Jaime Lannister

Ser Jaime Lannister is a major character in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth seasons of Game of Thrones. He is the eldest son of Lord Tywin Lannister and his wife Joanna, the younger twin brother of Cersei Lannister, and the older brother of Tyrion Lannister. He has been involved in an incestuous relationship with Cersei, and unknown to most, he is the biological father of her three children, their deceased eldest son Joffrey, their daughter Myrcella, and their remaining son Tommen, who now sits on the Iron Throne.

Jaime previously served in the Kingsguard of Aerys Targaryen, known as the Mad King, before infamously backstabbing him during the Sack of King's Landing, earning Jaime the nickname of the Kingslayer. He continued to serve in the Kingsguard of Robert I Baratheon, and as Lord Commander for Robert's alleged son Joffrey.

During the War of the Five Kings, Jaime was captured and held prisoner by Robb Stark, until escaping through the actions of Catelyn Stark. With Brienne of Tarth, Jaime returns to King's Landing, resuming his role in Joffrey's Kingsguard. After Joffrey's assassination at the Purple Wedding, Jaime then serves Tommen Baratheon.

Background
Jaime was the eldest son of Joanna Lannister and Lord Tywin Lannister. Tywin was the head of House Lannister, the richest man in Westeros and the most powerful man in the world, and Lord Paramount of the Westerlands. The Westerlands are one of the constituent regions of the Seven Kingdoms and House Lannister is one of the Great Houses of the realm. Jaime had great difficulty learning to read as a child because he transposed letters in his mind. Tywin sat with him through four hours a day practicing until he learned. Jaime resented being forced to spend so much time on reading.

Jaime was the older brother of Tyrion and the twin brother of Cersei. Their mother died giving birth to Tyrion. Due to his place in the Kingsguard, Jaime could not inherit his father's lands or titles, making Tyrion his father's heir; a fact which vexes Tywin. Unlike Cersei and Tywin, Jaime always treated Tyrion with a degree of love, kindness and respect.

Jaime began an incestuous relationship with his twin Cersei in his youth. At the age of 16, Jaime rose to the rank of knighthood. At the behest of Cersei, he consented to join the Kingsguard so that the two of them could be together in King's Landing. However, Tywin erupted in fury and resigned his position as Hand of the King, taking Cersei back to Casterly Rock with him. Jaime was appointed to the position by the Mad King, Aerys II Targaryen during the Tourney at Harrenhal. He was then the youngest man ever appointed to its membership.

At the conclusion of Robert's Rebellion, Jaime's father Tywin arrived at the gates of King's Landing with the main Lannister army, pledging his allegiance. Most of the Small Council urged Aerys not to trust Tywin, especially Jaime, knowing his father would never support the losing side of a war. Instead, Grand Maester Pycelle gave the opposite counsel, and once the Lannister army was allowed inside, Tywin ordered his men to attack the city. As Lannister soldiers raped and pillaged throughout the city during the Sack of King's Landing, King Aerys remained holed up inside the Red Keep, for hours maniacally repeating the order to "burn them all".

Despite being sworn by the holiest oaths to protect the king as a member of the Kingsguard, Jaime ultimately turned his own sword on Aerys, slaying him at the foot of the Iron Throne itself. For this infamous act, he is known throughout the Seven Kingdoms as the "Kingslayer", to his irritation.

Jaime always refused to discuss precisely what happened the day he slew the Mad King, and thus his true motivations – and what plans Aerys had for King's Landing – were never revealed. On one occasion he confides the truth to Brienne of Tarth: Aerys's final orders were for Jaime to kill his father, and to burn the entire city and its inhabitants with wildfire. Unwilling to let that happen, Jaime killed him, and in doing so actually saved thousands of innocent lives. He adds that the "honorable" Ned Stark judged him guilty on the spot, without giving Jaime a chance to explain.

