Something is fishy about the Sack of King's Landing

[Mad Monkey]

Jaime would be hardpressed to accurately remember things that Ned Stark did before he saw him, or esoteric details like the time of day since he spent most of it in Aerys's la-la land, right?

[WildBlood]

Jaime would be hardpressed to accurately remember things that Ned Stark did before he saw him, or esoteric details like the time of day since he spent most of it in Aerys's la-la land, right?

AS Ned would be hard pressed to remember what Jaime did before he arrived. We need both POV's to determine accuracy.

[Khal Shaggydog]

I do agree the timeline seems a little off, and also the sum total of the events around the sack, Aerys II's death, arrival of Ned is confusing.

Where was Tywin when Jaime was on the IT and Ned came in? Wouldn't there have been some sort of logjam confusion with Tywin's forces and Neds arriving at nearly the exact same time? I do think they were getting there pretty closing in time, but the same day seems pretty unlikely, just from a logistical point of view. Two armies, coming from different locations, arriving at the same time?

And wouldn't there have been a pretty strong likelihood that if the northern forces arrived that soon after Tywins, that serious fighting would break out between the two armies?

My main point of confusion is where was Tywin in all of this.

[Morienthar]

Well there's a small amount of time where Jaime is running around and killing the Pyromancers.

[Khal Shaggydog]

I thought he just killed the one pyromancer, current Hand of the King, right before he stepped in and killed Aerys II? As in, a few minutes total between the two murders.

[WildBlood]

I thought he just killed the one pyromancer, current Hand of the King, right before he stepped in and killed Aerys II? As in, a few minutes total between the two murders.

Yea, Jaime slew Rossart then Aerys

[Morienthar]

I thought he just killed the one pyromancer, current Hand of the King, right before he stepped in and killed Aerys II? As in, a few minutes total between the two murders.

I think he says he killed Pyromancers trying to ignite the caches inside the Keep.

[Dany Girl]

I thought he just killed the one pyromancer, current Hand of the King, right before he stepped in and killed Aerys II? As in, a few minutes total between the two murders.

no, he killed the Hand, then Aerys, then the other 2 pyromancers that knew where the wildfire was hidden. Then went back to the throne room, sat on the throne and waited to see who showed up IIRC. Probably Aerys sat on the floor dead for a day or so. No one would think to move the body right away, or wouldn't just for added disrespect to the dead king *IMO

[Whitering]

I think he says he killed Pyromancers trying to ignite the caches inside the Keep.

Heh, arguing from memory. I know he tracked them down and killed a bunch later. I think he only killed Rossart, before he could give the order to torch the city, and then after Ned and all that went and killed the rest. At least, that's how I read the passage where he recalls it, but I am at work and can't recall the exact order of the conversation where he tells Brienne.

[Ser Endrew Tarth]

Ned arrived in the throne room within minutes of Jaime slaying Aerys. They make that incredibly clear in the books.

But I'd imagine that the sacking of King's Landing took no more than 4 hours.

How is that incredibly clear??? The lord's in KL arrive minutes after and ask jaime who should be proclaimed king, to which he responds "Proclaim who you bloody well like" and sits his ass on the throne w/ his sword on his lap.

For all we know he sat there for a couple of hours before Ned RIDES into the throne room. (Rides IIRC which explains that he arrived late but had a clear path to ride into the red keep as in most of the craziness had died down after the kingslaying was announced).

It just doesn't seem confusing at all to me, maybe you are mixing up different POV's about the events somehow...

From the wiki:

The Battle

Lord Tywin Lannister, who had remained neutral until the Battle of the Trident, marched to the gates of King's Landing with a force of 12,000 men, claiming loyalty to King Aerys II and asking to be let in. It was Grand Maester Pycelle who convinced the Mad King to open his gates to the Lannisters, which was done over the objections of his spymaster Varys. Pycelle felt the realm needed a new king after Rhaegar's death, and hoped it would have been Tywin.^[1][2] The Lannister forces then began to sack the city in Robert's name. Aerys ordered his most recent Hand, the pyromancer Rossart, to ignite the wildfire caches throughout the city, saying, "Let him [Robert] be king over charred bones and cooked meat. Let him be the king of ashes."

Aerys then ordered Jaime Lannister, one of his Kingsguard, to hold the Red Keep and kill his father Lord Tywin. Instead, Jaime slew Lord Rossart and then murdered Aerys himself on the Iron Throne. At approximately the same, other Lannister soldiers fought Targaryen loyalists on the steps and in the armory of the Red Keep, and Eddard Stark was leading Robert's vanguard through the city gates. Lord Crakehall asked Jaime if they should proclaim a new king. Left unsaid was a clear implication, asking whether Jaime would proclaim Tywin Lannister, Robert Baratheon, or a member of House Targaryen. Jaime told Crakehall to proclaim whichever king he wished. ^[3]

Tywin sent his knights Ser Gregor Clegane and Ser Amory Lorch to scale Maegor's Holdfast and deal with the rest of the royal family, securing the throne for Robert and proving that House Lannister had forsaken the Targaryens forever. Gregor killed the infant crown prince Aegon Targaryen while his mother watched, and then proceeded to rape and murder Princess Elia herself. Amory dragged Princess Rhaenys from under her father's bed and stabbed her half a hundred times. When Eddard Stark arrived shortly thereafter at the head of the main rebel army, he found Jaime seated on the Iron Throne and Aerys' corpse slumped below it. Tywin Lannister presented the bodies of Rhaegar's wife Elia and the children Aegon and Rhaenys, as tokens of his fealty, laid out beneath the Iron Throne, wrapped in crimson cloaks.^[4] The resulting argument between Ned and Robert led to Ned riding out alone to finish the war in the south.^[1]

[Jaak]

We have important parts of the timeline from Jaime´s reminescences:

1) Jaime defends the fortifications of Red Keep, sees they are lost. Leaves his post, tells Aerys to call for negotialtions

Aerys refuses - sends Jaime to kill Tywin, and Rossart for his mission. Instead, Jaime goes and kills Rossart - then returns, kills Aerys hoping to sneak away undetected. Just then Lannister forces break in the doors and watch Jaime kill Aerys.

This would seem to take a few minutes. Jaime expected the wall to hold longer than it did after he left his post.

2) Crakehall reports that Lannisters hold the Keep and the city. As Jaime reminesces, this was incorrect:

loyalists were still dying at some stairs and such spots of Red Keep

Clegane and Lorch were still scaling the Red Keep, had not yet killed Elia and babes

Eddard was already entering the gates

I should say that since Eddard marched unobstructed through the city, it would have taken him an hour or less. How big do you think such a big medieval city is? And for that hour, Jaime rest unperturbed on Iron Throne - after inquiring if Jaime had any orders, and getting the advice to proclaim who they like, the Lannisters were happy to leave him resting ignorant, not issuing orders which might conflict Tywin´s.