CONNINGTON GLANCED INTO THE PIT. āTHE BEAR WAS LESS HAIRY THAN THAT FREAK, IāLLāā JAIMEāS GOLDEN HAND CRACKED HIM ACROSS THE MOUTH SO HARD THE OTHER KNIGHT WENT STUMBLING DOWN THE STEPS. HIS LANTERN FELL AND SMASHED, AND THE OIL SPREAD OUT, BURNING. āYOU ARE SPEAKING OF A HIGHBORN LADY, SER. CALL HER BY HER NAME. CALL HER BRIENNE.ā CONNINGTON EDGED AWAY FROM THE SPREADING FLAMES ON HIS HANDS AND KNEES. āBRIENNE. IF IT PLEASE MY LORD.ā HE SPAT A GLOB OF BLOOD AT JAIMEāS FOOT. āBRIENNE THE BEAUTY.ā
Gal (nine) and Elenei (seven) are not in the picture because they climbed on top of a tree, trying to see if they can see the Winds of Winter (or Sansa) yet
A few more thoughts about Jaimeās weirwood dream: Itās a constant that Brienne inspired him to get in touch with the side of him that still believes in honor and who strives to be better, so I think the dream is a lot about how her presence in his life is what kickstarts his path in seeking to become the man he once thought he could have been. At the same time, itās interesting that Brienne is going through her own journey right now, and I argue that when they met up again, she is probably getting to rock bottom while heās in a much better place, having spent the majority of affc reflecting on everything. So if anything, Brienneās flame is dying right now. Will Jaime be able to be for her what she has been for him so far? Or is Brienne walking a darker path now, bring down Jaime with her? It remains to be seen.
When it comes to the dream possibly foreshadowing his death, I think itās very obvious he will die fighting against the others. The description of the ghosts approaching them are very much āothersā coded. His entire family leaving midway through the dream and Jaime dealing with a bunch of things until the ghosts come and his flame goes out to me shows that his death, if it happens, will be way later than Tywin, Cersei and the children.
I know a lot of people are very attached to the Valonqar prophecy as somehow evidence that Jaime will die when Cersei does, but Iāve never thought that a possibility, it never crossed my mind when reading the books. Never mind that Iām not 100% sure Jaime is the Valonqar, but I honestly think the show made that possibility of such an ending (where he dies after Valonqaring away) stronger by how they chose to conclude his story (without even actually adapting the Valonqar prophecy but we move). The thing is that, once more, as with everything related to GOT where a thousand characters are concerned, Jaimeās arc was never adapted to the show. It never happened. If anything, the show went the opposite of everything that had been happening in the books so far the moment he stepped into KL, to the point that even the last line of his white book was stolen to reinforce the twincest ending.
But even not taking all of this into account, I feel just looking at the books and the prophecies themselves, it already gives you an answer that his death wonāt be in some murder suicide. First because of his dream and second because her prophecy. Cerseiās death is framed as a lonely death, in despair, swallowed by her fears. Jaimeās dearth only occurs way after all of his family leave, symbolizing they all die before him. If anything, the Valonqar prophecy is the antitheses of Jaimeās prophetic dream: where Jaime has found another source of light and purpose, Cersei is consumed by her own fears and the ālegacyā she created.
To me, the Lannisters siblings have all, in different ways, walked alway from each other and their storylines are about the dismantling of House Lannister. Tyrion is trying to kill it, Cersei is trying to uphold it and Jaime is trying to reshape its legacy. Their stories donāt run together, and their endings are not meant to be each otherās conclusions.
āI asked him why he kept her close, if he thought her so grotesque. He said that all his other knights wanted things of him, castles or honors or riches, but all that Brienne wanted was to die for himā¦ā
Brienne x Joan of Arc as depicted by Wilfred J. Jones for Mark Twainās Saint Joan of Arc, Harper & Brothers (1919)
Ok, but @ilynpilled GREAG additions to my post about Jaimeās weirwood dream made me put my thoughts into a coherent post and I want to share it here.
