A character in Game of Thrones
Played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Game of Thrones · 356 quotes
Tied for 4th most-quoted character in Game of Thrones: in 43 of its 356 quotes
Most scenes with: Tyrion Lannister (10), Cersei Lannister (10), Brienne of Tarth (8)
[Bran has just caught Queen Cersei having sex with her brother]
He saw us!
Jaime LannisterIt's all right, it's all right, it's all right.
He saw us!
Jaime Lannister[to Cersei] I heard you the first time. [to Bran] Quite the little climber, aren't you? How old are you, boy?
Ten.
Jaime LannisterTen? [looks to Cersei again, who says nothing] The things I do for love.
[Jaime pushes Bran out the window]
Is Bran going to die?
Apparently not.
What do you mean?
The Maester says the boy may live.
It's no mercy, letting a child linger in such pain.
Only the Gods know for certain. All the rest of us can do is pray. The charms of the North seem entirely lost on you.
I still can't believe you're going. It's ridiculous, even for you.
Where's your sense of wonder? The greatest structure ever built, the intrepid men of the Night's Watch, the wintry abode of the White Walkers!
Jaime LannisterTell me you're not thinking of taking the Black.
And go celibate? The whores would go begging from Dorne to Casterly Rock! No, I just want to stand on top of the Wall and piss off the edge of the world!
The children don't need to hear your filth. Come.
Jaime LannisterEven if the boy lives, he'll be a cripple. A grotesque. Give me a good, clean death any day.
Speaking for the grotesques, I'd have to disagree. Death is so final, whereas life, ahh, life is full of possibilities. I hope the boy does wake. I'd be interested to hear what he has to say.
Jaime LannisterMy dear brother, at times you make me wonder whose side you're on.
My dear brother, you wound me. You know how much I love my family.
Jaime LannisterThank the gods you're here, Stark. About time we had some stern, Northern leadership.
Glad to see you're protecting the Throne.
Jaime LannisterSturdy old thing. How many Kings' arses have polished it, I wonder? Um, what's the line? The King shits and the Hand wipes.
Very handsome armor. Not a scratch on it.
Jaime LannisterI know. People have been swinging at me for years, but they always seem to miss.
You've chosen your opponents wisely then.
Jaime LannisterI have a knack for it. It must be strange for you, coming into this room. I was standing right here when it happened. He was very brave, your brother. Your father too. They didn't deserve to die like that. Nobody deserves to die like that.
But you just stood there and watched.
Jaime LannisterFive hundred men just stood there and watched. All the great knights of the Seven Kingdoms, you think anyone said a word, lifted a finger? No, Lord Stark. Five hundred men and this room was silent as a crypt. Except for the screams, of course, and the Mad King laughing. And later, when I watched the Mad King die, I remembered him laughing, as your father burned. It felt like justice.
Is that what you tell yourself at night? You're a servant of justice? That you were avenging my father when you shoved your sword in Aerys Targaryen's back?
Jaime LannisterTell me, if I'd stabbed the Mad King in the belly instead of the back, would you admire me more?
You served him well. When serving was safe.
How could you be so stupid?!
Jaime LannisterCalm down.
He's a child! Ten years old! What were you thinking?
Jaime LannisterI was thinking of us. You're a bit late to start complaining about it now. What has the boy told them?
Nothing. He said nothing, he remembers nothing.
Jaime LannisterThen what are you raving about?
What if it comes back to him? If he tells his father what he saw—
Jaime LannisterWe'll say he was lying. We'll say he was dreaming. We'll say whatever we like. I think we can outfox a ten-year-old.
And my husband?
Jaime LannisterI'll go to war with him if I have to. They can write a ballad about us! "The War for Cersei's Cunt."
[Looking furious, Cersei slaps him. Jaime chuckles, then grabs her when she tries again]
Let me go!
Jaime LannisterNever.
[more afraid] Let me go...
Jaime LannisterThe boy won't talk. And if he does, I'll kill him. Him, Ned Stark, the King, the whole bloody lot of them, until you and I are the only people left in this world.
Jaime Lannister[reading] "You are summoned to answer for the crimes of your bannerman, Gregor Clegane 'the Mountain'... er, arrive within the fortnight or be branded an enemy of the Crown." Poor Ned Stark. Brave man, terrible judgment.
Attacking him was stupid. Lannisters don't act like fools. Are you gonna say something clever? Go on! Say something clever.
Jaime LannisterCatelyn Stark took my brother.