He was forgiven for breaking his vows by King Robert Baratheon and permitted to remain in the Kingsguard as part of Robert's alliance with House Lannister, along with the marriage of Jaime's twin sister Cersei to Robert. In addition to the slaying of the Mad King, Jaime was known for his handsome looks, arrogant demeanor, and his superior and incredible fighting skills, and for his superb martial skills. He was so skilled and great with a sword, that he bragged there were only three men in the Seven Kingdoms who might have had a chance against him.

Season 1
In King's Landing, Jaime counsels his sister, Cersei, over fears that Jon Arryn may have discovered their secret prior to his death. Jaime argues that even if he knew, Arryn did not inform the king, for if he had, they would already be dead. If Arryn knew, his knowledge died with him. He accompanies King Robert to Winterfellwhere the king plans to ask Eddard Stark to replace Jon Arryn as Hand of the King. After their arrival, Cersei sends Jaime to find their younger brother Tyrion. Jaime tracks Tyrion to a brothel, tells him that he is needed at the feast that night and brings him several whores to speed his exit.

At the evening feast, Jaime blocks Eddard's path and asks if there will be a possibility of their competing against each other at a tournament. Eddard dismissively says no, as he doesn't play at fighting, and doesn't show off his skills to let opponents know his abilities. The next day, Eddard and Robert go hunting, leaving the castle largely empty. Cersei and Jaime liaise in a derelict tower. Bran Stark climbs the tower, looks through a window and finds them engaged in sexual intercourse. He is caught watching by Cersei, at that point Jaime is able to make it to the window to grab him. Bran is startled by everything he's seen, Jaime looks out the window and only sees Bran's direwolf pup Summer. He asks Bran how old he is, and he replies, "Ten." Jaime glances momentarily back at Cersei and says, "The things I do for love", and pushes Bran out of the window.

Several days later at breakfast, Tyrion tells his family that Bran is expected to live and notes his siblings' guarded reactions to the news. Tyrion informs them of his decision to journey north to see the Wall before returning to King's Landing. Jaime states that it would be kinder to let him die, due to Bran's paraplegia, but Tyrion states he would prefer to live in any case. Jaime then hints that it would be in House Lannister's best interests if Bran were to die.

Just before departing Winterfell, Jaime talks to Jon in the courtyard. Ostensibly, he thanks Jon for his service joining the Night Watch, but in reality he is mocking him, as those from the south see it as waste of time (ironically, Jaime's Kingsguard vows are also for life and prevent him from marrying, but he still gets to live in the capital city and not exiled to the frozen gloom of the Wall). The parties depart Winterfell. Jaime is with the group traveling south to King's Landing.

The royal party reaches King's Landing. Eddard barely has time to get off his horse before he is asked to attend a meeting of the king's small council. Jaime awaits him in the throne room. Jaime is unhappy with Eddard judging him for killing the Mad King, the murderer of Eddard's father and brother, but Eddard is unapologetic. He says it wasn't justice that drove Jaime to kill Aerys, and that Jaime served Aerys loyally when serving was the easier thing to do. A raven arrives at King's Landing with news of Bran's recovery. In the capital, Cersei fears he will expose their secret, but Jaime comforts her.

Elsewhere, Robert swaps old war stories with Ser Barristan Selmy, a distinguished and famous knight and commander of the Kingsguard. Jaime is called in to join them. He tells them that the first man he killed was an outlaw from the Kingswood Brotherhood, and, as he took off the man's head, there were no last words. Disappointed in not being able to mock him, Robert realizes that he never asked Jaime what King Aerys Targaryen's last words were, then taunts Jaime for killing a defenseless old man he had sworn to protect. Jaime tersely responds that the last thing the Mad King said was the same thing he'd been raving for hours, since the sack of the capital by the rebels began: "Burn them all!" This silences Robert's levity.

Jaime guards the king's bedroom while Robert cavorts with several women, Jaime taking it as a calculated insult to himself and his sister. He reminisces with Jory Cassel, the captain of Eddard's household guards, about the Siege of Pyke during the Greyjoy Rebellion and the fierceness of the fighting. Jory tries to leave Eddard's message with Jaime, but is rebuffed, as Jaime angrily states that he does not serve Lord Stark.

