Game Of Thrones: 10 Things Book Fans Only Know About Jaime

Jaime Lannister has one of the most developed and unique character arcs on Game of Thrones, and it’s safe to say that for better or worse, the entire story could not have happened without him. However, the show doesn’t capture or include every element of Jaime’s character that’s present in the book series A Song of Ice And Fire.

Author George R.R. Martin fleshes out Jaime’s character even more in his books, and not every aspect of his characterization made it from page to screen. So what facts about Jaime would only book fans know?

10 He And Cersei Look A Lot Alike

While the TV versions of Cersei and Jaime do look similar enough to pass as siblings, in the books they actually look shockingly alike.

Now that they’re adults the differences are more apparent, but when they were children they looked so much alike that they were often mistaken for one another. Apparently they were so nearly identical that even Tywin had trouble telling who was who.

9 His Mother Tried To Separate Him From Cersei

Although Lord Tywin seems to have been pretty blissfully ignorant regarding Jaime and Cersei’s intimate activities with one another, his wife Joanna is another matter.

When Jaime and Cersei were young they were caught together by a servant, and that servant told their mother what they’d seen. Joanna told them to stay away from each other, made sure their bedrooms were far apart, put a guard at Cersei’s door, and told them both that if they did anything again she’d tell their father. But, she died before spilling the beans.

8 He Almost Married Elia Martell

Elia Martell is long dead by the time the events of Game of Thrones take place, however she has a bit more history with the Lannisters than the show lets on.

When Elia and Oberyn were young, they were taken to Casterly Rock in the hopes of possibly arranging marriages between Elia and Jaime as well as Oberyn and Cersei. But when the Princess of Dorne inquired about the match with Elia, Tywin turned it down.

7 He Almost Married Lysa Tully

Obviously before joining the Kingsguard, Jaime was one of the most eligible bachelors in the kingdoms. But one marriage match that almost became a reality was one between Jaime and Lysa Tully (who would later become Lysa Arryn).

When he was younger, Jaime actually visited Riverrun because Hoster Tully and Twyin were considering a match between the two, however it obviously never came to pass.

6 He Was A Big Fan Of Brynden Tully

Although Jaime and Brynden “Blackfish” Tully come face to face on screen at the siege of Riverrun, it’s actually not the first time they’d met.

Jaime was sent to Riverrun with the hopes of a potential match between himself and Lysa Tully, however Jaime was more besotted with the war hero Brynden Tully and his stories from the War of the Ninepenny Kings than anything else.

5 He Was Imprisoned For A Long Time At Riverrun

When Jaime was captured by Robb Stark’s forces, it was obviously essential to keep him in a safe place. And given that they were in the Riverlands, the kingdom of Catelyn’s family home of Riverrun, that is where Jaime is kept until Catelyn goes rogue and attempts to trade Jaime for Sansa and Arya.

The show handled it a bit differently, keeping Jaime in Robb’s camp until Cat let him go.

4 He Wanted To The Kingsguard For Cersei

Obviously Jaime has spent most of his life hopelessly in love with his sister Cersei, and she with him. When they were still young, Cersei was in King’s Landing while Tywin served as Hand of the King to Aerys Targaryen.

There was an open slot in the Kingsguard, and Cersei suggested that he could fill it, and thus wouldn’t be required to marry anyone else while still being in the same city as her.

3 But He Was Chosen For The Kingsguard To Spite Tywin

Jaime and Cersei’s somewhat harebrained plan for Jaime to join the Kingsguard and avoid having to marry anyone actually did work, but it only worked because by that point the Mad King absolutely loathed his Hand and former friend Tywin Lannister.

Jaime was obviously the heir to Casterly Rock that Tywin had always dreamed of, and by admitting Jaime to the Kingsguard, Aerys was taking that future away from his rival.

2 And He And Cersei’s Plan Didn’t Work At First

Ironically, Jaime was admitted into the Kingsguard just like he and Cersei had planned, however that was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Tywin.

He wound up resigning as Hand of the King and leaving for Casterly Rock, obviously taking Cersei with him and incidentally ensuring that once again she and Jaime were on other sides of the continent from each other.

1 He Was Once Warden Of The East

Despite being a Westerman with no connection to the Vale or the eastern part of Westeros at all, Jaime Lannister was once named Warden of the East.

But after Jon Arryn died, his son was too young to play the role of Warden of the East, and in a controversial decision that was not appreciated by the Valemen, Jaime was named it’s Warden until Tywin Later returned the title to House Arryn.