Jaime Lannister is the best character in the series

[Maegor_the_Cool]

He is easily the most complex and interesting character in the series IMO. 
 

You start off for the first 2 books only seeing him through others eyes, mostly Starks. It’s clear you are supposed to view him as a villain, like Cersei and Tywin. But then in Storm, we see his mind for the first time. Brienne is winning back to the boat, and he is thinking all it would take is a swing of the oar, and he’d be free. Instead he helps her back into the boat. 
 

But hold on, he’s a baddie, isn’t he? We find out about how and why Jaime killed Aerys, and how it has affected Jaime’s life, and it shocks us. Jaime isn’t who we thought he was. So we examine Jaime’s life before the story, and realize he really isn’t a selfish person at all. Almost everything he does in life is for his family, the people he loves. 
 

If he hadn’t pushed Bran out the window, in all likelihood Cersei and his children would be executed. It’s not a good thing that he did, but it saved his children’s lives. I think we as human beings can sympathize with him on that at least. Cersei clearly manipulated Jaime into wanting to join the KG and seals her manipulation by sleeping with him and convincing him that she loves him. He gives up everything to be with her, and her plan backfires and he is stuck alone with a madmen for 2 years.

Now he has realized Cersei never truly loved him, and manipulated him his whole life, and he is galavanting around the Riverlands trying to do as much right as he can. And I can only hope that he sticks around a little while longer, because I want his journey to continue being so fascinating and enthralling.

[Craving Peaches]

I'm not sure I would say he's the best, but he's certainly one of the most interesting.

[Maegor_the_Cool]

16 minutes ago, Craving Peaches said:

I'm not sure I would say he's the best, but he's certainly one of the most interesting.

When I say best I don’t mean morally. But in how his arc is set in the structure of the story and In complexity and nuance.

[sifth]

I have to admit, he's very well written and his chapters are usually some of the best.

[astarkchoice]

Yeah to be fair when we 1st meet him he needs humbling to grow as a character.

His father and family are rich and feared, his lover/sister is queen and he cucks the king regularly , hes possibly the most dangerous combatant in the realm one on one.  He struts around a city  no one but him knows he saved and thanks to roberts love of tourneys  he  gets to regularly remind the realm how awesome he is!

He clearly admires ned stark but its gotta irk him  a man who fathered a bastard gets up in his face about honour and  then his cold ass wife kidnaps his little brother who hes always loved and probably  been extra  protective of ( esp as he knows he wronged him with the tysha issue and that his bro cant protect himself.)

[Curled Finger]

You know, I have read a lot of books.  Jamie Lannister really is a stand out character among the tens of thousands I have read.  Of course, I could also say the same for Theon Greyjoy for different reasons, but to stay on topic.  Jamie was the biggest jerk alive wasn't he?  Just a privileged jive turkey bullshit blonde, master of the universe and center of the world.  As I read him the first time my friend asked, "so how about Jamie?" I made sounds of disgust and vowed eternal hatred for that scummy bastard.  She laughed at me.  This surprised me and I am still surprised that this character gives me so much joy.  I root for this guy though I know he's full of crap.  I am a true believer that Jamie Lannister is a true blue hero knight.  Where Brienne is Galahad, Jamie is Lancelot, treacherous bastard.  

My naked bald face will smile and tell you with complete confidence that Jamie is going to uphold his vows to the Starks and Tullys.  He will fight to the death with Brienne and many of his enemies because it will be right thing to do.  He will give death the finger many times before it has the last laugh and it will in the end.  Because Jamie is a Lannister at his core.  He wasn't written to ride off into the sunset with the maiden.  He was written to pay and he will to the bitter end.  Jamie will prove that being a Lannister is not an evil thing, only a family thing and blood is always thicker than water in this game of thrones.  

[H Wadsworth Longfellow]

He's good for them who like the grays.  He's a gray character with dung for honor.  Theon is better in that regards.  Theon is the star character in the north.  His chapters are gut-wrenching and the stuff of horrors. 

[The hairy bear]

There's a difference between being a very interesting and wonderfully written character (which Jaime certainly is) and a good person (which Jaime isn't).

On 1/23/2023 at 7:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

If he hadn’t pushed Bran out the window, in all likelihood Cersei and his children would be executed. It’s not a good thing that he did, but it saved his children’s lives. I think we as human beings can sympathize with him on that at least.