Why is he still alive?
Jaime LannisterTyrion?
Ned Stark.
Jaime LannisterOne of our men interfered, speared him through the leg before I could finish him.
Why is he still alive?
Jaime LannisterIt wouldn't have been clean.
Clean? You spend too much time worrying about what other people think of you.
Jaime LannisterI could care less what anyone thinks of me.
No, that's what you want people to think of you.
Jaime LannisterIt's the truth.
When you hear them whispering "Kingslayer" behind your back, doesn't it bother you?
Jaime LannisterOf course it bothers me.
The lion does not concern himself with the opinions of the sheep. I suppose I should be grateful your vanity got in the way of your recklessness. I'm giving you half of our forces. Thirty-thousand men. You will bring them to Catelyn Stark's girlhood home and remind her that Lannisters pay their debts!
Jaime LannisterI didn't know you put such a high value on my brother's life.
He's a Lannister. He might be the lowest of the Lannisters, but he is one of us. And every day that he remains a prisoner, the less our name commands respect.
Jaime LannisterSo, the lion does concern himself with the opinions of the-
No, it's not an opinion, it's a fact! If another house can seize one of our own, and hold him captive with impunity, it means we're no longer a house to be feared! Your mother's dead, before long I'll be dead, and you and your brother and your sister and all of her children. All of us dead, all of us rotting in the ground. It's the family name that lives on. It's all that lives on. Not your honour, not your personal glory, family. Do you understand? You're blessed with abilities that few men possess. You're blessed to belong to the most powerful family in the Kingdoms, and you're still blessed with youth. And what have you done with these blessings, hmm? You've served as a glorified bodyguard for two kings, one a madman, the other a drunk. The future of our family will be determined in these next few months. We could establish a dynasty that will last a thousand years...or we could collapse into nothing, as the Targaryens did. I need you to become the man you were always meant to be. Not next year, not tomorrow, now.
Jaime LannisterLady Stark, I'd offer you my sword, but, I seem to have lost it.
It is not your sword I want. Give me my daughters back, give me my husband.
Jaime LannisterI've lost them too, I'm afraid.
Kill him, Robb; send his head back to his father. He cut down ten of our men.
He's more use to us alive than dead.
Take him away and put him in irons.
Jaime LannisterWe could end this war right now boy, save thousands of lives. I fight for the Lannisters, you fight for the Starks. Swords, knives, teeth, nails; choose your weapon, and we can end this.
If we did it your way, Kingslayer, you'd win. We're not doing it your way.
Come on, pretty man!
I sent 2,000 men to their graves today.
The bards will sing songs of their sacrifice.
Aye, but the dead won't hear them. One victory does not make us conquerers. Did we free my father? Did we free my sisters from the Queen? Did we free the North from those who'd have us on our knees? This war is far from over.
Jaime LannisterThe King in the North. I keep expecting you to leave me in one castle or another for safekeeping, but you drag me along from camp to camp. Have you grown fond of me, Stark? Is that it? I've never seen you with a girl.
If I left you with one of my bannermen, your father would know within a fortnight, and my bannermen would receive a raven with a message: "Release my son and you'll be rich beyond your dreams. Refuse, and your house'll be destroyed, root and stem."
Jaime LannisterYou don't trust the loyalty of the men following you into battle?
Oh, I trust them with my life, just not with yours.
Jaime LannisterSmart, boy. What's wrong? Don't like being called boy? Insulted?
[Jaime sees Robb's direwolf, Grey Wind, stalking around the cage]
You insult yourself, Kingslayer. You've been defeated by a boy. You're held captive by a boy. Perhaps you'll be killed by a boy.
[Grey Wind enters the cage doorway and stands quietly next to Robb.]
Stannis Baratheon sent ravens to all the High Lords of Westeros. King Joffrey Baratheon is neither a true King, nor a true Baratheon. He's your bastard son.
Jaime LannisterWell, if that's true, Stannis is the rightful King. How convenient for him.
My father learned the truth. That's why you had him executed.
Jaime LannisterI was your prisoner when Ned Stark lost his head.
Your son killed him so the world wouldn't learn who fathered him and you... you pushed my brother from a window because he saw you with the Queen.
Jaime LannisterYou have proof? Or, do you want to trade gossip like a couple of fishwives?
I'm sending one of your cousins down to King's Landing with my peace terms.
Jaime LannisterYou think my father's going to negotiate with you? You don't know him very well.
