Having not read the books I am enjoying learning about the world of GoT as it opens up in the TV series.
However one thing that bugged me straight away is the fact that Jaime Lannister is in the Kingsguard, which means he can not inherit (or produce children who can inherit) once Tywin Lannister snuffs it.
Is there a reason he joined? The only thing I can think of is that it has to do with Cersei although seeing that she went off and had a sham marriage with Robert I don’t see why he couldn’t do the same…
Is there anything in the past that I don’t know about (having not read the books or that I missed in Season 1) that explains his decision?
Answer spoiled (though I think they’re pretty minor spoilers)
Tywin brought Cersei to court to try and get her hooked up with Prince Rhaegar (before the rebellion) but was unsuccesful. The only way Jamie could follow was to join the Kingsguard. Plus, he didn’t want to be with anyone else, even in an arranged marriage. Cersei is his one, true love.
Also at the time Jamie was only 15, making him the youngest member ever of the Kingsguard. And all the other members were legendary heroes, it would be like a highschool kid being picked to play with the original Dream Team
snuffed Aerys is beyond me. Discharge him, pardon him, give him a castle somewhere, even prosecute and then execute him… but if I were a king, I wouldn’t want a known Kingslayer guarding me!.
I forget if they ever commented on the “why they kept him”.
On one hand, Tywin didn’t like it so he probably would’ve been okay if Jaime had been discharged. On the other hand, maybe not, if it looked like a punishment and made the Lannisters look bad. As for Robert’s end, maybe he just thought it was the right thing to do. Or funny.
Well, everyone involved was just as traitorous as Jaime. They had all sworn oaths of loyalty and broken them in rebellion. Kind of hypocritical to single out Jaime when Robert is just as guilty, and then you have to expect tywin lannister to retaliate. Good luck holding that throne without lannister gold.
[spoiler]The Kingsguard have different responsibilities than the rest of the court. The citizens agree to honor the king (submit to his justice, accept his right to rule, etc.), but the Kingsguard are sworn to protect his life, with their own if need be. Considering the nature of the Westerosi monarchy, I would think each king knows he can be overthrown in a rebellion, whether it’s likely to happen or not, because that’s the nature of a ‘might makes right’ type of rule. But the Kingsguard swear to protect a king regardless of politics. It’s a duty they undertake to the figurehead of a king, not the individual king himself. Barristan Selmy, for example, is portrayed as an honorable knight, not given to acts of wanton cruelty, and yet he served three vastly different kings. One of those kings was mad & killed according to his whim, while another overthrew the mad king and ordered the slaughter of children. Even though he didn’t agree with every kingly action, he still served because his vow demanded it.
Jaime broke his vow, and did the one thing that was contrary to his entire purpose. Now, given what we know about Mad King Aerys, I can sympathize with Jaime, but I can also understand why the rest of Westeros will always consider him a Kingslayer. Personally, if I had been in Robert’s position at the end of the Rebellion, I would have sat Tywin Lannister down and said thanks for the help, but you can have your heir back. I think the fact that he didn’t confirmed what Tywin had already hoped for, that Robert would be a weak king.[/spoiler]
I think another reason Robert keeps Jaime is to show he doesn’t fear him. He taunts him about being the Kingslayer and threatens him to not make King slaying a habit. The incident when a drunken Robert knocks Jaime down implies to me that Robert resents needing the Lannisters and would love to take a shot at the Kingslayer for real.