One thing Iāve always found interesting about Jaimeās weirwood dream is that most interpretations tend to focus almost entirely on Jaimeās flame going out and what that might mean for his eventual death and when it will happen. While I understand why, and even somewhat agree, I think it often leads people to overlook several other major elements that are just as important (and by this I mean mainly Reddit dudebros and asoiaftwt). As a result, a lot of analyses end up feeling incomplete to me. Whether Jaime dies or not, there are other things happening in the dream that seem far too deliberate to be dismissed, and I think they significantly change what the dream is actually trying to say.
The Dream.
The dream begins with Jaime still defining himself through the things that have always given him identity and security. First his hand, then his sword. His sense of self is tied to being a warrior, a Lannister, Tywin's son, Cersei's twin. The imagery reinforces that. Cersei is the only source of light carrying her torch, the only light in the world. Tywin gives him the sword. The Lannister dead stand behind them. He is still surrounded by his family, their expectations, and their legacy.
Brienne enters the dream while Jaime is still trapped within that framework. She's in chains and asks him for a sword. He frees her and gives her one. Almost immediately the way he perceives her begins to change. He notices her differently than before, describing her as almost beautiful, almost a knight. Most importantly, her sword bursts into flame, just like his. She becomes another source of light in the darkness now, and both their flames come from a similar place (their swords), while Cerseiās light comes from a torch.
Then comes what is probably the most important line in the entire dream. Cersei tells him: "The flames will burn so long as you live. When they die, so must you."
After that, Tywin leaves. Cersei leaves. The Lannister ghosts leave with them. One by one, the dream strips Jaime of his family and everything they represent until only Jaime and Brienne remain standing together in the darkness.
That's one reason I've always viewed the dream as being less about Jaime's immediate death and more about his gradual disentanglement from House Lannister and the identity that has defined him his entire life. Much of that process is already happening in the books. He rejects Tywin's plans for him, he uses the sword his father gifted him to fulfill the oath made to Catelyn Stark, going straight against his families interests, he distances himself from Cersei and burns her letter when she asks for his help, essentially leaving her to her death, and he begins confronting the consequences of the things he did in service to his family and their ambitions while traveling the Riverlands and seeing upfront what his father legacy actually is. He also reflects on all the things he abdicated in pursue of what he thought was love, and how his choices lead him to end up empty handed. No wife or children, no family of his own, no legacy that belongs to him and him alone.
The ghosts that approach him in the dream are also significant. They are people connected to the crimes and compromises of his past. But what ultimately causes Jaime's flame to weaken isn't the ghosts themselves. His flame starts to fail when he gives in to guilt and despair. As he becomes overwhelmed by everything he's done and everything he failed to do, the flame burns lower and lower until it finally goes out.
But only his flame goes out. Brienne's flame does not.
Brienne.
Like I said, no news to anyone here how over the years there has been a bunch of metas about his dream, and they often have something in common: they largely ignore Brienne's role in the dream, to the point of not even being mentioned most of the time. I think ignoring her presence in the dream is a failure in understanding what the dream is about, because she's arguably one of its most important elements.
When Jaime's light fails, Brienne remains standing. She stands between him and the darkness. She stands between him and the ghosts. Her sword is still burning. She is still holding the light. Sheās now the hand holding the sword and the only light in the world.
The symbolism becomes even more interesting when you look at where their story has gone since ASOS. Jaime gives Brienne Oathkeeper, a sword Tywin intended to symbolize the future of House Lannister. We all know itās forged from Ice, and that the sword was split into two: Oathkeeper and Widowās Wail. The descriptions of the blades are also very interesting, especially if Widowās Wail somehow ends up with Jaime at some point in the future. From the book:
"A crimson sword might flash prettily in the sun, but if truth be told I like these colors better," said Tyrion. "They have an ominous beauty ... and they make this blade unique. There is no other sword like it in all the world, I should think."*
āThere is one." The armorer bent over the table and unfolded the bundle of oilcloth, to reveal a second longsword.
Tyrion put down Joffrey's sword and took up the other. If not twins, the two were at least close cousins. This one was thicker and heavier, a half-inch wider and three inches longer, but they shared the same fine clean lines and the same distinctive color, the ripples of blood and night*.