No, but he's starting to know me.
Jaime LannisterThree victories don't make you a conqueror.
It's better than three defeats.
Jaime LannisterCome to say goodbye, Lady Stark? I believe it's my last night in this world. [looks at Brienne] Is that a woman?
Do you hear them out there? They want your head.
Jaime LannisterWell, old Lord Karstark doesn't seem to like me.
You strangled his son with your chains.
Jaime LannisterOh. Oh, was he the one on guard duty? He was in my way. Any knight would have done the same.
You are no knight. You have forsaken every vow you ever took.
Jaime LannisterSo many vows. They make you swear and swear. Defend the King, obey the King, obey your father, protect the innocent, defend the weak. But what if your father despises the King? What if the King massacres the innocent? It's too much. No matter what you do, you're forsaking one vow or another. Where did you find this beast?
She is a truer knight than you will ever be, Kingslayer.
Jaime LannisterKingslayer. And what a King he was! Here's to Aerys Targaryen, the second of his name, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm, and to the sword I shoved in his back!
You are a man without honour.
Jaime LannisterDo you know I've never been with any woman but Cersei? So in my own way, I have more honour than poor old dead Ned. What was the name of the bastard he fathered?
Brienne.
Jaime LannisterNo, that wasn't it. Snow, a bastard from the North. Now when–when good old Ned came home with some whore's baby, did you pretend to love it? No. You're not very good at pretending. You're an honest woman. You hated that boy, didn't you? How could you not hate him? The walking, talking reminder that the honourable Lord Eddard Stark fucked another woman.
[to Brienne] Your sword.
Jaime LannisterYou know, it doesn't matter how loyal a servant you are, no one enjoys the company of a humorless mute. Trust me on this. People have been serving me since I was born. You think Lady Stark is going to want a giant towheaded plank following her around for the rest of her life? A week's journey with you and she'll order you to fall on your sword.
If Lady Stark is unhappy with any aspect of my service, I'm sure she'll let me know. She's an honest woman.
Jaime LannisterFor all the good it's done her. How did you come into Lady Stark's service? There's something we can talk about.
Not your concern, Kingslayer.
Jaime LannisterIt had to be recently. You weren't with her at Winterfell.
How would you know?
Jaime LannisterBecause I visited Winterfell. I would have noticed your dour head smacking into the archways.
Move.
Jaime LannisterWere you pledged to Stannis?
Gods, no.
Jaime LannisterAh, Renly. Really? He wasn't fit to rule over anything more important than a 12-course meal.
Shut your mouth.
Jaime LannisterWhy? I lived with him at court since he was a boy, don't forget. Could hardly escape the little tulip skipping down the corridors in his embroidered silks. I knew him far better than you.
I knew him as well as anyone. As a member of his Kingsguard, he trusted me with everything. He would have been a wonderful king.
Jaime LannisterSounds like you quite fancied him.
I did not fancy him.
Jaime LannisterOh, gods, you did. Did you ever tell him? No, of course not. You weren't Renly's type, I'm afraid. He preferred curly-haired little girls like Loras Tyrell. You're far too much man for him.
I'm not interested in foul rumors.
Jaime LannisterUnless they're about me. It's all true about Renly. His proclivities were the worst kept secret at court. It's a shame the throne isn't made out of cocks. They'd have never got him off it.
Shut your mouth!
Jaime LannisterI don't blame him. And I don't blame you, either. We don't get to choose who we love.
You think you're the smartest man there is. That everyone alive has to bow and scrape and lick your boots.
Jaime LannisterMy father--
You get in any trouble, all you got to do is say "My father" and that's it. All your troubles are gone. Have you got something to say? You don't want to say the wrong thing. You're nothing without your daddy, and your daddy ain't here. Never forget that.
[Locke rises, but then stops]
Here, this should help you remember!
[He swings the blade down, cleaving off Jaime's hand, and Jaime screams in horror and agony]
Jaime LannisterIf I faint, pull me out. I don't intend to be the first Lannister to die in a bathtub.
Why should I care how you die?
Jaime LannisterYou swore a solemn vow, remember? You're supposed to get me to King's Landing in one piece. [Nods to his severed hand] Not going so well, is it? No wonder Renly died with you guarding him. [Brienne stands up with contempt] That was unworthy. Forgive me. You protected me better than most.
Don't you mock me.
Jaime LannisterI'm apologizing. I'm sick of fighting. Let's call a truce.
