The season seven finale of Game of Thrones featured many meetings and partings, and one of the most important was the uncoupling of Jaime and Cersei Lannister. After seven seasons of the incestuous union, Jaime was eventually pushed too far (too soon, Bran?) and left his sister’s side for good following her betrayal of Jon and Daenerys. Apparently the craven decision to not send her troops North to help fight the Night King was a bridge too far for the sometimes noble, sometimes stupid knight.
According to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, that moment couldn’t come soon enough. In an interview with HBO’s Making Game of Thrones, he explains that he’s “been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
“That was it. That was the moment. She’s so cynical on a level that he doesn’t understand. You don’t give your word in front of the whole world and then just f*ck ‘em. That’s too far. The fact is, yes there’s always been a lot of deceit, but Jaime is actually pretty straightforward when it comes to ‘walking the walk’ and all that. He’s thinking, ‘You commit to something, and you’ve just seen this thing is real, what the hell…?’ She takes it to a place that he can’t follow her to.”
Jaime had his best character arc since season three in the penultimate season of Game of Thrones, and it’s certainly been a pleasure to see a complex and compelling character get a worthwhile storyline. After the frustration of seeing him weakly follow Cersei’s lead despite his obvious reservations, his decision to leave once and for all was a cheer inspiring moment. And seriously, no one is happier about that than Coster-Waldau.
“She seems more or less willing to kill him, and he finally realizes that whatever he feels for her, it doesn’t go both ways. That whole thing of “We’re in this together,” well, we’re not quite in this together — because you’re not. We’re not playing the same game.”
While their twisted relationship most likely has a violent ending on the horizon (the fan speculation that Jaime will end up killing Cersei and potentially then himself is quite high), for the moment, the Kingslayer is headed North with honor.
(Via Making Game Of Thrones)
