Complex characters and their unexpected actions made Game of Thrones a worldwide phenomenon. Very few people would have expected a main character of a prime-time series to have an incestuous relationship with his sister and his attempt to cover it up by pushing a young boy out of the window in the very first episode of the show. Jaime Lannister, brilliantly played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, did all of it and much more.
Jaime, also known as the Kingslayer, has one of the most interesting character arcs in the show. His character has a lot of layers that the viewers get to see with each passing episode. From redeeming himself to going back to square one due to his love for Cersei Lannister, Jaime has given the Game of Thrones fans some of the most memorable quotes throughout the show.
15 “People have been swinging at me for years, but they always seem to miss.”
Ser Jaime Lannister is one of the best swordsmen in the Seven Kingdoms, and he certainly never misses any chance to flaunt it. Being an arrogant man, he often boasts about his sword skills to his opponents and anyone who threatens him even mildly.
While being overconfident is not a good trait to have, the exceptional fighting skills of Jaime Lannister in the very first few episodes prove that he’s actually as good as he thinks he is. The arrogant behavior of Jaimie Lannister also makes him seem invincible to his enemies and gives him a significant psychological advantage over other skilled swordsmen, including Ned Stark. This particular quote of Jaime Lannister remains true until he meets his match in Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie).
14 “They’ve spilled more blood than the rest of us combined.”
The High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce) gets a lot of power in King’s Landing with his cult. Very few people dare to stand up to the High Septon and his Faith Militants, but Jaime is one of those who doesn’t shy away from calling out the High Sparrow and questioning his hypocritical stance.
When the High Sparrow tries to deliver a potentially long religious lecture to Jaime, he shuts him up by telling him that the Sparrows are cowards who did not dare to enter King’s Landing when Tywin was alive. Jaime also mocks his faith by saying that Gods would not mind bloodshed, as they have spilled more blood than the rest of them. It shows that Jaime has the same attitude toward religion as his father.
13 “It’s a strange thing, the first time you cut a man. You realize we’re nothing but sacks of meat and blood, and some bone to keep it all standing.”
Being one of the best swordsmen, along with being a Lannister, it is not surprising that Jaime has killed a lot of people. When Jon Snow (Kit Harington) is sent to the Night’s Watch, Jaime gives him an important lesson about what it feels like to kill people. This particular quote is an important lesson for Jon, as he actually has to fight many battles during his time in the Night’s Watch and kill living as well as ‘undead’ beings. It also provides a closer look at Jaime’s personality and what he thinks while killing people.
12 “Why have the Gods made me love a hateful woman?”
Jaime and his twin sister, Cersei Lannister, have one of the most complex relationships in Game of Thrones. They have a well-hidden incestuous relationship, making all the heirs to the Iron Throne illegitimate. Ned Stark loses his life when he discovers this dark secret, and that sets the entire foundation of the series.
While Cersei and Jaime both know that what they are doing is not right, Jaime tries to put all the blame on the Gods by saying that they made him fall in love with a hateful woman. The fact that Jaime utters this dialogue after raping Cersei next to their son’s dead body further reveals the true nature of both the Kingslayer.
11 “She’s always been good at using the truth to tell lies.”
Undoubtedly, Jaime has profound love, or at least lust, for Cersei. But he is not fooled by any of her manipulative tactics or charms that seem to normally work on other characters. In fact, Jaime is the only one who truly understands Cersei and knows her better than anyone else.
Jaime knows that Cersei can go to any lengths to achieve her goals, especially after the deaths of their children. When Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) complains about being fooled by Cersei, Jaime tells him that Cersei has always been good at fabricating lies with the help of truth. While Jaime has always known such characteristics of Cersei, he still loved her because they had a toxic relationship in which they brought out the worst in each other.
10 “My life has left me uniquely unfit for constraint.”
Locke (Noah Taylor) was one of the best hunters of House Bolton. He had a strong hatred for people belonging to the highborn class. So, when he captures Jaime and Brienne of Tarth, he gets a chance to take out his frustration. Jaime tries to bribe Locke and tell him that, being a Lannister, he is unfit for constraints.
It shows that despite being one of the best swordsmen in the Seven Kingdoms, Jaime is not able to tolerate the torture and does everything in his power to get freed from captivity. Locke, however, refuses to accept any kind of bribe. Instead, Locke tells Jaime about the problems of the real world and chops off the Kingslayer’s hand to teach him a lesson.
9 “Threaten? As in “I’m going to open your lord from balls to brains and see what Starks are made of”?”
Unlike Cersei and Tywin, Jaime does not look down upon Tyrion Lannister. Instead, he shows love and kindness towards his younger brother. In fact, Jaime is even willing to go to war with the Starks to free his brother when Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) takes Tyrion captive due to the suspicion that he tried to kill Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright).
Jaime does not take his brother’s captivity lightly. He ambushes Ned Stark and asks him where his brother is. Once Ned tells him that Tyrion has been captured to answer for his crimes, Jaime threatens to kill and mutilate him. This quote is not justified in any way because Tyrion was captured for the crime actually committed by Jaime, but it shows the kind of affection Jaime had for his brother.
8 “If there are gods, why is the world so full of pain and injustice?”
