Characters / A Song of Ice and Fire - Jaime Lannister

For the main House Lannister entry, see HERE

For the main Kingsguard entry, see HERE

Lord Commander Jaime Lannister

The Kingslayer, The Lion of Lannister, The Young Lion

"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."

Jaime is one of the most beautiful and dangerous men in Westeros. A knight of the Kingsguard, he developed a bad reputation after backstabbing the King he swore to defend, causing him to be nicknamed "Kingslayer." He is the twin brother of Cersei, and the two share a strong resemblance. Jaime seems to be little more than a Jerkass until the third book, when he becomes a POV character and his Hidden Depths result in him becoming significantly more sympathetic.

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A-F

• Abhorrent Admirer: A tragic example. Pia, the buttery girl from Harrenhal, has had a crush on him since girlhood, and even used this to cope with being raped. He lets her down gently, and feels terrible about it. (It's not that she's not pretty, it's just that he's not really interested in any woman but Cersei.)
• The Ace: He's this to his father and brother, and seen as this by the Lannister army in general. Becomes a Broken Ace later on.
• Actually Pretty Funny: He questions Balon Swann on where he would stand if his once-traitor relatives would attack the King, countering Balon's dismissal of the unlikely scenario with a reminder that is what happened to him. Balon gets a laugh by stating he would not do as Jaime did.
• All Take and No Give: His relationship with Cersei is characterised by this, of the mutual variety. Leaving aside Cersei for her own page, Jaime's love for Cersei is in large part not love for her at all, but love for the idea of her and the mythology he projects onto the both of them. Jaime sees Cersei, such as knowing she will dislike the diminished resemblance between them after his time at war, but he notably never tries to understand her, such as wondering why Cersei needs to live vicariously through him. Jaime overall tended to surrender to Cersei's will so as to cope with his intense loneliness and isolation, but when he does try to enact his own will, such as by attacking Eddard Stark or proposing he and Cersei marry openly, he does so recklessly and blindly to the risks that swamp them and their children, risks that he himself helped to create. Jaime claims, "She has never come to me. She has always waited, letting me come to her," yet what we actually see on-page is 2 instances where Cersei comes to Jaime and reaches out (in the White Tower, and the Sept during Tywin's funeral) and 0 of the inverse. When his wildly impossible fantasies are flat out rejected by Cersei, he laments what he lost ("I've lost a hand, a father, a son, a sister, and a lover, and soon enough I will lose a brother. And yet they keep telling me House Lannister won this war."); then when Tyrion informs him of Lancel and Osmund and Moonboy, the idealisation of Cersei appears to be flipping to demonisation. This all or nothing, black and white nature of their relationship may in all likelihood doom them both, if prophecies are considered.
• An Arm and a Leg: Loses his sword hand to Vargo Hoat.
• Animal Lover: Cersei says that as a teen Jaime cared only for horses, dogs, and her. As an adult, Jaime refrains from naming his horses because that makes it harder when they die in battle. He also felt sorry for the bear in Harrenhal when it died, even though the bear almost killed him.
• Anti-Hero / Anti-Villain: A central tension of his character. Jaime is initially presented by the story's narrators—90% of whom, it should be pointed out, are on the other side of the Civil War from him—as rather villainous; and he absolutely Would Hurt a Child in the first book while threatening to do so in the fourth book. It is in the third book that Character Development sets in, and we find out that he thinks He Did What He Had To Do and in fact had meaningful altruistic reasons for some of his actions... not to mention plenty of emotional baggage beneath the cocky and amoral demeanor he adopted. Tired of the constant disdain he has gained as "The Kingslayer" and influenced by Brienne, Jaime reconsiders what has become of his life and honor, and wants to become a hero worthy of the Kingsguard. However, his obsessive resentment of Cersei takes root after Tyrion's "Lancel and Osmund and Moonboy" reveal, and then there is the fact he is the prime suspect for the valonqar; altogether, which way Jaime will go is key to the issues raised by his character. As he observes in the White Book, it's whatever he chooses...
• Armor-Piercing Question: When he nearly gives up hope to live after his sword hand is cut off:
  Brienne: Are you so craven?
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: His skill at arms is regarded as a major Lannister asset by their enemies. When Jaime loses his swordhand, he's compelled to keep up the pretense of being a Master Swordsman to maintain this authority.
• The Atoner: Gradually becomes one after losing his hand and traveling with Brienne. He still has some distance to go, though.
• Authority in Name Only: He is named Warden of the East when Jon Arryn dies, but has neither the interest in nor chance to do much with it while he has the office, and the Lannisters eventually end up giving it back to House Arryn.
• Badass Boast: He gives a good one to Loras Tyrell, especially notable because he has already lost his sword hand by this point.
  Jaime: I am the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, you arrogant pup. Your commander, so long as you wear that white cloak. Now sheathe your bloody sword, or I'll take it from you and shove it up some place even Renly never found.
• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: How his murder of Aerys Targaryen was viewed by Robert and Ned. Robert was in fact glad the Lannisters got the Targaryen blood on their hands, saving him the trouble.
  Jaime: Do you think the noble Lord of Winterfell wanted to hear my feeble explanations? Such an honorable man. He only had to look at me to judge me guilty.
• Beard of Evil: Subverted, as he starts growing one after becoming a better person.
• Big Brother Instinct: Jaime's role as protector is at the heart of his relationship with both his siblings. Being their protector is a huge part of his personal identity, and when he loses his hand and can't be that for them (or at least, not to the extent he was before) that shakes him to the bone.
• Big Damn Heroes: He rescues Brienne, and later, Tyrion.
• Blood Knight:
  Cersei: Jaime told me once that he only feels truly alive in battle and in bed.
• Bodyguard Betrayal: He killed King Aerys. This is, in fact, the very crux of his black reputation; if he'd been just an enemy knight who cut Aerys down he wouldn't even have been branded with The Kingslayer nickname (countless kings had died violently, or even been assassinated, before Aerys), but since Jaime was one of the Kingsguard he's forever regarded as having shit for honour.
• Break the Haughty: Jaime starts off as extremely arrogant, but after spending so much time imprisoned and later crippled, he gets off his high horse and wonders just what happened to the boy who joined the Kingsguard wanting to be a hero.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Ever since childhood he only dreamed of being the greatest knight in the kingdom, something he essentially achieved thanks to his prodigious natural skill as a swordsman, and never had the need to sharpen anything but his martial skills. Once he loses his hand, though, he's forced to rely on his wits, and he proves himself to be as astute and quick-witted as his father and brother, though he notably lacks the ruthlessness of either, often seeking to spare lives out of kindness rather than pragmatism.
• Broken Pedestal:
  • As a young boy, he adored the traditions of chivalry and looked forward to being part of Aerys' Kingsguard. Then he found out that Aerys made him a Knight solely to spite his father and that being part of the Kingsguard involved standing guard while the King murders and rapes with impunity; it's no surprise that he became so cynical so fast.
  • He's on the receiving end by Tyrion when Jaime confesses that he lied to Tyrion about Tysha being a whore, and that she truly loved Tyrion all along. The revelation that the big brother who always stood up for him had fed him a lie that led him to believe that no woman loved him was, in Tyrion's eyes, the ultimate act of betrayal. This prompted Tyrion to falsely claim that he indeed killed Joffrey out of spite.
• Bullying a Dragon:
  • Merrett Frey is offhandedly mentioned as having been a bully in his squire years, but despite undeniable physical strength his attempt to bully Jaime was... a bad idea.
  • Jaime on the other hand, had the very bad idea of acting in a smug manner toward the Brave Companions, who are lawless sadistic monsters who live to murder, pillage and rape just for the fun of it and make it instantly clear that they don't care about his Lannister name and status. Even as he realizes that they don't fear or respect him and his name, and the fact that he's alone with Brienne and swordless, after taking a first hit from Urswyck, Jaime can't help himself and tries to bully or bribe Vargo Hoat into releasing him with a condescending tone. He pays his arrogance and foolishness with his hand.
