The romances onGame of Thronesrarely went well. Most of them were either marriages of convenience, as in the case of the arranged marriages between Kahl Drogo (Jason Momoa) and Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) or were doomed from the start, like Robb Stark (Richard Madden) and Talisa (Oona Chaplin). Earnest relationships, such as Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) and Ygritte’s (Rose Leslie), usually ended in tragedy. One of these wholesome relationships whose downer of an ending is still disappointing is the love affair between Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie).
Who Is Jaime Lannister?
Like his literary counterpart fromGeorge R.R. Martin’sA Song of Ice and Firenovels, which served as the series’ source material, the TV version of Jaime starts as one of the main antagonists ofGame of Thrones. When Brandon “Bran” Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) sees Jaime and his sisterCersei (Lena Headey)having sex Jaime pushes the boy out a high window, believing the fall will kill him and uttering the infamous line, “The things I do for love.”
War between Houses Lannister and Stark becomes inevitable when Bran’s father, Ned Stark (Sean Bean) discovers that Jaime is the father of Cersei’s children, not King Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) as the public believes. During the ensuing conflict, Jaime’s forces are defeated in battle, and he is captured by Ned’s son Robb.
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Who Is Brienne of Tarth?
Brienne is introduced in the series’ second season. A skilled warrior from the island of Tarth, she defies the gender norms of the series’ world by winning a sword tournament held in honor of Renly Baratheon (Gethin Anthony), Robert’s brother who declared himself King of the Seven Kingdoms after Robert’s death. This earns Brienne a place in Renly’s Kingsguard, but he is soon killed by a demon conjured by Melisandre (Carice van Houten) and Renly’s older brother Stannis (Stephen Dillane). Brienne is blamed for Renly’s death and flees his forces, swearing allegiance to Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), although she also vows to one day take revenge on Stannis.
Jaime and Brienne Go From Enemies to Friends
Eventually, against Robb’s wishes, Catelyn instructs Brienne to take the captive Jaime back to King’s Landing and perform a prisoner exchange, trading him back to the Lannisters for Catelyn’s daughtersSansa (Sophie Turner)and Arya (Maisie Williams). Although Jaime initially launches a vicious tirade of mockery at Brienne, often directed at her appearance, as their travels continue they develop a close, nuanced friendship, with each coming to respect the other’s honor. Their time together contributed to Jaime’s series-long partial redemption arc and revealed an uncommon vulnerability in the usually stoic Brienne.
When the pair are captured by Northern forces under the command of Roose Bolton (Michael McElhatton) Jaime protects Brienne from being raped by a group of soldiers. During their captivity at Harrenhal Jaime tells Brienne the real reason he betrayed and killed “the Mad King” Aerys II Targaryen: as Robert’s rebel forces took control of King’s Landing Aerys planned to burn the entire city with caches of wildfire he had secretly had placed throughout it. After Bolton releases Jaime he risks his freedom by returning to Harrenhal to stop Brienne from being executed by bear.
Jaime and Brienne’s Romance Was a Slow Burn
Although Brienne eventually succeeds in delivering Jaime to King’s Landing the duo would reunite at several points later in the series, including in the final season, in which Jaime abandoned Cersei and joined Daenerys and the Starks’ combined forces in the final battle againstthe White Walkers. The leaders of the combined armies, especially Daenerys, who is Aerys’ daughter, were initially suspicious of Jaime, not believing that he truly meant to help, but Brienne vouched for him, which led Sansa to accept his service. Before the battle Jaime knighted Brienne, making her the first female knight in Westeros’ history. After surviving the battle, the two entered into a romantic relationship and Jaime told his brother Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) that he planned to stay at Winterfell to be with her.
Unfortunately, Jaime became fearful that Daenerys’ attack on King’s Landing would result in Cersei’s death, and he ultimately decided to return to her. Brienne tries to stop him by assuring him that he’s a good man, but he denies this, listing the horrible things he’d done, including pushing Bran and stating that Cersei’s “hateful. And so am I,” before riding away, leaving Brienne heartbroken. Jaime is captured by Daenerys’ forces on his way but is released by Tyrion, who hopes that he will be able to convince Cersei to surrender peacefully. But by the time Jaime reaches the city, Cersei has already killed Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel), leading Daenerys to launch her attack, with the dragon Drogon raining fire upon the city.
Jaime works his way through the terrified civilians but isintercepted by Euron Greyjoy(Pilou Asbæk), who engages him in a brutal battle. Jaime manages to kill Euron and eventually makes his way to Cersei in the Red Keep, but the pair are unable to escape before the castle collapses and are killed, with Tyrion finding their bodies in the rubble after the massacre. At the end of the series Brienne is named commander of Bran’s Kingsguard and writes Jaime’s entry in the White Book, saying that he, “Died protecting his queen.”
Jaime Going Back to Cersei Is a Point of Contention
The decision to have Jaime return to Cersei is one of many aspects ofthe series’ final season that was and still is heavily criticized. However, it does make sense in concept. One of the main themes ofGame of Thronesis the question whether or not redemption is really possible. The series explores this idea by having characters commit genuinely horrible crimes only to go through drastic transitions where they seem to become better people, although doubt remains over whether they should actually be considered to be redeemed. Characters that undergo similar arcs include Theon Greyjoy (Alfie Allen) and Sandor Clegane/The Hound (Rory McCann) but Jaime is perhaps the ultimate exemplar of the theme.
Having him decide that his recent actions don’t make up for his past crimes and that he should be with Cersei because they’re equally wicked is powerful, but the decision comes about much too quickly. It took years of development for Jaime to break away from Cersei and even consider that he could be worthy of happiness with Brienne but his decision to return to the former plays out over only a handful of scenes. But even if the decision was developed more gradually it would still be upsetting to fans who supported his relationship with Brienne, especially because it wasn’t totally necessary to make the point the series was trying to. Even if the series had allowed Jaime and Brienne to stay together there would still be doubt about whether the former actually deserved such happiness. This way the series could have given the popular couple something resembling a happy ending while maintaining its trademark moral ambiguity.
