The 50 Best Game of Thrones Characters, Ranked
22. Ser Jaime Lannister
Jaime is another Game of Thrones character who struggles with duality. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau gives us a man who can back up his bravado with action, both before and after he lost his hand. Jamie Lannister’s mouth is what gets him in trouble, whether he’s trying to talk his way out of imprisonment in Season 3 or kissing his own sister. His incestuous romance with Cersei is gross on many levels, but like he says, “We don’t get to choose who we love.”
The Kingslayer has a very warped sense of what’s honorable, although his philosophy morphs a bit after he loses his hand. Lady Brienne is the first to see Jaime’s soft interior, which he usually hides behind arrogance and sarcasm. He tells her the true story of what happened when he killed the Mad King, an act that saved thousands of innocent lives at the cost of earning him the reputation as the realm’s most dishonorable man. Jaime is actually full of selfless deeds, but the public will never know.
Restoring some honor to the Lannister family name seems to be Jaime’s main goal going forward, but with his sister’s ruthlessness, it may be a pipe dream.