I can't. The non-nonchalant attitude in which Jaime throws Bran out of the window doesn't suggest a very conflicted man that has been put in an impossible position. He does it without giving it a second thought. When Catelyn confronts him about it, he mocks her and jokes about it. In his POVs, there isn't any thought of remorse.

There's also how he responds to Catelyn seizing Tyrion, by assaulting him on the streets and murdering all the men that went with him. That wasn't about saving his children's lives.

On 1/23/2023 at 7:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

he is galavanting around the Riverlands trying to do as much right as he can.

By threatening to throw infant babies with trebuchets? By taking boys as hostages away from their families?

Jaime is clearly improving after spending some time away from Cersei and losing his hand. But he has just moved from being a monstrous person to just a bad one. He is still doing his best to ensure the domination of house Lannister by using or threatening force.

 

[KingStoneheart]

Yeah 100% for me. Jaime is my favourite character and that's not because he's the "best" morally, because he's by no means a good guy and he never claims to be. He does bad things for the right reasons (and that's to protect himself and his family).

A lot of my love for his character could be down to the show and the way Nikolaj portrays him throughout Season 3 but he's one of my favourite chapters to read because I just love the "bad" who's full of conflict.

Although saying that, Tyrion is another who's just such a great POV / character. His chapters are so easy to read and it's so good to seem him turn bad (or even worse than he previously was) and have our main character full of such self-loathing and hatred.

Another great character POV is Arya. Another one who's chapters just flow so easily

[Gilbert Green]

On 1/23/2023 at 1:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

But hold on, he’s a baddie, isn’t he? We find out about how and why Jaime killed Aerys, and how it has affected Jaime’s life, and it shocks us. Jaime isn’t who we thought he was.

His motive for killing Aerys was self-preservation. 

Then he left the ticking time bomb under King's Landing and never told anybody.  Because the lion does not explain himself to the wolf.  Because it's all about the lion.  One particular lion.  The super-special lion.

His self-pity never shocked me.  It is a trait many villains have.

On 1/23/2023 at 1:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

So we examine Jaime’s life before the story, and realize he really isn’t a selfish person at all.

BWAHAHAHA!!!

On 1/23/2023 at 1:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

Almost everything he does in life is for his family, the people he loves. 

For me, myself and I.  And Cersei.  And the only reason he loves Cersei is because he thinks she loves him.  When he looks at her he sees, or thinks he sees, himself, looking back at himself in adoration.  When he begins to suspect she does not love him quite so much as he thought, he starts to hate her. 

On 1/23/2023 at 1:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

If he hadn’t pushed Bran out the window, in all likelihood Cersei and his children would be executed.

And after pushing a child out the window, he keeps on merrily boinking Cersei.  If more children catch them, he can just kill them too.  Or maybe start a major war and kill half the children in Westeros.  Just so he can keep on boinking Cersei.

I'm not saying he is not interesting.  But he is a villain.

[SeanF]

On 1/23/2023 at 6:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

He is easily the most complex and interesting character in the series IMO. 
 

You start off for the first 2 books only seeing him through others eyes, mostly Starks. It’s clear you are supposed to view him as a villain, like Cersei and Tywin. But then in Storm, we see his mind for the first time. Brienne is winning back to the boat, and he is thinking all it would take is a swing of the oar, and he’d be free. Instead he helps her back into the boat. 
 

But hold on, he’s a baddie, isn’t he? We find out about how and why Jaime killed Aerys, and how it has affected Jaime’s life, and it shocks us. Jaime isn’t who we thought he was. So we examine Jaime’s life before the story, and realize he really isn’t a selfish person at all. Almost everything he does in life is for his family, the people he loves. 
 

If he hadn’t pushed Bran out the window, in all likelihood Cersei and his children would be executed. It’s not a good thing that he did, but it saved his children’s lives. I think we as human beings can sympathize with him on that at least. Cersei clearly manipulated Jaime into wanting to join the KG and seals her manipulation by sleeping with him and convincing him that she loves him. He gives up everything to be with her, and her plan backfires and he is stuck alone with a madmen for 2 years.

Now he has realized Cersei never truly loved him, and manipulated him his whole life, and he is galavanting around the Riverlands trying to do as much right as he can. And I can only hope that he sticks around a little while longer, because I want his journey to continue being so fascinating and enthralling.

He's an interesting character, but not a good man.  Bran was an innocent, who had committed no wrong against Jaime.  But, he still tried to kill him.  Jaime put his childrens' lives in danger by continuing his affair with Cersei.  Nothing in his POV chapters suggests he ever had any qualms about it, nor indeed, about his family's actions more generally.  In his final chapters in AFFC, he's threatening Edmure with torture, and with the death of his child.  

