This list contains mentions of sexual violence.
With House of the Dragon's season premiere earlier this week it's difficult not to reflect on its parent series, Game of Thrones, and reminisce about some fan-favorite characters. Of course, the new series will take place around 200 years before Ned Stark traveled to Kings Landing to serve as Hand of the King. Therefore, while family names are likely to be familiar, favorite characters like Jon Snow will not be present.
While many characters rose and fell in popularity throughout Game of Thrones, it might be good for audiences to have a fresh set to critique. After all, controversial individuals like Jaime Lannister had audiences reeling, trying to figure out his moral alignment and deduce where he would end up by the series end. Of course, the real answer revealed in the show's final season was a major disappointment to many, who found Jaime's ending unsatisfactory. However, where a majority of fans were in agreement, there are always those who have an unpopular opinion, and several Redditors were eager to share theirs in regards to Jaime's character.
Jaime's Ending Was Perfect
Leading up to the final episode of season 8, it seemed as if Jaime was going to get his happy ending. He had finally made the right moral choice to leave Cersei and fight against the White Walkers. However, he frustrated audiences by throwing it all away last minute to die with Cersei in King's Landing.
This felt like a rushed ending for the otherwise well-thought-out character, but Redditor Sawovsky disagreed. Instead, they called Jaime's return to Cersei a "perfect cycle," explaining that it was the perfect poetic end for a character that had so struggled with their morality. He was always doomed to fail.
Jaime Wouldn't Have Worked With Brienne
A primary reason many fans were pulling their hair out when Jaime chose to return to his sister to die with her is that he had finally entered into an intimate relationship with Brienne of Tarth, whose fantastic quotes throughout the show summed up her feelings on honor and loyalty. Happiness seemed to be, for the first time, in Jaime's reach.
However, Redditor BroboxylicAcid believed that Jaime could never have been happy with Brienne. They think that since Jaime had spent so many years obsessed with Cersei, his first time being close to another woman would "have just felt... wrong for him." So, despite his improved demeanor, it's possible that the moment with Brienne could never have lasted.
Jaime Improved But Was Irredeemable
For many, Jaime's character arc felt jarring by season 8 since his return to King's Landing seemingly went against a moral development he had undergone throughout the series. He had started as a despicable man but had ended up a hero so it made little sense to many fans when he went back.
Redditor L_McL disagreed with the majority by saying that while Jaime was better than he had been when the series started, he was still a bad person. "He's still the same guy that threw Bran out of a window," they said, pointing out that while the series showed some of his better angles, he was still a corrupt Lannister.
Jaime Never Cared About The People
Jaime Lannister greatly confused audiences throughout Game of Thrones, who struggled to peg whether he did or did not care about innocent life. However, in one of Jaime's best episodes in Game of Thrones in season 3, "Kissed by Fire," he convinced audiences that he had killed the Mad King to save the people and, therefore, really did care about them.
However, while many of his fans still believe that Jaime wanted to protect the innocent, Redditor GallianAce argued that he only protected the Lannisters. "It was the threat to [his family] that set Jaime off," they said, explaining that he proved time and time again that he only cared about Cersei.
Jaime Was Fully Redeemed In The End
Since Jaime returned to Cersei in the end, many audiences felt that he had thrown his redemption out the window entirely. Cersei was an evil woman whose stubbornness would destroy an entire city, so, despite the ways that Jaime had made audiences love him in Game of Thrones, choosing her must surely mean he was was bad deep down too.
While this was a frustrating truth to many, Redditor The810kid had the unpopular opinion that Jaime had actually achieved redemption by returning to his lover. "People are just so accustomed to a certain idea of a redemption arc," they said, explaining that Jaime's loyalty, while tragic, was the act of a good man.
Jaime Had The Best Character Development In the Series
Since Jaime's character was so morally wishy-washy, many audiences were left confused about who he really was. He started out attempting to murder Bran after the boy had caught him and his sister being intimate, leading him to be quickly despised. However, he later saved and befriended Brienne, only to rape Cersei by her son's corpse and make it clear that he would kill anyone he needed to get back to her.
While these contradictory actions left audiences feeling that Jaime's character was a victim of poor writing, Redditor Jami98 believed him to have the "best character development," calling his arc "intriguing" and "realistic." Other Redditers vehemently disagreed, stating that characters like Jon Snow were far more clearly developed in Game of Thrones.
Jaime's Character Served No Purpose
One thing that the Game of Thrones ending did was reveal just how important the central characters had been all along. Arya Stark was destined to kill the Night King, Daenarys was intended to take King's Landing from the corrupt Lannisters, and Jon Snow was revived so he could kill her when that time came— everyone was part of a greater purpose.
However, Redditor EarlyJuggernaut believed Jaime's "entire journey was a waste." In the end, Jaime was exactly where he started: by Cersei's side. While other Redditors argued that Jaime had an effect on the war with the Night King, EarlyJuggernaut was adamant that Jaime's entire arc served no purpose to the overall plot.
Jaime Would Have Pushed Bran All Over Again
While there is clearly a lot of debate over Jaime's moral character, it can at least be agreed that he truly regretted pushing Bran out the window. After all, the final season saw the two characters reunited, and Jaime came face to face with one of his more evil deeds, and he apologized.
Where most believed Jaime's remorse, Redditor YezenIRL did not. They sarcastically questioned other Redditors, "surely he isn't still the kind of person who would harm a child...right?" However, they went on to point out that Jaime never made efforts to save the thousands of doomed children during Daenerys' attack. Instead, he only went for Cersei.