Upon hearing of his brother's capture by Catelyn Stark, he confronts Eddard in the streets of King's Landing. Knowing that killing Eddard will result in Tyrion's death, he instead has Eddard's guards executed, stabbing Jory through the eye himself. He and Eddard fiercely cross swords in an intense duel, and Jaime is surprised that Eddard is a match for him. After minutes of dueling, and neither opponent gaining ground on the other, the fight ends abruptly and prematurely when a Lannister guardsmen stabs Eddard through the leg. An irritated Jaime knocks out the guardsman and then departs the city, telling Eddard that he wants his brother back.

Jaime joins the army of his father, Tywin Lannister, in the field. Tywin laments Jaime's pride and how he spends so much effort trying to convince others he doesn't care what they think of him. Tywin is incredulous and disgusted that Jaime would let Eddard live and go free because his victory was not "clean". He says that if other houses think they can take a Lannister hostage and not suffer for it they will lose respect for the Lannister name. Tywin says that Jaime must accept responsibility for the future destiny of their house, which will be decided by this war against the Tullys and Starks. They will either die out like the Targaryens or begin a dynasty that will last 1,000 years. He gives Jaime thirty-thousand men and sends him to besiege Riverrun. In King's Landing, Eddard tells Cersei that he knows that Jaime is the true father of Cersei's three children. She admits it, saying they have loved one another from the womb and are destined to be together always.

Some weeks later, Ser Kevan Lannister, Jaime's uncle, tells Tyrion that Jaime has won several significant battles, smashing a host of the river lords at the Golden Tooth and currently laying siege to Riverrun. Robb Stark marches two thousand men towards Tywin's forces in order to create a distraction. The remaining force feints outside Riverrun, drawing out Jaime and a small number of troops to deal with what appears to be a small scouting party, and Jaime is taken prisoner in the resulting Battle of the Whispering Wood. Jaime offers to fight Robb in single combat to decide the war, but Robb knows that Jaime is better at swordplay than he is and says they aren't going to do it his way. Robb initially intends to use Jaime as a bargaining chip for his father's and sisters' lives. However, Eddard is executed in King's Landing before news of Jaime's capture can reach the capital.

Catelyn Stark visits the captive Jaime. He taunts Catelyn, saying widowhood suits her, informing her that he would have sex with her if she was lonely. She hits him in the head with a rock. Jaime knows that the Starks won't kill him as long as his sister holds Sansa and Arya hostage, but Jaime Lannister always taunts others while he is in chains to show them he doesn't fear them and they aren't superior to him. She says he has gone against the laws of gods and man, he says, "What Gods?" Where were her gods when her husband was killed. When she says injustice in the world is because of men like him, he tells her, "There are no men like me. Only me." When asked directly, he admits pushing Bran from the tower, but doesn't reveal why.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Jaime Lannister is described as extremely handsome with bright green eyes and hair like spun gold. The books do not mention him suffering from dyslexia. He is a prodigious warrior.

Jaime becomes a POV character in the third novel. In the first two novels, his actions are witnessed and interpreted from the POV of other characters, mainly Eddard and Catelyn.

At the age of eleven, Jaime was sent to Crakehall, and served as a squire for old Lord Sumner Crakehall for four years (Jaime never served as a squire for Barristan Selmy). While on an errand for Crakehall, Jaime visited Riverrun and at dinner every night Hoster Tully seated him next to his daughter Lysa; Lords Tywin and Hoster were in talks to marry them. However, Jaime was more interested in talking to her famous uncle, Ser Brynden Tully, a hero of his, and hearing of his exploits in the War of the Ninepenny Kings.

Two years later, while still a squire, Jaime won his first tourney melee. When he was fifteen, he and his master accompanied Ser Arthur Dayne and Ser Barristan Selmy in their campaign against the Kingswood Brotherhood. Jaime fought bravely against the Smiling Knight, although was not the one to kill him, and saved the life of Lord Crakehall from another of the outlaws. As a reward, Jaime was knighted by Arthur Dayne on the battlefield.

