hero, no doubt. But wartime soldiers don’t have the same moral compass as a fantasy knight. Jamie’s saved some lives, but lost his honor in the process. Would trust someone to protect you if they murdered the last person they swore to protect?
shareWould trust someone to protect you if they murdered the last person they swore to protect?Yes, because I wouldn't be a paranoid and vindictive mad king. If I were, I wouldn't choose someone with honour to be at my side.
Duty and figurative contracts should not be cover for individuals to be complicit in acts of evil. A good man, and the funny thing is, I don't generally see Jaime as a particularly 'good man', would display more honour by choosing to renege on their vows and, instead, protect lives. In this instance, if not all instances, Jaime did the right thing.
Whatever else one says about him, this one act might even make him one of the most heroic characters in Westeros. share