• Byronic Hero: He's on the darker end of this trope, while Tyrion's on the lighter end, though the two seem to be drifting in opposite directions, with Jaime becoming lighter and Tyrion becoming darker. He's by reputation the most handsome man in Westeros and one of the most dangerous as well. He starts off presented as rather villainous, brash, cynical and prone to reckless behavior such as slaughtering some of Ned's guard in response to his brother Tyrion's kidnapping by Ned's wife, not to mention his Bodyguard Betrayal of King Aerys, which he is still reviled for years after, and his incestuous passion for his twin sister Queen Cersei. Then the third book reveals he has his share of emotional baggage which mostly consists of guilt for the death of Rhaegar's children and having lied about Tyrion's wife being a prostitute. After losing his sword hand and meeting warrior girl Brienne, he's actively moving towards more honorable behavior, though through his own interpretation of honor.
• Bystander Syndrome: He feels a great deal of guilt for standing guard while Aerys burnt people and raped his wife. He also felt guilty about lying to Tyrion about Tysha on Tywin's orders, keeping the secret for years after Tywin had an innocent girl submitted to gang rape so as to break Tyrion's spirit. He describes this to Tommen in A Feast for Crows as "going away inside" and trying to ignore what was happening.
• Celibate Hero: Played just about every which way. As a Kingsguard, he is supposed to be one. But he's been in an all-consuming relationship with Cersei their whole lives. It's The Oath-Breaker to the highest level—incest, adultery, and breaking his Vow of Celibacy. Despite being Mr. Fanservice, he slept with her only, and is quite proud of it, always turns down other women, at first reminding himself his sister is waiting for him, but after seeing his sister's paranoia and cruelty and learning of her infidelity, Jaime is at least noticing other women but refuses to sleep with them, in light of his greater respect for his vows.
• Character Development: Probably the best example in the series. Jaime's overconfidence and callousness was an armor that was destroyed with his hand; he's a very damaged man traumatized by the events of his past, and decides to try and live a life of honor in A Feast for Crows. It's a testament to Martin's writing that Jaime goes from one of the most disliked characters in the first book, to one of the most loved and sympathized with among the fans.
• Crippling Over Specialization: Jaime is acknowledged as the best swordsman of his time, and there is very little else he cares for or is good at. Then he loses his sword hand...
• Curse: Where Cersei has a prophesy she both fears and wishes to defy, Jaime feels he has somehow been cursed by the memory of Aerys (and/or Rhaegar). A feeling he often tries to laugh off, but can't ever quite manage to.
• Custom Uniform: Typically wears a gilded suit of plate rather than the standard Kingsguard's shining white. After his ordeal through the Riverlands, he begins wearing white again.
• Damn You, Muscle Memory!: He wants to learn to fight as well with his left hand as he can with his right. It's been difficult. He also has a tendency to try to grab things with his prosthetic hand, and is constantly knocking over cups of wine, to the point of it being a Running Gag.
• Deadpan Snarker: A lot... including some aimed at himself. He also has shades of Stepford Snarker alongside his sister at some points in his character arc, particularly after his Kingslaying and thereafter. He may be slowly graduating towards becoming The Snark Knight, in truth, though, as he's actually gaining principles worth snarking for. This only, ironically, after being made a Disabled Snarker alongside his brother (particularly when it comes to battle), but there you go. In any case, it's fair to say Jaime is one of the funnier POV characters.
• Death Seeker: Briefly after his hand is removed. Brienne accuses him of being a coward for his attitude, after which he resolves to live so he can help his family and take revenge on his enemies.
  Brienne: Jaime. Jaime, what are you doing?
  Jaime: Dying.
  Brienne: No, no, you must live.
  Jaime: Stop telling me what to do, wench. I'll die if it pleases me.
  Brienne: Are you so craven?
• The Dragon: Acts as this to his father, until he undergoes Character Development in the third book that leads to a falling out with Tywin.
  • Technically, this is one of his roles as Lord Commander of Tommen's Kingsguard
• Dark Secret: Jaime is the only one who knows the Mad King planned to burn King's Landing. He also knows Tysha wasn't a whore. Unfortunately pride and and his vow to keep the king's secrets makes him keep the first secret, while guilt makes him reveal the second at the worst possible time.
  Jaime: I will say, 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.
• Dreaming the Truth: Zig-zagged. When Jaime has the chance to leave Brienne of Tarth to return to his family early, he has a dream that his beloved Cersei greets him not with the warmth and love that he expects, but is cold and callously abandons him to die alone in the dark. While Brienne is a light in the darkness who would fight to the death beside him. While this dream convinces him to return to save Brienne, he continues to believe that Cersei is faithful and loving. When he returns Cersei treats him coldly like in his dream, and he eventually abandons her as her paranoia and mental instability get the better of her in later books.
• Emasculated Cuckold: In a fit of spiteful Brutal Honesty, Tyrion tells Jaime that "[Cersei's] been fucking Lancel and Osmund Kettleblack and Moon Boy for all I know." In the aftermath of this, Jaime's jealous ruminations nearly consume him. At times he convinces himself Tyrion was lying; other times he believes it. When he goes to the Riverlands he confronts Lancel, who confesses that he did sleep with Cersei. Poor Communication Kills, though, and Jaime never confronts Cersei herself about this. If he did, he'd find out that most of what Tyrion was referring to was sex a political tool, not sex out of desire, and that—as she says in her own internal monologue—"It had never been any good with anyone but Jaime."
• Establishing Character Moment: Dismissing Cersei's suspicions about Ned Stark's motives. He also didn't want her to foist him to Robert as potential Hand. Then he throws Bran, an 8-year-old child, off the tower. This shows an aversion to responsibility, an inclination not to start trouble unless he thinks he's been provoked, and a willingness to do absolutely anything to protect himself and his. However, before pushing him, Jaime's immediate reaction to seeing Bran on the tower was to help and save him, arguing against the need to hurt him, indicating at a more noble-minded person deep down that only becomes clear when one thinks back after seeing his Sympathetic P.O.V.. It was Cersei's continued insistence that pushed him to let Bran fall. His brother Tyrion noting that Jaime is one of the only people who treated him with genuine kindness and love in their childhood also hints at him being a more complex person than he initially appears.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Averted. Jaime feels antipathy towards his mother since she tried to keep him and Cersei apart, and she died shortly after that. Jaime muses how he scarcely remembers how she looks—though he has started having dreams...
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: He sincerely loves Cersei and Tyrion—his dual relationships with his siblings are the cornerstone of his life. He also loves his uncles Kevan, Tygett and Gerion, who was his favorite uncle, and his aunt Genna, and seems close with his cousin Daven.
• Everyone Has Standards:
  • Despite having hurt and planned to hurt children himself, Jaime was truly horrified by the murders of Elia Martell and her children by his father's bannermen and having not been able to protect them is one of his greatest regrets. During "A Feast For Crows" he is also baffled by Cersei's paranoia and increasingly foolish and self-damaging actions, and is repulsed by her as he gradually sees her true nature.
  • He has nothing but disdain and repulsion for the slimy, treacherous and Smug Snake Freys, save for the house nicer and more honorable members such as Perwyn, and has no qualms pointing out the Frey's hypocrisy and double betrayal to Edwyn Frey when he has the gall to accuse other Riverlords houses of betrayal.
• Evil Costume Switch: He dressed in his famous gilded armor when he killed The Mad King but admits it was stupid to wear his white cloak as he did so. (Though the cloak's presence signifies the fact that the murder was essentially the act of a true knight, and a Kingsguard, just a virtuously pragmatic one.)
• Evil Former Friend: He pretty much is this to the Tully family. Prior to joining the Kingsguard, the young Jaime was going to have an arranged marriage to Lysa Tully, and so spent time at Riverrun, at which he was friendly with Lysa and Cat (going so far as to develop a slight crush on Cat, or at least see her as a Cool Big Sis) and idolized the Blackfish. This history combined with his more recent actions is probably why the Tullys have a particular hatred of Jaime.
• Expository Hair Style Change: Following his time on the road with Brienne, Jaime continues to wear a beard, which symbolizes his development into a better person. In part, this is because it is a physical symbol of him realizing he's a very different person than his half-identical twin, Cersei.
• Fatal Flaw: Setup but subverted. Jaime's is initially characterised through his prowess and name making him essentially invincible, with Jaime relishing in it and any and all consequences be damned. That is, until the arakh...