[frenin]

It is certainly the character you find most interesting and complex.

Whether that qualifies him as the best character however is another matter. I don't think so for example.

Is it being a "is he bad, is he good?" the only thing necessary to be considered a great character?

On 1/23/2023 at 7:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

and realize he really isn’t a selfish person at all. Almost everything he does in life is for his family, the people he loves. 

And himself, oddly enough.

 

On 1/23/2023 at 7:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

in all likelihood Cersei and his children would be executed. It’s not a good thing that he did, but it saved his children’s lives.

His life ofc, wasn't on the barrel.

 

On 1/23/2023 at 7:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

I think we as human beings can sympathize with him on that at least.

If he wasn't pointlessly risking the lives of his children... I, as a human being, may sympathize with him.

Children he himself cannot stress this much did not really care about till he lost his hand.

 

On 1/23/2023 at 7:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

Now he has realized Cersei never truly loved him

He hasn't realized that, he has realized she slept with other people.

 

On 1/23/2023 at 12:55 PM, astarkchoice said:

He clearly admires ned stark

He doesn't. He resents Robert and Ned both.

 

Jaime doesn't strike me as the best Lannister character,  let alone the best character in general.

 

 

[Arthur Peres]

On 1/23/2023 at 3:10 AM, Maegor Targaryen I said:

If he hadn’t pushed Bran out the window, in all likelihood Cersei and his children would be executed. It’s not a good thing that he did, but it saved his children’s lives.

Jaime does not care about the kids. He tell us several times.

“Uncle Dolt, my sister called him. It’s Cersei and Tyrion who concern me. As well as my lord father.”

Because Joff was no more to me than a squirt of seed in Cersei’s cunt. And because he deserved to die

“Tommen is no son of mine, no more than Joffrey was.” His voice was hard. “You made them Robert’s too.”

He never talks or thinks about Myrcella.

[Castellan]

He saves them for Cersei's sake, I think. Also both Cersei and he would be killed and their whole house in terrible touble. He may have buried feelings for the children, but Cersei did not even let him hold them when born, saying (correctly) she didn't want him to be seen mooning over them as it would be dangerous.

His comment about Joffrey although coarse is honest, he is admitting he can't feel anything for him. Neither can anyone else except Cersei. He wonders if he is a monster for his lack of feeling.

He does feel for Tommen and its true he (and author too I think) show a lack of interest in Mycella because she is a girl. She is painted as pretty, smart, nice and well behaved and its as if these things define and reduce her.

[chrisdaw]

I agree Jaime is the best character, but I don't think people really understand the themes he's to explore though it is what makes him so compelling.

ASOIAF is not a repudiation of the immoral or dishonourable in service of a greater good. Tywin was unfeeling, ice, and would go too far. Bloodraven felt too deeply, fire, and went too far. But they were both also effective rulers up until the point that they went too far. And shadowing it all is the question of how far does the greater good overlap with their personal desires and goals.

Jaime is the character to explore the theme that service to the realm is an ugly business, if it's not, then you're not really trying. The King eats, the Hand takes the shit, the Hand being the king's and realm's first servant. Jaime is to walk the line of weighing the greater good against the dishonourable/immoral act, to weigh the heart against the head. He's not unfeeling like Tywin and doesn't believe himself justified by blood and magical superiority like Bloodraven, so he feels a personal cost to his actions, they're painful and overbearing, he feels the world's and his own judgement, so much so he retreats from them and barricades himself emotionally from the outer world.

He was fuelled by self, more so than Tywin or Bloodraven (I'm kind of assuming here) as he held fewer in the bubble, his love of Cersei, those immediate in his family and its name, his love of fighting and pride in his physical prowess. That part of him is a direct linear path, he will by the end shed almost all sense of self and those personal desires in service to the realm.

The common view point that Jaime's is a redemption arc from dishonourable to honourable is very wide of the mark, it's explored as a byproduct of the main point (and there's a lot of GRRM talking about that but that's because he's answering questions and that's the direction the questions come from). The main point will be that people who on a personal scale are willing to commit abhorrent enormities thought unacceptable by the world, to prevent morally acceptable calamities, are an asset. Jaime's greatest enormities are ahead of him, but acting sincerely for the realm, they'll be of the greatest necessity and personal cost.