A Kingsguard berth became vacant with the death of Ser Harland Grandison. With Jaime's approval, Cersei schemed to have him chosen, to prevent his proposed marriage to Lysa Tully, and so they could be in the capital together. Jaime was duly appointed to the Kingsguard by King Aerys II Targaryen. At fifteen, he was the youngest Kingsguard member in history. He served alongside such great and vaunted warriors as Lord Commander Gerold Hightower, Barristan Selmy and Ser Arthur Dayne, the legendary Sword of the Morning. Jaime's appointment extremely infuriated his father, as the Kingsguard take vows to serve for life, never marry, and give up the right to hold lands and titles. This meant Jaime was no longer his heir, the honor of which instead fell to Tywin's misshapen and hated youngest son, Tyrion, whose dwarfism made him unfit in his father's eyes to inherit Casterly Rock. It was the final straw in a long series of slights made against Tywin by the King. Soon afterwards he resigned as Hand of the King and returned to Casterly Rock, taking Cersei with him, thus unwittingly foiling her and Jaime's plan.

Very soon, Jaime realized - at the same day he became a member of the Kingsguard - that his appointment to the Kingsguard was not meant to honor him but to spite his father, whom Aerys was insanely jealous of, to deprive him of his heir and use him as a hostage for Tywin's good behavior, which greatly soured the honor; Aerys wouldn't even let Jaime to savor the day, but immediately ordered him to return to the capital and guard the queen and Viserys. Jaime rapidly became disillusioned with his new position, as he was forced to watch the various atrocities Aerys committed, forced by his vow to stand by and do nothing.

At the climax of Robert's Rebellion, when the Lannister armies stormed King's Landing, Aerys insisted - quite ironically, as Jaime muses many years afterwards - that Jaime stayed and guarded him, to make certain that Tywin would not act against him. Jaime protested, pleading Rhaegar to let Darry or Selmy guard the king, but Rhaegar refused to deprive his father of "that crutch" in such hour. Jaime was angered to be referred as "a crutch", but obeyed.

Jaime betrayed his king by murdering him at the foot of the Iron Throne itself. He attacked Aerys on the steps of the Iron Throne, and cut the Mad King's throat rather than stabbing him in the back as in the TV Series. Robert Baratheon forgave Jaime, reasoning that someone had to kill Aerys, and he was just happy that the Lannisters were the ones who got their hands dirty instead of himself. Eddard Stark believed that Jaime should have faced justice for killing Aerys, or at least stripped of his position on the Kingsguard and made to take the black, but Robert didn't want to upset his crucial alliance with Jaime's father Tywin, his own new father-in-law. Jaime is stuck in an ironic situation: Targaryen loyalists despise him for personally killing the last Targaryen king, but even those who joined Robert in rebellion (and wished Aerys dead) often question why he didn't kill Aerys sooner, preventing the loss of life that happened in the war. A small number of people don't even mind what Jaime did or when he did it, but place so much respect on honor and justice that they feel his breach of his Kingsguard vows to defend the king are a sacrilege that can never be forgiven. For his part, Jaime points out that Aerys was a madman who roasted women and babies on spits because the voices in his head told him they were plotting against him, and he has no regrets about killing the Mad King.

Tywin's sister Genna remarks that her nephew Jaime isn't really like his father. Instead, she says Jaime has a combination of the qualities of Tywin's three younger brothers: Tygett's martial prowess, Gerion's sharp sense of humor, and Kevan's sense of honor. Genna insists that Tyrion is the son who inherited Tywin's brilliance and is most like his father, which she even told Tywin once, after which he didn't speak to her for six months.

The early sections of the book A Game of Thrones play to the suspicion that Jaime wants to seize the throne himself, but this is later shown to be a red herring. Also, Robert names him Warden of the East despite not being an Arryn or having any relation to the noble houses of the Vale.

