Don’t Underestimate the King Slayer Or Queen Slayer

Published May 8, 2019 · Updated July 6, 2022

Hi ShatonTV team,

I just started listening this season and wish I had found you all earlier. I love that you do three podcasts each week allowing me to relive this amazing show and dive into every detail as much as possible – so thank you!

I had a lot of similar reactions to episode 4 – like when did they get the time to chop down perfectly sized pieces of wood and pile them all up? When did Jon get an accent? How did Missandei somehow get captured and how would they know she’s a close friend? Why would Sansa not give her self any credit for her own growth – even if some of it made her harder and Little Finger taught her how to think a few steps ahead (which we’ve yet to see her play out), the idea that rape makes you stronger/better is just a gut punch #metoo. Dany’s facial expressions and feelings at the banquet felt like every board/exec meeting women go through when a man does half of what you do (flying on a dragon’s back ONCE, ya she’s done thousands of times and in fact that she TAUGHT him, getting back up and fighting more, uhhhhh been freeing entire countries, but sure over exaggerate his part in this and ignore her part), she’s right to be pissed. 🙂 Bran’s point about living in the past felt more like a direct commentary to the audience trying to explain why he can’t/won’t predict the future battles and see this coming. And FWIW I don’t believe Podd was playing the game when he drank during the virgin question, he drank b/c of embarrassment. The game is meant to be 1:1 between Tyrion and Brienne.

But with this note, I want to hone in on the Lannister brothers and in particular how Tuesday’s podcast missed a lot of hints to Jamie’s true motivations and his ability to be the plot twist that takes Cersei down.

A lot can be said about what is NOT brought from the books to the show for the sake of their character’s storylines. Here are two things the show removed from Jamie’s plot:

1. The lie he told Tyrion that led to his wife, Tysha, being raped by the Lannister soldiers: The show removes this from the story. When Tywin found out about Tyrion’s first marriage, he made Jaime tell Tyrion that his wife was really a prostitute that Jaime had hired for Tyrion. Tywin then had the marriage annulled and Tyrion watched as something like, “every Lannister soldier had their way with her until she had pile of coins under her.” Jamie confesses this lie to Tyrion as he’s helping him escape Kings Landing thinking they’ll never see each other again. This omission in the show has always bothered me as it made Tyrion’s murder of his father feel more of a rage vs a revenge for his innocent wife, who we learned was now raped by an entire army in front of her husband. I’ve assumed it was because the show wanted Jamie to keep the relationship with Tyrion and not be seen as a even more of a horrible person – they could have easily kept this in to the show as Tyrion introduces us to the story of wife during the drinking game with Shea and Bronn in the tent.

2. The Prophecy: Cersei’s prophecy claims that her younger brother will strangle her. Both Jamie and Tyrion are younger than Cersei. I don’t believe they kept that part in the show, while they did keep the three children with golden crowns dying young. Perhaps they removed it to allow for more of a shock factor?

Hints to his arch:

* Jamie is set on living a happy life in the North with Brienne knowing two dragons and a suitable (while not as large) army will take Cersei down. This ending for him would have been the nice happy ending, but that’s not GOT. * If he wanted to save Cersei, he’d have left before the banquet, ahead of Jon. * He knows he has a mark on his head with Bronn hiding in the shadows should Cersei win, but is relaxed b/c he thinks that is unlikely. * His comments about her being hateful and him doing hateful things b/c of her felt more like resentment and anger toward the cycle he was on with her. * He’s worked hard to remove the name king slayer and rebuild his reputation – if you’ll notice, no one has called him that this season, even during the trial. * He’s successfully earned a better reputation with this last move, while not perfect, he’s living as a guest in Winterfell and has a healthier love life – things are moving forward.

…

* BUT then Cersei takes down a dragon and the balance swings a more in her favor… * He knows he has the advantage to get close to her.
* He resigns himself to die as the hateful king slayer he’s been known as and to give up on this happy life for the sake of the realm – the same choice he had to make with the Mad King. * He tells Brienne he is a hateful person as he has come to this decision himself and so that she does not stop him.

Other characters arch’s in episode 3 show redemption and dying the “way they would have wanted to die.” It would be interesting to see Jamie have to choose to die in the way he did NOT want to die – to go back to where his story (with this series at least) started and to becoming known again for what he’s been fighting against all these years – a “king slayer” this time “queen slayer.”

While I want Aryeh to have her revenge, I find it hard to believe that she’d take both the Night King AND Cersei out. But Messandei does tell Dany that when translated correctly, the prince who was promised could also mean princess in high Valarian – so who knows, maybe Arya will be wearing Jamie’s face? 🙂

Looking forward to all of your podcasts and sitting back just purely enjoying this wonderful show – no matter how it ends!

Valar Morghulis,
Meghan

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