  • His lack of honour is arguably what sparks the events that lead to Jaime's change: the Tullys hold him in comfortable chambers as befits his station after he is chance taken prisoner in battle, however Jaime attempts an escape under the pretext dishonourably conspired by Tyrion. Jaime is then fettered and kept in the bowels of Riverrun. So begins his physical wasting which could have been averted with calisthenics in a noble's room, leading to Jaime's inability to overpower first Brienne, and then the Bloody Mummers.
  "My brother is undoubtedly arrogant," Tyrion Lannister replied. "My father is the soul of avarice, and my sweet sister Cersei lusts for power with every waking breath."
• A Father to His Men: One of his viewpoint chapters shows him passing through his army's camp, where people of much lower rank invite him to join their meals and ask his advice on battle tactics (and do so sincerely rather than because they want to suck up). Even people like Ned Stark advise against this level of familiarity with their subordinates, so it says a lot about Jaime that they're so comfortable around him, and vice versa. His squires love him as well, even though two of them are from rebel houses and are there only partly by choice.
• The Fighting Narcissist: For all he is genuinely an Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy wrapped in bling and Blood Knight who seeks (and appreciates) interesting opposition, he is undoubtedly also a Master Swordsman with all the skills, the looks, the connections and the wealth to pull this trope off well. And, Jaime starts the series doing exactly that as flippantly and callously as you'd expect. So much of his sense of identity and self-worth are wrapped around being a handsome fighter with an awesome (if controversial) backstory, fantastic skills, cutting wit and stunningly expensive equipment that it severely hampers his empathy for anybody who isn't a Lannister. Well, it's a mix of that and actively embracing this image of the rogue Kingsguard who can kill anybody and not give a crap to try fending the doubts and twinges of conscience off from all the crap that's happened to him and by him. Reality and Karma send the repo men to yank the distorted mirror away, and Jaime pays attention enough to avoid becoming the full-blown Narcissist his sister is. Although... he's still never exactly going to win the Mr Humble prize.
• Foil:
  • Sandor "the Hound" Clegane. Both despise many aspects of the knightly system and have very cynical views about how it works, even though they've approached getting these views from different angles. Both looked at the mountain of work that needs to be scaled in order to have the slightest chance of changing this system and decided not to bother — if in fundamentally different ways. Both start working to atone after getting a major pillar of their world view shaken — again, in very different ways. The main difference is that Jaime only started becoming jaded to the whole thing after being knighted. Sandor got front row seats before it ever became an option, and if the offer was ever made, declined.
  • Loras Tyrell, so strongly that even Jaime realizes it in-text, and says You Remind Me of X.
• Freak Out: The loss of his sword hand pushes him to the Despair Event Horizon, and only Brienne manages to pull him back from it. This would become the catalyst for his Character Development.
• Frontline General: Jaime Lannister is Lured into a Trap because his enemies know he's a Blood Knight who always leads from the front. Bored with the siege of Riverrun, Jaime hears of an attack by raiders on his supply line and leads a small force off to attack them, only to be ambushed by Robb Stark's army.

G-M

• Good Costume Switch: On returning to King's Landing after his imprisonment, Jaime starts wearing pure white again.
• Good Feels Good: He starts to discover this, and while at first he brushes off his heroic actions with an It Amused Me excuse, by the time he beheads a man who tried to rape Pia, it is clear that her smile means a great deal to him. Earlier on in his Riverlands campaign Jaime hanged some outlaws, among them men in Lannister cloaks, and noticed how good protecting the people without showing favor felt.
  It felt good. This was justice. Make a habit of it, Lannister, and one day men might call you Goldenhand after all. Goldenhand the Just.
• The Greatest Story Never Told: Due to a mix of spite, humility and guilt as well as a commitment to keeping the king's secrets, Ser Jaime Lannister might never write down in the White Book or publicize the fact that he saved King's Landing from Aerys' insane plan to burn the city to the ground with all its people. He regards it as his finest act, but aside from Brienne, it could be that nobody will ever know.
• Guile Hero: "Hero" is a bit debatable, given he’s still fighting for an illegitimate regime, but after he swears an oath not to take up arms against House Tully and he loses his hand, he's forced to become one, and actually does a pretty good job of it. Unfortunately, doing so has required him to threaten to Kick the Dog several times, and everybody believes his threats because he's the Kingslayer and has no honor.
  • Actively pretending to be a Handicapped Badass since his hand was cut off marks the point he seriously started taking levels in Guile to compensate. He had cunning before, but never really applied himself to it like he does in later books.
• Guilt by Coincidence: Jaime Lannister is regarded as a willing culprit to his father's most infamous atrocities despite the fact that he did not have anything to do with it. He's seen as guilty purely because he's a Lannister and sheer bad luck:
  • Jaime is seen by the Starks and Martells as complicit in Tywin's Sack of King's Landing and the deaths of Elia and her children. In actual fact, Jaime was guarding Aerys II and advising the King to peacefully abdicate and then saved the city by killing the King before he ignited all the wildfire in the city. Because of the sheer level of coincidence and bad timing, Jaime is seen as following Tywin's orders rather than his conscience and no one will believe him if he says otherwise.
  • Later, Jaime is seen as a participant in the Red Wedding, despite the fact that he was a Noble hostage for most of the planning stage and could not possibly have known about the plan, but thanks to the Lannister family name, a chance meeting with Roose Bolton at Harrenhal, a careless remark of sarcastic regards towards Edmure Tully's wedding that Roose Bolton passes on, and Lady Stoneheart has good reasons to see Jaime as being guilty of the Red Wedding even if Jaime actually goes out of his way to honor his vow to Catelyn to protect the Stark girls from his sister.
  • Interestingly, Jaime is one of the few characters to actually come clean about the things he's guilty of—shoving Bran off the Tower, his incest with Cersei—which he admits to Catelyn and Brienne, and later he admits to Tyrion that he had, unwittingly participated in the destruction of his brother's happy marriage to Tysha and by the time A Feast for Crows start, he's actually turned a new leaf and become one of the most forthright and honest characters of the books, but his past will never let him go.
• Half-Identical Twins: Cersei and Jaime are identical, apart from the sexual dysmorphism. They would Twin Switch as children. Even in adulthood they continue to look strikingly alike of face until Jaime starts growing a beard.
• Handicapped Badass: Is now getting by pretending to be one. He's attempting to relearn how to fight by training with Ilyn Payne, who of course can't tell anyone about how bad Jaime sucks at fighting with his left hand, as Ilyn's tongue was pulled out by Aerys years ago and he never learned to write.
• Happy Place: Jaime tends to "go away inside" when he's in a situation he can't do anything about. He first learned to do this when he was in Aerys' Kingsguard and had to stand by and watch as the King he was sworn to protect burned people alive and brutally raped his wife.
• Heel Realization: A number of ordeals along with the startling realization that he's made a mess of his life cause him to reconsider the things his family has done. The quote at the top of this page probably marks the peak of this realisation.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: "Kingslayer" — never mind the general lack of sanity and dangerousness of a king willing to burn his own city to spite his enemies. Nothing he can ever do will get rid of that label.
• Hero with an F in Good: He does take seriously his quest to find Arya and Sansa and keep them safe, even if he can't do it personally. Jaime's just not good at trying to keep this vow. For one, his outfitting Brienne in Lannister steel and giving her Oathkeeper paints a target on her back when Lady Stoneheart captures Brienne and Pod, threatening to hang them for being associated with the family that killed hers unless Brienne delivers Jaime to her. In the meantime, he still has to carry out campaigns against the Tullys, Catelyn's family, and has to threaten her brother's son to get Edmure to cooperate. That he never intended to hurt the baby is besides the point. The Blackfish even calls him out for thinking he had a chance with persuading the Tullys to surrender, and Edmure says he will never stop hating Jaime for what the Lannisters did to his family. Meanwhile, Arya still has Cersei's name on her list of kills, and she is getting better at assassin work so it's unlikely any associate of Jaime's would be able to persuade her that they can be trusted.
• Hidden Depths: Before we get a look inside his head, he seems like a grade-A douchebag. We then learn that he killed the Mad King because he was going to burn down King's Landing with wildfire and killed him to prevent it from happening. Jaime was left disillusioned by the fact that he was reviled for his most selfless, heroic act and decided to play into the stereotype. His main struggle throughout the series is how he truly wants be the Knight in Shining Armor that he dreamed of being, but he's unsure if he can back out now, due to his bad choices as well as the toxic influence from his beloved sister Cersei. He finally abandons her after realizing that he does want to live a life of integrity and honor.