After Jaime is captured in the Battle of the Whispering Wood, he is held at Riverrun, not taken along with Robb's army, though Robb only leaves Riverrun some time later so he can consolidate his forces. No scenes between Jaime and Robb are depicted in the books (as neither is a POV character at this point), though it is entirely plausible that the scene with Robb in Jaime's cell in the Season 2 premiere could have happened in the books, just "off screen", as Robb doesn't immediately leave Riverrun. At first, Jaime is held in comfortable imprisonment in a tower of Riverrun, but after a failed escape attempt, in which he manages to kill two guards and seriously injure a third before being subdued, he is chained up in the dungeon.

The TV series' depiction of an escape attempt by Jaime, during which he kills Torrhen Karstark, is a very loose adaptation of events in the books. In the TV version, Jaime kills Torrhen because he was guarding his cell, which causes Lord Rickard Karstark to become enraged and demand revenge, to the point that Catelyn releases Jaime (in promise of her daughters' safe return from King's Landing) because she fears he won't live out the night. In the books, Jaime killed Rickard's sons Torrhen and Eddard Karstark at the Battle of the Whispering Wood (Eddard Karstark's death is apparently unchanged in the TV version). While Lord Karstark was certainly upset in the books, he wasn't going to go disobey Robb's direct command as his liege-lord that Jaime must remain unharmed (at least because he thought they'd execute him eventually). Catelyn's decision to exchange Jaime as a prisoner isn't rushed by pressure from within the Stark camp, but is rather due to her grief at hearing the (false) report that Bran and Rickon have been killed by Theon at Winterfell. Furthermore, she had recently been told by Cleos Frey that he only saw Sansa when he visited King's Landing, which makes Catelyn wonder if Arya is dead too. Believing (somewhat justifiably) that even holding Jaime as prisoner is no guarantee that the crazed Joffrey won't have her daughters killed on a whim, Catelyn decides that keeping her remaining children safe is what matters most, so she releases Jaime, sending him under escort by Brienne to King's Landing. Rickard Karstark only truly becomes enraged after Catelyn releases Jaime, because he never thought they'd release the killer of his sons, as well as because it is a very poor exchange to trade a prominent Lannister warrior for two girls. The TV series may have moved Torrhen's death around to make it closer to Jaime's release, instead of just mentioning that Jaime killed Torrhen at the end of Season 1 and expecting the audience to remember this over a season later.

Similarly, "Alton Lannister" is actually a renamed version the character Cleos Frey in the books. Cleos' father is a Frey but his mother is a Lannister, and his name may have been changed because of concerns that the audience would be confused as the Freys are on Robb's side. Jaime does not kill him in the books (nor does he kill any of his kin), this is an invention of the TV series. Instead, Cleos is sent back to King's Landing again along with Brienne and Jaime, but is killed by outlaws along the way.

Jaime doesn't appear during virtually all of the second novel, A Clash of Kings, emphasizing that he is a prisoner of the Starks and in isolation. He only appears near the end during one chapter when Catelyn Stark visits him in his cell to release him. Dialogue from this scene in the books was split in two, so that some of it is used in the scene where she releases him late in Season 2, while parts of it were moved back to a separate meeting between Catelyn and Jaime in the Season 1 finale (it was just one long meeting in the book). During their conversation in the book, Jaime bluntly admitted that he and Cersei are lovers; that he is the father of Cersei's kids; that he pushed Bran from the window. Jaime denied any connection to the Catspaw assassin, and revealed to Catelyn that the dagger never belonged to Tyrion, who could not have lost it to Littlefinger when Jaime was unhorsed by Loras Tyrell (as Littlefinger claimed), because Tyrion always bet on Jaime. Catelyn realized that Jaime was telling her the truth. Jaime also told her in detail how the Mad King executed Ned's father and brother. Most of the conversation was omitted from the TV series.