You need trust to have a truce.
Jaime LannisterI trust you. [Brienne sits back down] There it is. There's the look. I've seen it for 17 years on face after face. You all despise me. Kingslayer, Oathbreaker, man without honor. You've heard of wildfire?
Of course.
Jaime LannisterThe Mad King was obsessed with it. He loved to watch people burn, the way their skin blackened and blistered and melted off their bones. He burned lords he didn't like. He burned Hands who disobeyed him. He burned anyone who was against him. Before long, half the country was against him. Aerys saw traitors everywhere. So he had his pyromancer place caches of wildfire all over the city. Beneath the Sept of Baelor and the slums of Flea Bottom. Under houses, stables, taverns. Even beneath the Red Keep itself. Finally, the day of reckoning came. Robert Baratheon marched on the capital after his victory at the Trident. But my father arrived first with the whole Lannister army at his back, promising to defend the city against the rebels. I knew my father better than that. He's never been one to pick the losing side. I told the Mad King as much. I urged him to surrender peacefully. But the king didn't listen to me. He didn't listen to Varys who tried to warn him. But he did listen to Grand Maester Pycelle, that grey, sunken cunt. "You can trust the Lannisters," he said. "The Lannisters have always been true friends of the crown." So we opened the gates and my father sacked the city. Once again, I came to the king, begging him to surrender. He told me to... bring him my father's head. Then he... turned to his pyromancer. "Burn them all," he said. "Burn them in their homes. Burn them in their beds." Tell me, if your precious Renly commanded you to kill your own father and stand by while thousands of men, women, and children burned alive, would you have done it? Would you have kept your oath then? [Brienne stares at him in stunned silence.] First, I killed the pyromancer. And then when the king turned to flee, I drove my sword into his back. "Burn them all," he kept saying. "Burn them all." I don't think he expected to die. He, he meant to... burn with the rest of us and rise again, reborn as a dragon to turn his enemies to ash. I slit his throat to make sure that didn't happen. That's where Ned Stark found me.
If this is true... why didn't you tell anyone? Why didn't you tell Lord Stark?
Jaime LannisterStark? You think the honorable Ned Stark wanted to hear my side? He judged me guilty the moment he set eyes on me. By what right does the wolf judge the lion? By what right-- [collapses, Brienne supports him]
Help! Help! The Kingslayer!
Jaime LannisterJaime. My name is Jaime.
[as Brienne and Jaime dine with him] I see my men have finally found you something appropriate to wear.
Yes, most kind of the. You're a Stark bannerman, Lord Bolton. I'm acting on Lady Stark's orders to return Jaime Lannister to King's Landing.
When King Robb left Harrenhall, his mother was his prisoner. If she wasn't his mother, he'd have hanged her for treason. I should send you back to Robb Stark.
Jaime LannisterYou should. But instead, you're sitting here, watching me fail at dinner. Why might that be?
Wars cost money. Many people would pay a great deal for you.
Jaime LannisterWe both know who would pay the most. He'll make you pay the most, if he found out you'd captured me and sent me back up North for a summary execution.
You're right. Perhaps, the safest course is to kill you both and burn your bodies.
Jaime LannisterIt would be, if you honestly believe my father would never find out about it.
King Robb is keeping your father quite busy. He doesn't have time for anything else.
Jaime LannisterHe'll make time for you.
As soon as you're well enough to travel, I will allow you to go to King's Landing as restitution for the mistakes my soldiers made. And you will swear to tell your father the truth. That I had nothing to do with your maiming.
Jaime LannisterShall we drink on it?
I don't partake.
Jaime LannisterYou do understand how suspicious that is to ordinary people? Very well. My lady, may our journey continue without further incident.
Oh, she won't be going with you.
I am charged with bringing Ser Jaime to-
You are charged with abetting treason.
Jaime LannisterI'm afraid I must insist...
You're in no place to insist on anything. I would've hoped you'd learned your lesson about overplaying your...position.
[watching Brienne in a gladiator pit, facing a bear] Well, this is one shameful fucking performance. Stop running and fight! :[Jaime appears, followed by Qyburn and a Bolton bodyguard, Steelshanks]
Jaime LannisterA wooden sword?
Thought you'd gone.
Jaime LannisterYou gave her a wooden sword!
I've only got one bear.
Jaime LannisterI'll pay her bloody ransom. Gold, sapphires, whatever you want. Just get her out of there!