• Honor Before Reason: Jaime has an... unconventional approach to honor. He realizes that because of his kingslaying no-one will ever trust him to act honorably or give him any credit for decency. He also realizes that this basically gives him free reign to be as dishonorable as he likes, since if he's already dishonored then what does he have to lose? But he wants to be honorable and will often go to extreme lengths to avoid doing dishonorable things (such as breaking his oath-at-swordpoint to never again bear arms against Stark or Tully, etc.). This causes him considerable angst at times. On the bright side, in keeping with his new status as a Guile Hero (see above), he's learning to use his reputation for being dishonorable to avoid actually doing anything he considers dishonorable (so far).
• Horrible Judge of Character: It's easy to overlook for someone as cynical as Jaime, but he can (particularly when he was younger) be painfully naive about people, particularly his own family.
  • He unintentionally left Princess Elia and her and Rhaegar's two baby children unguarded because he never thought that his father would order them killed during the sack of King's Landing. All three died terribly as a result, something he considers the greatest failure of his life.
  • He believes that Tyrion and Cersei have never lied to him and he would never be unfaithful to Cersei in particular. While it's likely he was correct about Tyrion (despite Cersei's claims that Tyrion has lied to him a hundred times), Cersei is, to quote the words Tyrion throws in Jaime's face, "a lying whore" who's been sleeping around behind Jaime's back while he was gone.
  • He even misjudges his own character, telling his aunt Genna that the family will be alright even after Tywin's death because he's here to fill his father's shoes. Genna has to set him straight that, at heart, Jaime takes after his three uncles but has almost nothing in common with his cold, ruthless, ambitious father, with Tywin's true son being the cunning and manipulative Tyrion. Even after he starts subduing the Riverland lords by threatening horrible punishment, he still believes he’s just like his father, while completely missing the fact he’s trying to avoid a conflict in order to uphold his vow to Catelyn, while Tywin wouldn’t hesitate to cause even more atrocities to secure power.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Re-learning to fight with his left hand, after a lifetime of being right-handed, is taking as long as you'd expect it to.
• Humble Hero: He tries to be this, and sincerely doesn't want the credit for killing Aerys, believing it was what needed to be done and heroic acts shouldn't be galvanized. Yet he can't help but be an arrogant prick to anyone he comes across, which makes everyone believe that he's a dishonorable bastard.
• Hypocrite: Tells Tytos Blackwood they must suffer for their treason even though he's acting even more treacherously in assisting Tommen's regime, which is ruling under false pretenses. And that’s to say nothing of him being The Kingslayer, one of the most infamous acts of betrayal and treason committed, yet he was never punished for it.
• I Let Gwen Stacy Die: His Beneath the Mask P.O.V. reveals that he feels responsible for failing to predict that his father would have Rhaegar's wife and children murdered, as Rhaegar trusted him with their safety before leaving for the Trident.
• Important Haircut: He shaves his head in order to make himself harder to recognize. However, the events of that time mark a turning point in his life, as he finally decides he's just had enough of the man he had become.
• Irony: Despite the Kingsguard starting filled with Lannister appointees and toadies, the one with "Lannister" in the last name is one of the few people who is genuinely skilled enough to warrant a place in the Kingsguard, and he himself was appointed for political reasons by another party.
  • It's just as well for Jaime that his sense of humour appreciates the dry. His own life turns out to be a string of ironic vignettes beaded together. A fact he is very aware of, even before Ser Loras Tyrell stands in front of him being Mr Cocky, thus making him play the part of Ser Barristan Selmy. The positions were once the reverse, of course. And, this is just one instance of irony playing out on top of him. From his family relationships to his ideals to his physical condition to the nature of his job... Jaime is Ser Irony-On-Legs.
• It Amused Me: In one of his Sword POV chapters, he thinks this almost word for word. He decides to send Sansa back to Winterfell (and Arya, if he can find her) because the idea "of keeping faith when they all expected betrayal amused him more than he could say."
• It's All About Me: "There are no men like me. There's only me." This changes somewhat since the loss of his swordhand and promotion to Lord Commander, as his new interest in the White Book's histories implies, but even after undergoing Character Development, he still often views things with a focus on how it affects him.
  I've lost a hand, a father, a son, a sister, and a lover, and soon enough I will lose a brother. And yet they keep telling me House Lannister won this war.
  • This can also play into his commitment to being a more noble knight, as throughout his campaign to mop up the Riverland rebels, his attempts to get them to surrender without further bloodshed is motivated, less by concern for needless loss of life, and more so he doesn’t break his personal vow to Catelyn Tully not to take up arms against her family or the Riverlands.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Complicated. He starts off the series as an arrogant, self-serving bastard at best, whose sole redeeming feature was being as good in a fight as he said he was, and for a long time seems like the stereotypical fantasy villain... but in the third book he's revealed as feeling enormous guilt over many of his past actions, as well as being capable of compassion and valor. These come in equal measure with resentment and bitterness and cynicism over who he has become, much of which he is starting to project onto Cersei despite the fact it takes two to tango.
  • Though he puts up a facade to alienate people, Jaime is an extremely attractive person for friend and foe alike in the way that he is both an intelligent, relatable man, a worthy opponent and a fierce warrior. This fact earns him respect in spite of being a Kingslayer. Not bad for a guy that also threw a kid off a building.
• Jealous Parent: After the birth of Joffrey, and maybe the other 2 as well. Complicated somewhat because parenthood wasn't something Cersei and he experienced together. Cersei was socially considered a mother but Jaime wasn't socially a father, and did not act as one; in fact Cersei made a point of ensuring Jaime wasn't seen being too close to any of their children to avoid arousing suspicion. This made parenthood a wedge between them even moreso than it is for most couples.
  The boy had been a squalling pink thing who demanded too much of Cersei's time, Cersei's love, and Cersei's breasts.
• Kicked Upstairs: The real reason Aerys II made Jaime a Kingsguard was to spite Tywin Lannister by depriving him of his only desirable heir.
• The Kingslayer: This being his In-Series Nickname, Jaime is the Trope Namer. He earned this title for killing Aerys II, the Mad King, during the Sack of King's Landing. Because the rebels won, he escaped punishment and was even allowed to keep his white cloak, but nearly everyone holds him in contempt for breaking his sacred oath to protect the king.
• Knight in Shining Armor: Although he clearly wasn't the model knight for Aerys, he was very loyal to Rhaegar, to the point of begging to accompany him to the Trident. Rhaegar told Jaime to stay in King's Landing because Aerys thought the Lannisters would stay at his side as long Jaime was close to him, although Rhaegar was unconvinced. Its implied that part of the reason he hates Robert is because he killed Rhaegar.
  • Deep down, despite everything he's done and been through, he still wants to be this. After a great deal of Character Development, he rediscovers his dream and makes a conscious effort to be a proper knight.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Even before the series began, serving as a Kingsguard under Mad King Aerys quickly shattered any idealistic illusions he had about the position, and finally betraying him tarnished his good name to the point that most people believe he has "shit for honor." Nevertheless, despite all that and the wringer he's run through in the books, he never quite stops believing that he ought to try to live up to the knightly ideal, even if he's convinced himself that deep down he'll never really measure up.
• Laser-Guided Karma: At the beginning of the series, he pushes Bran out of a window, costing him his ability to walk, which given that one of Bran's favorite activities was climbing, as well as his dreams of being a knight, essentially robbed him of one of the things he loved the most and leaving him a cripple. In Storm of Swords Jaime gets his sword hand cut off, robbing him of one of the things he loved the most, his sword fighting, and leaving him a cripple. Losing a hand is also the traditional punishment for striking a member of the Royal blood, so Jaime loses the hand he used to slay King Aerys II.
• Lightning Bruiser: Though not as brutally strong as Gregor, Robert, Greatjon or Sandor, he is still remarkably strong and faster than any of the mentioned behemoths.
• Like Father, Like Son: Averted, despite what Jaime thinks, which is lampshaded by his aunt Genna. Jaime is easy-going like his uncle Gerion, fights like his uncle Tygett, and is uninterested in leadership, like Kevan, but there is little of Tywin in him. It should also be noted that like Jaime, Gerion, Tygett and Kevan are kind to Tyrion. Out of Tywin's sons, the one most like him is Tyrion, the son Tywin hates the most.
