In fiction, there are designations for characters called static and dynamic. Static means that throughout the arc of the story the character remains mostly the same, while dynamic means that they learn, grow and change. Many of the characters in HBO’s Game of Thrones undergo dramatic changes as events unfold, sometimes, like poor Ned Stark, they end up paying the ultimate price for not changing with the times. The character that probably grew the most over the years would hands down have to be Jaime Lannister.
Sure, Jaime’s personal growth and struggle was a bit more coherent in the books since there wasn’t areally strange rape scene tossed into the mix, but the arc is still essentially the same. The thing is, Jaime Lannister has been spending a lot of time redeeming himself throughout the series and that same cocksure scamp that pushed Bran out a window and watched as his buds slashed Ned Stark’s knee in a most dishonorable display has become a bit more three dimensional since then. Jaime still sired a bunch of incestuous children with Cersei, for sure, but he’s also a part of this sad, interesting relationship with Brienne of Tarth.
Jaime Lannister is a troubled man who always finds himself torn between his honor (or lack thereof) and his family, oftentimes those concepts clash with each other and leave him to make a tough decision, usually for the worst. But he doesn’t want to be that man, even if the world wants to believe that he’s simply the Kingslayer and an oathbreaker.
There’s simply a whole lot more to Jaime Lannister than stabbing the Mad King in the back and having sex with his sister. His personal growth has perhaps been the most fascinating slow burn throughout the entire show and the chilling thought of what he’ll probably have to do in the coming seasons could be some of the most heart-wrenching stuff to date.
