Video: Is Jaime Lannister a villain?

Several Game of Thrones fans make videos analyzing the show and the Song of Ice and Fire books, mining them for thematic insights and hints of what’s coming. For my money, Alt Shift X is one of the best out there — the videos on this channel are clear-headed, well-reasoned, and concise. He has a new one out, this one all about Jaime Lannister — his past, present and future. It’s really cold outside. We recommend grabbing a cup of something warm and settling in.

This video looks at where Jaime’s been and forecasts where he might be going. Knowing what we now know, it’s hard to believe there was ever a time George R.R. Martin planned for Jaime to become king, to say nothing of him murdering everyone in line ahead of him (including his children?) to get the throne. (But then again, pretty much everything from the original outline was drastically changed.)

Even by A Song of Ice and Fire standards, Jaime is a very complex character, and makes a good video subject. With Game of Thrones coming to an end in 2019, the questions now is: will Jaime’s story end the same way in the books as it will on TV? While the general arc of his story is the same in both mediums, the show has taken him in some different directions following season 4, and removed obstacles present in the books, like Lady Stoneheart. When it comes to the novels, I tend to think that Jaime will survive his current predicament and end up where he is now on the show: heading north to help fight the White Walkers. But it’s impossible to say for sure.

Next: Alfie Allen improvised Theon’s “baptism” scene from “The Dragon and the Wolf”

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