• Living Legend: He was such a good fighter that after he killed King Aerys, King Robert still wanted him for the Kingsguard. (The side helping of Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work didn't hurt.)
• Love Is Like Religion: Cersei and Jaime have built a quasi-religious personal mythology around their relationship. The central metaphysical belief is "We are one person in two bodies," "I am not whole without you," and "I need my other half. You are me, I am you." They invoke imagery from the local mainstream religion, the Faith of the Seven, casting themselves in the roles of the gods the Maiden and the Warrior respectively. Their little pseudo-religion even has a prophesy: that they'll die together just as they were born together.
  Lancel: I pray for you, cousin. And for Her Grace the queen. May the Crone lead her to her wisdom and the Warrior defend her.
  Jaime: Why would Cersei need the Warrior? She has me.
• Love Makes You Evil:
  Jaime: I'm not ashamed of loving you, only of the things I've done to hide it. That boy at Winterfell…
• Love Martyr: He and Cersei both put their lives on the line to be together—if they were caught, they would both be executed, no question about it. That said, Jaime gave up being heir of Casterly Rock to follow Cersei to court. He wiggled out of Tywin's plans to marry him to Lysa Tully, while Cersei had every intention of going though with Tywin's plans to marry her to Rhaegar.
  Cersei: Is it a rock you want? Or me?
• Lying to Protect Your Feelings: When his aunt Gemma and her husband Emmon Frey ask him about the fate of their son Cleos, Jaime tells them Cleos died heroically saving him from the brigands who had attacked them, when in fact the brigands had killed him in a rather undignified manner. He also tells them he buried Cleos' body by a river and will retrieve his bones after the war to be interred in the crypts below Casterly Rock with other family heroes, when Cleos' body was looted and left naked for the carrion creatures by the Bloody Mummers and Jaime is just planning to find some random bones to bring back instead.
• Making Love in All the Wrong Places: Jaime definitely has a bit of a kink for having sex in risky places where they could conceivably be caught — at Winterfell; in the Great Sept; in an inn with Robert blackout drunk right next to them. Cersei often goes along with this, but defiantly doesn't have a thing for it the way Jaime does. She continuously has to play the voice of reason, reminding him that this is seriously dangerous — like, executed-if-they're-caught level dangerous. In their scenes at Winterfell and in the Great Sept, Cersei protests that it's a bad idea and Jaime completely ignores that, to the point where it's Questionable Consent.
• Master Swordsman: He serves as the Living Legend of his generation, and only four people have ever defeated him in tourneys or combat—Sandor Clegane at the tourney for the Hand of the King, Loras Tyrell in another tourney, Jorah Mormont at the Lannisport Tourney, Robb Stark and several northern knights at the Battle of the Whispering Wood, and Brienne of Tarth, who while no slouch in battle herself had a number of unfair advantages in the fight. Important to note is the fact that in most of those case, Jaime lost in a joust, not a duel. Only in the latter two, massively outnumbered, and chained, underfed and still almost won, did he actually lose a fight involving swords.
• Meaningful Name:
  • "Jaime" is a diminutive of "James," an Anglicized form of the Hebrew "Jacob." The Biblical Jacob's name is explained with two different meanings: "holder of the heel" or "supplanter".
    • "One who holds the heel" refers to the circumstances of both the Biblical Jacob and Jaime Lannister's births: each came into the world as the second-born of twins, holding his firstborn twin's heel.
    • "Supplanter" references how Tywin still considered him his true heir despite his other children being more suitable.
  • "Jamie" is the more common English spelling of the name, but the spelling "Jaime" is thought to be influenced by the French expression "j'aime" meaning "I love." Considering he is the only Lannister to be on good terms with all the others and that he is motivated by his genuine love for his family (each as individuals, unlike Tywin, who is generally more concerned with the family name and image), this is probably not a coincidence.
• The Mentor: By A Dance With Dragons he has three squires, and he seems to be trying to teach them to be the Knight in Shining Armor he never got to be.
• Morality Chain: He's implied to be one for Cersei: in A Clash of Kings, Cersei openly tells Tyrion the only reason she hasn't had him murdered is because Jaime would never forgive her.
• Morality Pet: Has a number of those. He cares enough about Tyrion to seek revenge for Catelyn arresting him, and later develops a softer side with Brienne. He is also fond of the squires he gains when he goes to reclaim Riverrun, and Pia, the sexually, physically and emotionally abused girl who has been the sex toy of several different factions by the time Jaime meets her again at Harrenhal. He beheads one man for trying to rape her, and tells one of the squires who has a crush on her that he is not to touch her without her consent, and to treat her gently if she gives it.
• My Greatest Failure: Interestingly enough, he doesn't look at his more (in)famous kingslaying, which meant for him a lifelong bad reputation as such (and actually with good reasons, as it turns out). His P.O.V. reveals that he had admired and was genuinely loyal to Prince Rhaegar, and even wanted to join him at the Trident. He treats as His Greatest Failure failing to predict that his father was going to have Rhaegar's family murdered, and it has taken a huge toll on his conscience, perhaps more than the kingslaying itself. In a A Storm of Swords he even has a nightmare of Rhaegar and the late Kingsguard still blaming him for the death of Elia Martell and her children.
  Rhaegar: [in Jaime's dream] I left my family in your care.
  Jaime: I never thought he would harm them.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: For all that he's a much better person now than he was at the beginning of GOT, Jaime still is actively enforcing the supremacy of a regime he knows very well has absolutely no legitimacy, and in the process not only rewarding a family which has committed one of the worst atrocities in history of Westeros, but also ruining the Tullys (and other Riverlander Houses) when their only fault was defending their lands & people against Lannister aggression.
• My Nayme Is: In our world, English has traditionally spelled the name Jamie while Spanish and Portuguese spelled it Jaime. Since Westeros is English-inspired, not Iberian-inspired, Jaime's spelling counts—but a Downplayed Trope since it is a real-world spelling, unlike many of Martin's Westerosi names.

N-Z

• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Where to begin? Nice job...
  • Trying to kill Bran to protect Cersei and your incest kids. Tyrion gets blamed for it and gets kidnapped which snowballs a family feud into civil war.
  • Rescuing Tyrion then telling him his first love wasn't a whore, driving him mad and kill Lord Tywin, getting some payback but depriving the realm of the one leader who can keep it stable.
  • Releasing Wylis Manderly as an act of good faith, and playing into the hands of Manderly's father and his plans to give The North's vengeance on, among others, House Lannister.
  • Killing the Mad King and saving his father who then ordered the deaths of Prince Rhaegar's family. Jaime still dreams of Rhaegar blaming him for that.
  • Committing adultery with the Queen, and being the true father of her children. As the fact that they are illegitimate is the entire basis that kicks off the story, and all the conflict that occurs. Those like Varys and Littlefinger may work to undermine the realm, but it’s Jaime and Cersei having the affair, that gives them the perfect opportunity. It’s no exaggeration to say that nearly every death, tragedy, and consequence that occurs in the story (at least as far as events in Westeros), can be traced back, and ultimately laid at Jaime’s feet.
• Nice to the Waiter: He treats his squires and washerwomen well. This is likely an extension of his being A Father to His Men and/or the lesson from Tywin to help the fallen and defeated up to their feet. He even ships some of them, and invites a poor raped girl into his household because he decides doing so will help her.
• Noble Demon: Jaime receives considerable flak by virtue of remaining quiet and letting people gossip; he starts to realize that his actions will be regarded as villainous regardless of his intentions, so he proceeds to make use of his infamy to turn it into something practical.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: His murder of Aerys was done with the most noble of intentions and saved the lives of over half a million people and several main characters, such as Ned Stark and Lord Tywin Lannister. He's almost universally hated for doing it, though partly because no one knows the details.
• Noble Top Enforcer: In A Feast for Crows, Jaime commands a mopping-up operation to pacify all remaining Stark loyalists after the Red Wedding. Ostensibly, he is defending the Lannisters and serves alongside Gregor Clegane's mooks and enables the rule of the Freys, but Jaime achieves his goals without spilling a single drop of blood, treating his enemies with dignity and arguing that with winter coming and the cause finished, it's in everybody's best interests to go home with grace.