The full oath that Catelyn forces Jaime (while he is drunk, chained to a wall, with a sword pressed to his chest) to swear is "Swear that you will never again take up arms against Stark nor Tully. Swear that you will compel your brother to honor his pledge to return my daughters safe and unharmed. Swear on your honor as a knight, on your honor as a Lannister, on your honor as a Sworn Brother of the Kingsguard. Swear it by your sister's life, and your father's, and your son's, by the old gods and the new, and I'll send you back to your sister. Refuse, and I will have your blood". Jaime wonders why would Catelyn trust the word of someone who has broken so many vows in his life; he figures that she puts her trust in Tyrion. He decides that he would return Sansa, and Arya as well (if she could be found); it wouldn't win him back his lost honor, but the notion of keeping his word when everyone expects him not to - amuses him a lot.

Jaime then comes back to the forefront of the narrative in the third novel, A Storm of Swords, even becoming a POV character, but while this can be done in a book, the TV series producers felt that it would be odd for one of the main cast members to disappear for an entire season (similarly, Daenerys doesn't appear that much in the second book either, so the TV show padded out her storyline in Qarth). This was partially made up for by showing more events that happened to Jaime "off screen", such as Robb interrogating him (in the season premiere) and actually depicting his failed escape attempt. Their primary solution, however, was to move ahead some of Jaime's storyline from the third book to late Season 2: Jaime is only released from captivity at the very end of the second book (as a cliffhanger), thus all of Jaime's scenes with Brienne leading him back to King's Landing are actually from the beginning of the third book. TV producers Benioff and Weiss insisted that they don't see each season as being required to neatly adapt each book matched to one season, but instead they are trying to adapt the story as a whole, so parts from other books will spill into other seasons as they are required, i.e. pointing out that the Jaime/Brienne scenes in late Season 2 aren't fabrications of the TV series, just moving up some scenes that actually occurred in the next book.

In "Kissed by Fire" Jaime reveals his motivation for assassinating the Mad King to Brienne. In corresponding book scene, Jaime also says that he didn't tell Ned Stark his version of what happened because he knew Lord Stark wouldn't believe him anyway (and even if Ned believed - it wouldn't make any difference because the only thing mattered to Ned was that Jaime acted dishonorably regardless of the reason that made him kill Aerys), but he also goes on to explain to Brienne that the Kingsguard are sworn to keep the king's secrets, and he didn't want to be seen as breaking even more of his vows to King Aerys, even after his death. When Brienne calls for help for the Kingslayer, Jaime merely thinks to himself "Jaime. My name is Jaime.", instead of saying it out loud (though Bryan Cogman explained that Jaime is losing consciousness and just whimpering this to himself, not to Brienne).

Jaime and Brienne do not return to King's Landing in time for Joffrey's wedding. They are still en route back to the capital when they learn of Joffrey's death. Jaime is not particularly upset by the news and reflects that Joffrey was little more to him than "a squirt of seed", and that he deserved to die. At Cersei's insistence, he had kept his distance from their children and never grew too close to them, so as not to arouse suspicion about their true paternity. He decides that, if he had the choice, he would rather have his sword hand than his son back, since he and Cersei can always make another son.

Since Sansa has already escaped by the time he returns to King's Landing (unlike in the show), and Arya is long gone, maybe dead, Jaime is unable to fulfill the second part of his oath to Catelyn. Still, he tries to fulfill it by arming and equipping Brienne as best as he can, including the fine sword Oathkeeper, for the perilous search she intends to conduct.

Jaime has always been his father's favorite child (since Jaime disappointed him the least of all his children) - as long as he obeyed his father. This changes in the third novel; after Jaime returns to King's Landing, he severs his relationship with the two people who always had negative influence on him - his father first: Tywin demands that Jaime quit the Kingsguard and take his place as the heir of Casterly Rock. Jaime, sick and tired of the corruption, injustice and political manipulations around him, refuses to be his father's puppet anymore and exclaims in rage "I am a knight of the Kingsguard. The Lord Commander of the Kingsguard! And that's all I mean to be!". Tywin, furious at Jaime's defiance, answers harshly "You are not my son" (almost the same words he told Tyrion, after the latter shot him). This is their last conversation in the books. Kevan tries to make peace between them, but in vain.