Jaime Lannister has shown on many occasions that he does not believe in gods, prophecies, and faith. So, when Catelyn is praying, Jaime makes fun of her belief by asking her why there is so much pain and injustice in the world when there are gods. It does not stop Catelyn from telling Jaime that the pain exists due to cruel men like him. This quote is not only perfect for Jaime’s belief in Game of Thrones but also reflects the thinking of many people in the real world.
7 “There are no men like me. Only me.”
Jaime Lannister is one of the most unique characters of Game of Thrones, and he knows it. He is also a very arrogant individual who likes to boast about his sword skills and look down upon his opponents. When Catelyn Stark tells him that the world is full of pain and injustice due to men like Jaime, he retorts by saying that there are no other men like him in the world.
Other than depicting the arrogance of Jaime, this quote also shows that he knows about his unique characteristics, which are both good and bad. He’s not completely wrong in saying this because he’s naturally gifted as a swordsman, which made him the Kingslayer.
Moreover, Jaime is not delusional about escaping death all the time. In fact, he does not fear death, as he even charges against Daenerys and Drogon in season seven, but is ultimately saved by Bronn (Jerome Flynn). It shows that Jaime is truly one of a kind.
6 “Let me thank you ahead of time for guarding us all from the perils beyond the wall.”
When Jon Snow was sent to the Night’s Watch in season one, no one in King’s Landing expected the White Walkers to enter Westeros. In fact, no one even truly believed that there was any major threat lurking beyond the Wall. Instead, Night’s Watch was considered a huge punishment and not an important responsibility that people had to bear to protect the Seven Kingdoms.
Keeping up with this line of thinking, Jaime makes fun of Jon Snow. He sarcastically thanked John for protecting them from the dangers present beyond the Wall. Clearly, Jon had the last laugh in this matter, as the White Walkers proved to be such a big threat that Jaime later left his position as Commander of the Lannister forces to help the North in fighting the Army of the Dead.
5 “By what right does the wolf judge the lion?”
Jaime is known as the Kingslayer in the Seven Kingdoms because he killed the Mad King. Everyone, including Ned Stark, assumes that Jaime killed the Mad King to get the Iron Throne for the Lannisters. However, his side of the story is never told until his confession to Brienne of Tarth in season three.
Jaime reveals to Brienne that the Mad King was obsessed with seeing people burn, and before the people turned against him, he put wildfire all over the King’s Landing with the help of his pyromancer. When Aerys knew that he was about to lose the Throne, he asked his pyromancer to burn all of them with wildfire. This was the actual reason why Jaime broke his oath and killed both the pyromancer and the Mad King, where Ned Stark found him. The Kingslayer did not bother giving any explanation to Ned, as he assumed that the “honorable Ned Stark” would not be interested in his story, but Ned’s harsh words and judgments clearly hurt Jaime.
4 “We’re the only ones who matter, the only ones in this world. And everything they’ve taken from us, we’re going to take back and more. We’re going to take everything there is.”
Prophecies have an important role to play in Game of Thrones. In the season six premiere, Jaime brings Myrcella’s body to King’s Landing. While mourning, Cersei reveals that she always knew it would happen because a witch had told her about the deaths of their three children years ago. Jaime, however, does not believe in prophecies and tries to calm Cersei down by telling her to focus only on the bond they share. Nevertheless, it is not so easy to ignore prophecies in Game of Thrones, as they tend to come true in their own twisted ways.
3 “Nothing Else Matters. Only Us.”
The very last lines of Jaime Lannister in Game of Thrones not only show his arrogance, but also beautifully sum up his relationship with his sister. When Cersei and Jaime are trapped in the Red Keep in the series finale, she tells Jaime that she does not want to die and wants their unborn child to live.
Jaime, however, knows that there is no way to escape now. He asks Cersei to look at him and, for the last time, tells her that nothing else matters in the world except them. Certainly, this is not the best ending or a satisfying death for the incestuous couple, but it shows that it was Jaime’s love for Cersei that ultimately killed him.
2 “Has anyone ever told you you’re as boring as you are ugly?”
Brienne and Jaime’s relationship starts with enmity and hatred for each other. Catelyn Stark assigns the role of escorting Jaime to King’s Landing to Brienne of Tarth in the second season of the show. During their journey, they insult each other on many occasions.
While Brienne taunts Jaime by calling him a Kingslayer who cannot keep his oath, Jaime tries to dig into her insecurities by calling her ugly hand boring. He further insults her by asking her if she has ever been with a man, a woman, or even a horse. While such remarks briefly anger Brienne at first, she does not take any drastic steps and keeps performing her duty diligently. Ironically, Brienne and Jaime end up catching feelings for each other in the later episodes, and Brienne also loses her virginity to Jaime in the last season.
1 “The things I do for love.”
The most memorable quote of Jaime Lannister comes in the very first episode of Game of Thrones. It is also one of the iconic quotes that put the show on the map, and people still use this quote in their everyday lives.
On the surface, this seems like a romantic quote. However, there is a lot of history and dark secrets behind it. It comes at the point when Bran discovers that Jaime and Cersei are in a romantic relationship when he sees them in a tower.
Jaime has to protect his secret, so he pushes Bran out the window, telling Cersei about the things he does for love. Ultimately, this one “thing” sets the entire narrative of Game of Thrones in motion and also paved the way for Bran the Broken to win the Game of Thrones.