• Noodle Incident: What he did to Merrett Frey when Frey tried to bully him when they were both squires. Whatever it was, it completely broke Merrett's hold over the other squires and made him a laughing stock.
• Not Helping Your Case: Much like his younger brother Tyrion, Jaime ressents how others judge him unfairly but only reinforces others in their impression of him and make things worse for him, because he can't let go of his pride and stops himself from acting smug and speaking things he shouldn't. His smug attitude when Ned Stark found him sitting on the Iron Throne reinforced Ned's impression of Jaime being a dishonorable man and of him being complicit of his father's atrocities, and his arrogant and condescending attitude while dealing with the Bloody Mummers is largely what caused Vargo Hoat to slice his hand.
• Not So Above It All: Being derided for most of his adult life chafed him raw.
• "Not So Different" Remark: One possible interpretation of a comment he makes about Ned Stark condemning him after he killed Aerys: "By what right does the wolf judge the lion? By what right?". It's up to personal opinion whether he means "how dare a lowly wolf judge something as superior as a lion!" (which is what Cersei and Tywin would say), or whether he means "the wolf and lion both slaughter those weaker than themselves, so how can he claim the moral high ground?". Since he's in the middle of his gradual Heel–Face Turn at this point, it could be either.
• Not What It Looks Like: Ned Stark found Jaime sitting the Iron Throne after killing the Mad King, making him believe Jaime was involved in his father's sacking of the capital.
• The Oath-Breaker: Infamously.
  Jaime: I'm the bloody Kingslayer, remember? When I say you have honor, that's like a whore vouchsafing your maidenhood.
  • The fact that three kings have died under his watch (having killed one himself) is one of the reasons Jaime decides to take his Kingsguard role more seriously.
• Odd Friendship: He and Brienne are as different as night and day. The only reason they manage to stay together long enough is because Brienne is dead set on fulfilling the task Catelyn gave her and Jaime is in chains. When Jaime, however, sees just how honest she is, and reveals some of the things that burden him most emotionally, they develop respect for each other.
• Once Done, Never Forgotten:
  • Jaime is more often than not referred to as "Kingslayer" because he killed Aerys Targaryen, whom he had sworn to protect. However, the people who think of him as an "oathbreaker" and declare that he has no honor always seem to conveniently forget that Aerys was an Ax-Crazy Caligula. And, unknown to everyone but Jaime, Aerys was preparing to burn King's Landing down with everyone in it instead of letting it be taken so he could spite his enemies. Jaime has only told the truth of the matter to Brienne, and then only because he was feverish (or so he tells himself). See Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work for more.
  Jaime, thinking resentfully: Aerys. It always turns on Aerys.
  • To a lesser extent, Jaime is associated with the Red Wedding because of circumstances and Catelyn releasing him as a hostage to get back her daughters. Edmure, who was imprisoned while his sister and nephew was slaughtered, only surrenders to Jaime to keep his son from being killed, and bluntly tells Jaime he'll always associate him with that day. The Blackfish also finds it hilarious that Jaime tried to negotiate for a Tully surrender when his own family violated Sacred Hospitality; he says Jaime's word means nothing now that the Lannisters have shown they have no honor.
• One-Man Army: At the Battle of Whispering Wood, he headed straight towards Robb Stark. Jaime managed to literally cut through Robb's army and personal guard and Robb admits that Jaime nearly killed him. Jaime is only stopped because his sword gets stuck in the skull of one of Robb's bodyguards.
• Only Sane Man: It seems that among the Kingsguard, he is alone in understanding that it should guard the king not just from his enemies but from himself.
• Parental Neglect: He is the biological father of three children, but has to be both emotionally and physically distant thanks to political and social necessity. As of book four he's been making an effort with Tommen, but even he acknowledges he does way better as a Cool Uncle than he would as a father. And also admits that Joffrey's death was outright deserved.
  Jaime: You warned me a thousand times never to show any undue interest in them.
  Cersei: To keep them safe! You as well. How would it have looked if my brother had played the father to the king's children? Even Robert might have grown suspicious.
• Perspective Reversal: Once he becomes Lord Commander, Jaime realizes that he was for a long time the only White Cloak left with some influence to have prevented the decay of the office of the Kingsguard, as Barristan Selmy had no say in Robert Baratheon's policies (or the Small Council's for that matter). He not only laments this fact, but also that he never once tried to exert any influence, considering that his sister is the Queen. He was extremely important and well placed, and did nothing about it when it counted.
• Pet the Dog:
  • In the early books, before he becomes more sympathetic, these mostly have to do with his family; for example, when he's in chains in the bowels of Riverrun, Lady Catelyn tries to interrogate him about her son's accident. He isn't swayed by threats or offers of comfort or the real possibility that if he pisses her off, Cat could make his already miserable circumstances even worse. There is, however, one thing that he values enough to make him willing to talk to her: the truth about whether or not his father, brother, and sister have been hurt.
  • When he presses Loras Tyrell about Brienne’s role in Renly’s death, he learns that part of Loras’s fury towards her stems from the fact that, if she is telling the truth, then he killed two of his own brothers in arms over a mistake. Jaime lies and assures him he would have done the same, which Loras is grateful.
  • While still Trapped in Villainy, he visits the Westerlings and learns that Jeyne was an Unwitting Pawn in the Red Wedding. Jaime feels really sorry for the girl he sees, having torn her clothes as a sign of mourning and still holding Robb's crown. He offers his condolences, expresses his admiration of Robb's courage and guile on the battlefield, he'll arrange a good marriage for her, and says she has more dignity than her parents do. Jeyne, obviously, doesn't appreciate this and her parents only accept it for pragmatic reasons since no one will marry the widow of a rebel king.
  • While concluding his subdual of the Riverlands with the Blackwood holdouts in Raven tree he is kinder than needs to be with Lord Tytos Blackwood while negotiating terms of surrender, allowing him to skip the public humiliation of kneeling before him to offer up his sword in front of his retainers. He agrees to take one of Tytos' several sons as a hostage rather than his sole beloved daughter, does not fine him as heavily as he could for lands to reward his rival Jonos Bracken with, and also pledges to obligate the Freys to return Lucas Blackwood's body so his father can give Lucas a proper burial.
    Blackwood hesitated a moment. "Is it your wish that I dismount and kneel before you here and now?"
    A hundred eyes were looking on. "The wind is cold and the yard is muddy," said Jaime. "You can do your kneeling on the carpet in your solar once we've agreed on terms.
    "That is chivalrous of you," said Lord Tytos.
• Poor Communication Kills: The Lannister twins spend most of A Feast for Crows having a falling out due to their inability/unwillingness to communicate properly. This is a plot device (they can't communicate properly because it would break the plot if they did) — but it's also a Justified Trope for these two. Their entire relationship is premised on the idea of "one soul in two bodies". Within that belief system, it logically follows that if you're me, I shouldn't have to explain my feelings to you, you should just implicitly get it. The Lannister twins aren't merely incompetently bad at communication, they're in some ways willfully bad at it. Communicating properly would mean admitting they're actually two different people and they don't have Twin Telepathy, and that would be sacrilege.
• Pretty Boy: Exaggerated. He's the spitting image of his sister, herself considered one of the most startlingly beautiful women in Westeros. He's so gorgeous that even prostitutes on the other side of the kingdom fantasize about being with him while "entertaining" their clients. This is gradually made less apparent as the series goes on and his moral character is explored, accompanied by him growing out a beard (which he keeps) and shaving his head. Later, as the rift between them grows, Cersei comments that he's starting to grey and derides his appearance.
• Promoted Fanboy: An in-universe example. He grew up idolizing Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Barristan Selmy, wanting to be a great knight like them and clearly relishing working alongside his heroes. One of the reasons he's the smug, arrogant asshole we meet at the beginning is his disillusionment with the Kingsguard and how his fellow knights stood by while Aerys terrorized the Seven Kingdoms, while he is reviled for his most selfless and heroic act. Still, he quite enjoys working among one of his heroes and Ser Barristan is nice to him and respects his abilities as a warrior, even if he views him as a dishonorable oathbreaker.