Jaime gradually grows distant from Cersei too: he refuses her demand to kill Tyrion, since he believes Tyrion is innocent, and Joffrey meant nothing to him. Cersei teases him "Was it your hand they hacked off in Harrenhal, or your manhood?". She feels he has changed (which he did, as a result of Brienne's positive influence and his maiming), and does not like that.

One of the things that bother Jaime most of all is how low the Kingsguard has fallen; he compares in his mind the current Kingsguard members to those who served with him during the Mad King's reign, and is filled with disgust and disdain. Jaime is determined to exercise his authority as the Lord Commander in order to reform the organization. For that purpose, he interviews the Kingsguard members, puts each of them in his place, and makes it very clear that from now on they will not blindly obey the king, and that deeds like Sansa's beating are unacceptable.

When Jaime releases Tyrion from his cell on the eve of his execution for killing Joffrey, it is the first time the brothers have spoken since they were at Winterfell together. Jaime confesses that he is saving his younger brother partly out of guilt. He reveals that Tysha, Tyrion's first wife, was not a whore. Jaime did not pay her to sleep with Tyrion and he did not arrange for he and Tyrion to rescue her from a gang of rapists. She was in fact all that she appeared to be, a humble crofter's daughter whom they only met by chance on the road. Jaime says their father forced him to tell Tyrion that she was a whore to teach him a lesson. Enraged by this revelation, Tyrion slaps Jaime so hard it knocks him backwards. Out of spite (or perhaps in order to hurt Jaime), he lies that he really did kill Joffrey, and also reveals to Jaime that Cersei has been sleeping with Lancel Lannister and Osmund Kettleblack (in reality Osney Kettleblack), and maybe others. Tyrion leaves, vowing to return and take revenge on his family.

Tyrion's claim that Cersei has been unfaithful to him leads to Jaime growing increasingly disenchanted with his sister. While he initially thinks it was just a spiteful lie intended to hurt him, he is tormented by the thought, and eventually comes to realize that Tyrion was telling the truth (Lancel confesses to Jaime that he slept with Cersei).

After Tywin's death, Cersei asks Jaime to be the new Hand of the King, but he flatly refuses, having no interest in politics. He is also put off by Cersei's heavy drinking (which leads to her putting on weight), and her paranoia and vindictive scheming, which he warns her are creating enemies where there are none, as well as alienating the few allies she has left. She ignores his advice to appoint experienced men like Kevan Lannister, Randyll Tarly and Paxter Redwyne to her small council, rather than the lickspittles and fools she now surrounds herself with. When Cersei, now a prisoner of the Faith Militant, writes to Jaime pleading for him to return at once to be her champion in her upcoming trial, he does not reply and orders the letter burnt.

To help improve his left-handed swordsmanship, Jaime first enlists his old friend Ser Addam Marbrand to spar with him. Fearing that Ser Addam could get drunk and let slip the truth about his diminished skills, Jaime then turns to Ser Ilyn Payne, reasoning that, being unable to speak or write, Payne is not likely to tell anyone. He never trains with Bronn, as portrayed in the TV series. Jaime practices diligently, determined to regain his fighting skills, but his progress is very slow. After every practice, he and Ilyn sit and drink together. Jaime finds Ilyn the perfect drinking companion, for he never interrupts Jaime, never disagrees, never complains or asking for favors or tells long pointless stories. Jaime feels comfortable to chat with Ilyn that he reveals to him his darkest secrets, like the time he nearly killed Arya at Cersei's request, as a payback for the injuries her direwolf inflicted on Joffrey.

One day, Jaime sits in the White Sword Tower, reading The Book of Brothers. He does a soul-searching, feeling deep regret for his vile deeds, trying to remember in what stage of his life he has gone astray "Me, that boy I was... when did he die, I wonder? When I donned the white cloak? When I opened Aerys's throat? That boy had wanted to be Ser Arthur Dayne, but someplace along the way he had become the Smiling Knight instead."

