Jaime Lannister (played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) has always been one of the most complex characters on Game of Thrones. Originally beginning as one of the most evil iterations on-screen, over the nine seasons of the show, he followed a redemptive path. However, it has been revealed he was originally supposed to take the Iron Throne and become the ruler of the seven kingdoms in a brutal twist.
What was Jaime Lannister’s original fate in Game of Thrones?
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for Game of Thrones season 8
Throughout the final few seasons of Game of Thrones, viewers were keen to find out who would end up on the Iron Throne.
Many thought Jon Snow (Kit Harington) could take power, while others hedged their bets on Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke).
However, one of the least suspected characters to take the crown was Jaime Lannister after he was disgraced as a kingslayer early on.
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But this could have been exactly what happened if George RR Martin had stuck to his original plans.
In a leaked pitch letter the author originally sent to publishers Harper Collins, there were some shocking changes to the story.
One thing the document reveals is Jaime was originally going to land himself as ruler.
The original letter pitches Jaime was to follow his nephew Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) onto the throne after Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) removed him.
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Martin described he would take the throne “by the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession and blaming his brother Tyrion for the murders”.
Such a plot twist would then see Tyrion exiled and forced to change sides and help the surviving Starks to defeat his brother.
However, when he ended up writing the rest of the series, Martin made a number of changes to this.
Instead of Jaime being the big evil the Starks are attempting to bring down, this was actually his sister Cersei (Lena Headey).
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What’s more, it becomes a key character trait throughout the book and the television adaptation that Jaime values his relationship with his brother Tyrion very highly.
Fans will remember at one point he trekked across the country in order to save him when he was taken prisoner.
In all, this brutal characterisation of Jaime turned out to be quite different to his redemptive storyline on the television show.
While he did start out by brutally throwing Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) out of the window, he actually ends up on a different track.
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In fact, in the series and adaptation, Jaime even ends up supporting the army in Winterfell against the army of the dead in one of the final battles.
He also had a romance with Brienne of Tarth in a touching season eight moment.
However, the series’ creators did not completely redeem the fan-favourite as he ultimately ended up returning to his evil sister as the pair died in each other’s arms.
The original pitch also revealed some twists in the storylines of Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams).
Game of Thrones season 9 is now available to buy on Amazon Prime.