• Properly Paranoid: After his capture at the Whispering Wood and lengthy incarceration, the previously reckless Jaime puts out patrols and sentries even when he thinks no enemy would dare attack his force, as he is determined never to be taken by surprise again.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: The moment that truly marked his disillusionment with his post as a Kingsguard was being forced to stand idle while Aerys forced himself on his wife Rhaella (Jaime made a token protest that they were sworn to protect the Queen too, only to be told that didn't extend to protecting her from her husband claiming his rights), he frequently goes out of his way to protect Brienne from this at the hands of the Brave Companions (suffering several beatings as a result) and has one of his own soldiers executed for raping Pia.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Once he returns to King's Landing to take up his position as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, he resolves to reform the organisation as much as he can, impressing on them that the old attitude of My Master, Right or Wrong can no longer be an absolute, particularly when the king they serve is still a child- they need to protect him from himself if necessary. But while he is harsh to the unworthy members of the Kingsguard, such as Boros Blount who he assigns to be Tommen's food-taster, he's committed to doing things the right way by not simply trying to remove them, in defiance of the precedent Cersei set when she dismissed Ser Barristan.
• Reassignment Backfire: Aerys ordered Jaime into the Kingsguard to make him basically a hostage against Tywin Lannister, robbing him of his rightful heir, notwithstanding that Jaime had a mind of his own, had a tipping point for Aerys' craziness, was very well armed... and was left alone with the king.
• Rebuilt Pedestal: Meeting Brienne of Tarth and his own Trauma Conga Line made him realize that he wanted to be a Knight in Shining Armor or his own interpretation thereof.
• Redemption Quest: His oath to Catelyn to return her daughters unharmed and to never take up arms against the Starks or Tullys again.
• Reformed, but Rejected: He knows it doesn't matter whether he tries to redeem himself, because he will always be the Kingslayer with shit for honour in everyone's eyes. Instead, he uses his infamy to advantage.
• Rejected Apology: He wasn't involved in the Red Wedding, but he is disgusted with how the Westerlings used the event to curry favor with the Lannisters and illegimate Baratheons and show no regard for their daughter's grief. Plus, if he hadn't been freed, the Starks and allies wouldn't have been slaughtered. Jaime, however, can't outright express his rebellious thoughts and tries to apologize to Jeyne by saying he'll find a good marriage for her. Jeyne is not in the mood to hear it, for obvious reasons.
• Revenge Before Reason: This is one of the reasons Ned Stark despises Jaime. Though he touts him as an oath breaker and dishonorable man, Jaime also robbed Ned of the right to take revenge against Aerys for the crimes against Rickard and Brandon, as this is one of the tenets that is sacred to Northmen. For comparison, this is why Lord Karstark betrays King Robb, as he allowed Catelyn to free Jaime (who killed Karstark's sons) and remain relatively unpunished for what amounted to high treason.
• The Scapegoat: The thing that really sticks in Jaime's craw is that even though everyone who took part of Robert's Rebellion betrayed their vows of fealty to Aerys, being the one who killed the Mad King made him the biggest target of everyone's hate and loathing.
• Scars Are Forever: When his right hand is amputated. To make matters worse, he has not become a Handicapped Badass, as his reflexes are all shot from a lifetime of being right-handed.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Jaime got away with his killing of Aerys and stayed in part in part thanks to his father's power and reputation, as Robert didn't want to risk offending or punishing Tywin after the sack of King's Landing, and of him being the queen's brother. Him being a Lannister and the son of the mighty Tywin made him feel that he was above the laws, and could always get away with anything in the end. Deconstructed when he faces the Brave Companions, finding out the hard way that Ax-Crazy Psycho for Hire who kill, pillage, torture and rape just for the sake of it aren't going to care much about who your father and family name are.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: And sod the consequences. It's got him into hot water in the past. And is probably going to land him into more, now that Lady Stoneheart has him in her sights.
• Screw Yourself: Tyrion quips that he doesn't know what Jaime sees in Cersei, "except his own reflection." When Jaime loses weight and grows a beard during his captivity, he reflects that Cersei won't be happy that he no longer resembles her.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: Well, more like Shell Shocked Bodyguard but it still counts. While he plays off killing the Mad King like it's nothing, it's clear that serving under the Mad King left some serious psychological scars on him. For instance, he's deeply uncomfortable when he smells burning flesh, remembering how Aerys liked to burn people alive when he was ruling.
• Shoot the Dog: How Jaime views his slaying of King Aerys the Mad, who was going to burn the city and everyone in it.
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: During a war council in A Feast for Crows, when several members of House Frey start deriding many of the reluctant Riverlords present as traitors and rebels, Jaime icily cuts in that the Freys are even worse than those they're denigrating, since they first rebelled against the Crown with Robb Stark, then betrayed him when they saw a chance to gain from it, unlike the Riverlords who had the honour to remain loyal to Robb until the end.
  Jaime Lannister: [to Edwyn Frey] The Twins took up the Young Wolf's cause as well. Then you betrayed him. That makes you twice as treacherous.
  • During a conversation with Sybell Spicer, Jeyne Westerling's mother who helped arrange Robb Stark's assassination, Jaime tells her that, as a reward for her treachery, her eldest son will have the Lannister marriage Tywin promised to her...to his uncle Gerion's bastard daughter, Joy. When Sybell gets outraged at the idea of a Westerling marrying a bastard, Jaime shuts her up by retorting Joy's too good for the son of an over ambitious woman who helped murder her own son-in-law.
    Sybell Spicer: You want a Westerling to marry a bastard?!
    Jaime Lannister: No more than I want Joy to marry the son of some scheming, turncloak bitch. She deserves better.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Jaime has this for Cersei, to the point of being squicked out when he experiences attraction to another woman. Subverted once he finds out that Cersei has been unfaithful to him and falls out of love with her. He then overtly flirts when he encounters an attractive whore.
• Situational Hand Switch: Deconstructed. He was forced to learn to use his left hand after his right hand was chopped off by the Brave Companions, but, as expected from an adult who suddenly has to switch to their non-dominant hand after relying on the other hand their entire life, he's terrible at it and even after a few months of training he can barely pick up a sword or write out a letter.
• Skilled, but Naive: In regards to his family: he genuinely believed that Cersei and Tyrion never ever lied to him. Also, in a dream where he faced the ghosts of Rhaegar and the former Kingsguards members, he said that he didn't do anything to protect Elia and her children because he thought that Tywin wasn't going to hurt them.
• Smug Smiler: Deliberately used. Jaime does this a lot (which fits with his first appearance as a stereotypical fantasy villain), but the chapters written from his POV show that he consciously puts on a knowing smile whenever he's unsure of the situation, because he's learned that it makes people nervous, and that they will read lots of different things from it depending on what the issue is. This is in fact one of the early indications that he might turn out to be a better manipulator than you'd think from his initial thoughtlessness.
• Smug Snake: Jaime initially has a very arrogant and smug attitude, treating almost everyone with disdain and believing himself to be above laws and others because he's a Lannister, the son of Tywin Lannister, and an amazing Master Swordsman. Even after his overconfidence and rashness causes him to be beaten and captured by Robb Stark, and while being a captive, Jaime keeps his haughty and smug attitude toward Robb, Catelyn and Brienne. This backfires hard on him when he encounters the Brave Companions, finding out the hard way that his name, father and money aren't much of a protection against a gang of Psycho for Hire, and losing his sword hand as a result of his snobbish and condescending attitude toward them. He finally grows out of it after his Character Development, becoming not only a nicer and humbler person but also much a more cautious, reasonnable and wiser leader.
• Sociopathic Hero: Maybe not to the extent of men like Bronn or Daario Naharis, but this is the guy who feels most alive when he is either killing people or having sex with his sister. Jaime's POV reveals that him only being able to solve problems by hacking away with his sword isn't that great of an exaggeration; his mind goes to "just kill 'em" almost as quickly as Joffrey's (which might explain things somewhat), even after he loses his hand.
• Surrounded by Idiots: Jaime was pretty much self-reliant when he didn't have a position of responsibility, so he never quite socialized with the rest of the White Cloaks or never cared about the rest; when he is named Lord Commander, he quickly realizes that save for Balon Swann and Loras Tyrell he is responsible for a bunch of disloyal, fishy, mediocre and unworthy Kingsguards with a catch: since Kingsguard vows are for life, he cannot dismiss any of the chumps even if he wanted to. Especially not after making clear to his father that he intends to close the gate that Cersei opened by dismissing Selmy.