Throughout the first half of the fourth novel, Jaime does nothing in particular, except showing at formal events and watching how poorly his sister rules and treats Tommen. He does not bother to attend the meetings of the Small Council, though he has the right, because he finds that boring. He grows to loathe his sister, now that he sees her as she really is - vile, treacherous and promiscuous. When he is assigned to go to Riverrun, he is glad to leave the city, feeling more comfortable amongst soldiers in the field than at the court.

Jaime does not travel to Dorne to rescue Myrcella from any danger. Cersei instead sends him to the Riverlands to end the siege and persuade Brynden Tully to surrender Riverrun to the Frey garrison in exchange for Edmure Tully's safety, while Ser Balon Swann is sent to Dorne to bring Myrcella (and also to play his part in Cersei's failed scheme to assassinate Trystane Martell). Jaime is still in the Riverlands when Ser Balon reports Kevan about the attempt on Myrcella, who survived but was horribly disfigured, thus he has no idea what happened to her by the point the books reached.

Jaime is never dismissed from the Kingsguard. He obeys the command to travel to Riverrun, but intends to keep the first part of his oath to Catelyn - to resolve the siege without spilling blood, and he succeeds: Riverrun yields, and none of the participants, besiegers and besieged alike, is harmed. Although the Blackfish escapes, Jaime is content for preventing bloodshed.

On the way to Riverrun, Jaime stops at Darry, where Lancel confesses tearfully to him about his part in Robert's death and his affair with Cersei. That confession clears any doubts Jaime had about his sister; moreover, it makes him realize she is responsible for the murders of Robert and the previous High Septon.

As a part of Jaime's redemption, after resolving the siege of Riverrun he gives a lot of thought about his surviving children. He wants to be a father figure to Tommen, to have him raised properly, to protect him from Cersei's negative influence before she can turn him to another Joffrey. He believes Kevan is the best choice for Tommen's Hand. He also considers revealing to Tommen and Myrcella that the rumors spread by Stannis about their origin are true, but is unsure whether it is a good idea: confirming that they are not Robert's offspring will cost Tommen his throne, and may cost Myrcella her betrothal to Trystane Martell.

Following Cersei's arrest (which takes place while Jaime is away), she sends him a letter, pleading to be her champion at her trial. Jaime knows that even if goes back, he cannot hope to save her: he is certain that she is guilty of all the crimes she is charged with (among them incest, adultery, regicide and deicide), and he is short a sword hand. He tells his squire to burn the letter - either to destroy any evidence of their incest, or perhaps as a symbolic gesture of severing their relationship permanently.

In A Dance with Dragons, from Riverrun Jaime continues to Raventree Hall, the last stronghold at the Riverlands that has not yielded yet to the crown. He persuades Lord Tytos Blackwood to surrender non-violently.

Unbeknownst to Jaime, Brienne and her companions Pod and Ser Hyle Hunt have been taken captive by the Brotherhood Without Banners, now led by the monstrous Lady Stoneheart (the reanimated Catelyn Stark). Lady Stoneheart incorrectly believes that Jaime was involved in the Red Wedding, and gives Brienne a choice: "Take the sword and slay the Kingslayer, or be hanged for a betrayer". Brienne refuses to make the choice; Lady Stoneheart commands to hang the three of them. As the ropes tighten, Brienne screams a word in order to save her companions.

On his way back to the capital, Jaime meets Brienne at Pennytree. Jaime is stunned to see her facial injuries (Biter's handiwork). She tells him that she found Sansa, and "I can take you to her, ser... but you will need to come alone. Elsewise, the Hound will kill her". It is obvious (to the readers) that Brienne is lying, since Sansa is in the Vale, and the Hound's fate is unknown. It seems Brienne intends to lead Jaime into a trap; the chapter ends with a cliffhanger.