Right before the end of HBO’s epic drama Game of Thrones, there was a moment when Jaime Lannister seemed to have found peace alongside Brienne of Tarth. Things went a different way, though, and eventually Jaime chose to die in the arms of his beloved sister-lover Cersei. In a new interview, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau explained that there were different clues pointing out that his character’s storyline was not meant to have a happy ending.
“In a different world, Jaime would’ve stayed with Brienne,” he said. “What he has with Brienne is something different — it’s a very pure, innocent love. There is a part of him that wishes he could not be who he is. It’s one of those things we do in Game of Thrones. You have this idea of what you want these characters to do — it’s supposed to end well for these two, they’ve been through so much together — but that’s not how it goes. The most extreme of all these scenes is a couple seasons back, when Myrcella tells Jaime she knows he’s her father and she’s glad he is. He has this moment of happiness, and then the second after she dies in his arms.”
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Then Coster-Waldau added that his fellow actress Gwendoline Christie was really good at tricking the fans into believing that there would have been a happy ending. But, if you were one of those fans, maybe you didn’t pay enough attention.
“Gwendoline [Christie, who plays Brienne] was so moving in that scene”, Coster-Waldau added. “She did an amazing job of conveying that Brienne had finally found happiness she’s never had, and it’s just taken away from her in a brutal way. It’s very true to who these characters are. His staying in Winterfell is unrealistic. Cersei is the most important person in his life, whether he wants her to be or not. The idea that he was going to just let her die alone, is too horrible for him. He asks Brienne: ‘Have you ever walked away from a fight?’ There’s no option for him, he has to go to Cersei. Ramsay Bolton said it best: ‘If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.'”
Were you content with the way Jaime’s story concluded? Let us know in comments.