All you Lords and Ladies. You still think that the only thing that matters is gold. [grabs the stump of Jaime's wrist] Well, this makes me happier than all your gold ever could. And that [points at Brienne's predicament] makes me happier than all her sapphires. So go buy yourself a golden hand and fuck yourself with it!
[Jaime climbs the rail and leaps into the pit, trying to draw the bear off Brienne]
Jaime LannisterGet behind me.
I will not.
[Suddenly, a crossbow bolt hits the bear in the shoulder, fired by Steelshanks]
The'FUCK you doin' to my bear?
Lord Bolton charged me with bringin' him back to King's Landing, alive! An' that's what I intend to do!
Jaime LannisterPull her up! [two of the Bolton men do so; the bear starts to advance on Jaime]
Hold my legs! [Jaime manages to take Brienne's hand] Pull me back! [the Bolton bannermen pull them both up]
The bitch stays.
Jaime LannisterI'm taking her to King's Landing, unless you kill me.
She belongs to me. Lord Bolton's orders.
Jaime LannisterWhat do you think is more important to Lord Bolton? Getting his pet rat a reward or ensuring that Tywin Lannister gets his son back alive? Well, we must be on our way. Sorry about the sapphires.
Jaime LannisterMy brother tells me you keep your mouth shut. Unusual talent, for a sellsword.
He tells me you shit gold, just like your father.
Jaime LannisterIs this place safe?
There's this knight, er, Laygood. Got thunderbolts on his shield? [Jaime nods] Right here is where I fuck his wife. She's a screamer, that one. If they don't hear her, they won't hear us. [whistles as Jaime draws his sword] I've never seen Valyrian steel before. She's a beauty. Problem is, if you fight with an edged blade, I'll have to. And if I fight with an edged blade, I'll have no one left to pay me. [pulls two blunted swords out of his bag and drops one on the ground]
Jaime LannisterI haven't used a sparring sword since I was nine. [just as he grabs the practice sword, Bronn hits him on the wrist with his blade, forcing him to drop it] Bold warrior you are, attacking a man when his guard's down.
Best time to attack a man. [attacks as Jaime picks up the sword; they spar for a moment, then Bronn shoves him against a rock wall] Mind yourself!
Jaime LannisterIf I still had my right hand...
Plan on growin' it back?
Uncle. Where are you going? You're my cupbearer, remember?
I thought I might change out of these wet clothes, Your Grace.
No, no, no. No, you're perfect the way you are. Serve me my wine. Well, hurry up. This pie is dry. [He hands the cup to Joffrey, who gulps at it] Mm, good. Needs washing down.
If it please Your Grace, Lady Sansa is very tired.
No. [coughs] No, you'll wait here... [coughs again] un-- [continues coughing]
Your Grace?
[short of breath, he takes a gulp of wine to try and alleviate his coughing] It's nothing.
He's choking!
Help the poor boy. [Joffrey staggers away from the table, choking frantically.] Idiots, help your king.
Jaime LannisterMove away! [He pushes his way through the crowd and runs towards Joffrey as he collapses, choking and vomiting.] Joffrey! Joffrey!
Help him! Someone help him! Joffrey!
[in the confusion, court fool Dontos Hollard appears behind Sansa]
[to Sansa] Come with me now.
Joffrey! Joffrey!
[to Sansa] If you want to live, we have to leave.
Don't touch him! Joffrey. Please, Joffrey. Joffrey, what is it? Help him!
[Joffrey begins to bleed from his nose and eyes; after managing to point at Tyrion inspecting the cup, he wheezes out his last breath and finally dies.]
My son! [sobbing]
He's gone. Our king is gone!
[turning to glare at Tyrion with rising anger] He did this. He poisoned my son, your king. Take him. Take him! TAKE HIM! TAKE HIM!
Tyrion LannisterPeter Dinklage · 80 quotes
Jon SnowKit Harington · 50 quotes
Daenerys TargaryenEmilia Clarke · 48 quotes
Cersei LannisterLena Headey · 43 quotes
Sansa StarkSophie Turner · 40 quotes
Arya StarkMaisie Williams · 29 quotes
VarysConleth Hill · 27 quotes
Theon GreyjoyAlfie Allen · 22 quotes
Tywin LannisterCharles Dance · 21 quotes
Davos SeaworthLiam Cunningham · 20 quotes
Petyr BaelishAidan Gillen · 20 quotes
Sandor CleganeRory McCann · 19 quotes
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