• Sympathetic P.O.V.: Subverted, initially. Played more straight as the story went on. When he first gets a POV chapter in the third book, he's still an arrogant prick. It isn't really until his hand is cut off leading to his Break the Haughty moment that we see he's not the evil jerk everyone thinks he is.
• Team Dad: He fulfills this role to his squires and Pia, especially in regard to his treatment of Peck and Pia's relationship.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Half the reason he doesn't come clean about why he killed Aerys was that he felt everyone, specifically Ned Stark, had already judged him for the act.
• To Be Lawful or Good: Jaime's multiple-stage struggle with this question is a huge part of his character arc, particularly because both choices are deconstructed. When required to choose between Honor Before Reason and The Needs of the Many, he chose the many... and became known as The Oathbreaker, a man with shit for honor, because choosing The Many required him to become The Kingslayer. So he said, "Screw it: I tried to be good, and it didn't work out. So let me go with Lawful... in a Crapsack World where Might Makes Right. Then Let Me Be Evil." That didn't work out right either. Therefore, as of the end of the third book, he chooses to Take a Third Option and instead become a Guile Hero who can be both Lawful and Good, threading the fine line between keeping his word and "Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!" — and, at least thus far, managing to succeed. To say that his battles with the morality spectrum resemble a knitting bag some kitten has got into, rather than a straight linear progression, is not an understatement.
• Took a Level in Idealism: Brienne's example has led him to rediscovering his faith in knightly values and morals, resulting in him remembering that Good Feels Good and his long lost desire to become a true Knight in Shining Armor.
• Trapped in Villainy: After losing his hand and mourning the deaths of Joffrey and Tywin, Jaime has lost all interest in the ambitions of the Lannisters. However, whether he likes it or not, Tommen sits on the throne, so Jaime is forced to continue fighting for the Lannisters or else lose and have his family suffer the same fate as Ned Stark.
• Troll: Like Tyrion, a lot of his problems are down to failures to control his impulse towards verbal baiting.
• True Neutral: However others in the kingdom see him (usually as bad guy with very questionable loyalty), Jaime illustrates how complicated, exiting and downright hard constantly wobbling around the centre of the mortally chart can be to muddle through. Particularly if the family and loved ones you support above others are very messed up, and the political situations you find yourself in wind up as chaotic or contradictory as hell. He'd very much like to be lawful, but acts on his gut instincts much of the time. He often means well, but winds up doing horrible things. The best thing he ever did was about the worst thing to have to live with.
• Twincest: Exaggerated Trope. Jaime and Cersei have a lifelong Secret Relationship that dates back to childhood, carried through to adulthood, and is a marriage in all but name. The most interesting thing about their relationship is the personal mythology they've constructed around it, making it more than a marriage, almost a religion.
• Twin Desynch: This is a huge theme between Jaime and Cersei, and it's played with in multiple ways.
  • They were never that alike. Jaime and Cersei have always believed they're super alike — "one person in two bodies." Jaime is convinced that "If I were a woman, I would be Cersei," and Cersei likewise thinks, "If I were a man, I'd be Jaime." But as the books unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that they were never actually as alike as they thought. A Feast of Crows contains both Jaime and Cersei's perspectives, and it reveals that Jaime never really entertains the thought of being a woman like Cersei, and subscribes to the belief only insofar as it justifies and fuels his attraction for his twin sister. Cersei is a Female Misogynist who is extremely jealous and resentful of not being born a man like Jaime, as well as believing that she’s really the superior twin, especially after Jaime starts calling out her foolish decisions.
  • They grow apart — in parallel ways. After the time spent apart while Jaime's captive during the war, he and Cersei both change in contrasting ways, and this is alarming to the pair of them. Ironically, though, even as they grow apart, it's in oddly parallel ways. Each is nursing a profound loss: Jaime's loss of a hand, and Cersei's loss of a son. Each wants their twin to see and acknowledge this loss to a greater extent than they are. Each has the same proposed remedy for their twin's loss: a replacement. Cersei has a prosthetic hand made for Jaime, and Jaime proposes he and Cersei have another son. A cool prosthetic and a new baby can both be something great in their own right, but neither can ever replace what was lost. Both are keenly aware of this in terms of what's being offered to them, but oblivious of the shortcomings of what they're offering the other.
• Twin Switch: As Half-Identical Twins, the only visual difference between Cersei and Jaime is the sexual dimorphism. As prepubescent children they would switch places and no one would be the wiser.
  Cersei: When we were little, Jaime and I were so much alike that even our lord father could not tell us apart. Sometimes as a lark we would dress in each other's clothes and spend a whole day each as the other.
• Tyrannicide: In the backstory, he killed an evil, mad king, through the back. It did a lot of good for the realm, saving over half a million lives that the Mad King was just about to end and putting an end to a destructive civil war. No one will let him forget it, though, because he was the King's own personal bodyguard and oathbound to protect him, and he's also the son of the arriviste Lannister family that the rebels saw as "Johnny come latelies" who parlay their opportunistic actions to grab royal favor. He is seen by many as a disagreeable Karma Houdini who should at the very least been Reassigned to Antarctica rather than continue as bodyguard. The fact that he saved the city from wildfire annihilation is unknown to everyone in Westeros save Brienne and the reader.
• Ungrateful Bastard: When Robert's Rebellion was over, Barristan, Ned and Stannis wanted Jaime dead or to take the black. Robert pardoned him and Jaime helped Cersei pass off false heirs to the throne in return.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Pushing Bran Stark out of the window after he saw him having sex with Cersei eventually kickstarted the War of the Five Kings.
  • Or having sex with Cersei in the first place kickstared the War. Stannis was already in the know.
• Villain Ball Magnet: To the point he's blamed for things he cannot possibly do: he's blamed for not returning Catelyn's daughters to her, even if she died before he had the chance and Sansa left King's Landing prior his returning. Also, it looks like he's considered to be part of the Red Wedding, although he was still a prisoner and traveling when it happened, because of an offhand snide comment to Roose Bolton (who was one of the architects of the whole mess). Though Bolton had indicated to Jaime that he would betray the Starks, the exact details were not discussed between them.
• Villainous Incest: A subversion. Though he does love Cersei, he grows disgusted at the villainous things she's done and what she's hidden from him.
• What You Are in the Dark: Invoked. Jaime had good reasons for killing Aerys but refuses to divulge them, for a number of reasons. ^note  He's bound by his Kingsguard oaths to preserve the king's secrets and considers keeping that part of his vows, for unclear reasons. He also believes that no one would believe his story anyway, as people only concern themselves with the sizable villainy of his act nor is he interested in seeking sympathy from people who judge him from the get-go (like Eddard Stark) The end result is this trope, but only because Jaime insists on it being this way.
• With My Hands Tied: Brienne is amazed at how competent he is in a fight despite being manacled, half-starved, and not having practiced in a year at the time. (For his part, even factoring in his condition, he sees her as fearsomely strong, nearly as good with a sword as he is, and seemingly tireless.)
• Would Hurt a Child:
  • Pushed a kid out of a window because the child witnessed his incestuous relationship with his sister. He eventually comes to view that as regrettable.
    Jaime: I'm not ashamed of loving you, only of the things I've done to hide it.
  • Intended to cut off Arya's hand because Cersei wanted to punish her for wounding Joffrey. Jaime seems to be more ashamed of this than his defenestration of Bran as it only indulges Cersei's pettiness and does not have the justification of silencing someone to protect his family.
• You Are What You Hate:
  • He despises Loras' arrogance and cocksure attitude, then realizes that's exactly how he was when he was Loras' age.
  • He spends most of his life avoiding a position of authority as if it were wildfire; when he is forced to become a leader, he finds out that he is very good at it and actually likes it after all.
• You Remind Me of X: Loras Tyrell reminds Jaime of himself, the young hotshot he was in his teens when he first joined the Kingsguard.
  He's me, Jaime realized suddenly. I am speaking to myself, as I was, all cocksure arrogance and empty chivalry. This is what it does to you, to be too good too young.
• Zero-Approval Gambit: His killing of Aerys turns out to have been one of these. He sacrificed his reputation and integrity to stop him from burning King's Landing in a desperate mad fit.

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