Toward the end of the final episode of “Game of Thrones” this season, viewers saw Jaime Lannister leave his sister, lover, and Queen to join the inevitable war against the dead in the North. This after Cersei tricked Daenerys and Jon Snow into believing that she would agree to the truce and will send her army to join the war.
Being honorable and true to his word are characteristics that do not define Jaime Lannister. He was, after all, a former King’s Guard who stabbed his king in the back, forever being known as the Kingslayer.
HBO had a post-season interview with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau where the actor talked about the transformations his character Jamie Lannister had gone throughout seven seasons of “Game of Thrones.” He said that Jamie has changed in many ways after his right hand was cut off in the third season.
Before that shocking and painful experience, the Kingslayer would just use brute force knowing that he was stronger than his enemies.
After he lost his hand, however, Jamie was forced to “understand and use empathy” and it made him a better commander, according to the actor.
That was it
According to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Cersei's deceit was the moment Jaime had enough. “That was it. That was the moment. She’s so cynical on a level that he doesn’t understand,” he said. For her twin brother, Cersei took the deception “ to a place that he can’t follow her to.”
On Cersei’s pregnancy
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau also talked about Cersei’s pregnancy and the fact that she intends to no longer keep it as a secret that her twin brother, Jaime Lannister, is the father.
He explained that to be open about it is what Jaime Lannister wanted his whole life. “He’s in love with this woman, and it’s been so wrong, secret and dangerous.”
That both of them can openly show their relationship and he no longer has to pretend as the sweet uncle to their child, goes straight to Jaime Lannister’s heart, Coster-Waldau said.
Reuniting with Brienne of Tarth
When Cersei walked out of the meeting after Jon Snow revealed his allegiance to Daenerys, Brienne accosted Jaime and told him to set aside loyalty and talk to his twin sister. But according to Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, “it’s always been “family first.” However, his response did not mean that Brienne’s words mean nothing.
He said, it is rather that these will always be at the back of Jaime’s mind, the actor said.
Jaime’s relationship with Brienne since they first met each other in season 2 has always the quality of ambivalence.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau talked about it with IGN UK last year where he said that the two of them love each other, however “they would never recognize the thing that there is between them because it's just beyond imagination -- or at least they would never allow themselves to go to that place.”