There is also the recurring Galladon of Morne imagery surrounding Brienneās storyline, which I will go over in more detail in another post talking specifically about Brienne and what I think might await her at the end of the books. But to summarize it here, the old Tarth legend tells of Ser Galladon, a knight of such valor that the Maiden herself lost her heart to him and gifted him a magical sword as a token of her love, the Just Maid. Brienne repeatedly refers to Oathkeeper as her āmagic sword,ā and the sword itself becomes inseparable from her identity. She is already being called āthe Kingslayerās whoreā because the sword branded her as āa lionā. Whatever form their relationship ultimately takes, George has spent multiple books binding Jaime and Brienne together through the imagery of swords, vows, inheritance, and legacy (dare I say marriage?). Even if/ when Jaime ultimately dies, Brienne increasingly occupies the role of the person carrying forward something that originated with him.
What The Dream is About.
For all the reasons above, I've never been entirely convinced the dream is simply saying "Jaime dies hereā. If anything, the dream repeatedly ties Jaime's future to Brienne's. The dream begins with him surrounded by Lannisters and ends with only Brienne remaining. His family disappears from the narrative of the dream, while she becomes the final person standing beside him.
I also think the dream has a prophetic quality that is already proving true throughout the story. The Lannisters are steadily falling apart. Jaime is increasingly separated from his family's goals and legacy. His arc is moving away from the political struggles of House Lannister and toward larger, more existential conflicts. Given the also foreshadowing surrounding the Others in the shape the ghosts of Jaimeās part take form when they appear in the dream, and the inevitable encounter between Jaime, Brienne and Lady Stoneheart which will put them directly into contact with the magical side of the story, I think it's very possible that the dream points toward Jaime eventually fighting in the war against the dead alongside Brienne after much of his family has already fallen. Tywin, Cersei and the children will most likely die way before Jaime does.
What's interesting is that if the dream is about legacy as much as survival, that also ties to Brienneās own separate arc at the moment. Part of her own story revolves around reconciling seemingly contradictory identities: knight and lady, warrior and maid. She reflects a lot about what it means to carry House Tarth forward while not abandoning her knightly ideals, her regrets for not being able to fulfill her fatherās expectations, her longing for her home despite it all. Part of her wishes to be able to fulfill the traditional role of being a wife and a mother, and part of her wishes to be a knight and a warrior of songs.
At the same time, the text increasingly gives Jaime and Brienne's relationship undeniable romantic and sexual undertones. By AFFC and ADWD, it's difficult to argue that George is writing them as merely platonic companions. (I honestly donāt think this is even up for discussion anymore, but for the sake of being objective, they havenāt fully gone down that path yet). If their stories continue in that direction, it's not impossible that Brienne eventually becomes the person through whom Jaime's legacy survives, or at least the true legacy he wishes to leave behind. He might not be able to fully redeem himself in life, but he might plant the seeds that will carry forward what he couldnāt achieve. She may end up carrying forward something of Jaime after the rest of House Lannister has collapsed.
Tyrion.
That's another reason I find Tyrion's absence from the dream fascinating. Every other major part of Jaime's family and ancestry is represented, but Tyrion isn't there at all. That could mean several things. Possibly Tyrion surviving Jaime by the end of the book. Or maybe Tyrion's ultimate fate takes him so far away from House Lannister that he no longer meaningfully represents its legacy. I honestly donāt know what could be the answer here.
Conclusion.
Personally, I don't think the dream conclusively predicts Jaime's death, although I think chances are higher that it does. But I think it points toward a death that comes much later in the story (possibly by the last book if we ever get to it), after the collapse of most of his family and likely in the struggle against the Others rather than in the political conflicts of the south.
What I do think the dream makes abundantly clear is that Jaime's future is bound up with Brienne's, and his survival/ the survival of his legacy is tied to her. The dream systematically removes every other source of identity and belonging from Jaime until she is the only person left beside him, and the one carrying the things that once defined him. Whatever ending George has planned for Jaime, Brienne seems to be at the center of it.
Bonus:
Credit to fortunate-hal:
āThe revelation of the weirwood dream is that Jaime finds in Brienne a light and beauty that will outlast him and his family. The last words of his white book entry are āBrienne, The Maid of Tarthā after all and I donāt see him living to amend it.ā
Of things I didnāt know were up for debate in the asoiaf fandom, I thought it was set in stone that Cersei pushed Melara down the well, or at least just watched/ ignore when she saw her down there crying and calling for help? Isnāt that likeā¦ in the text?
Some thoughts I have about Jaimeās weirwood dream in ASOS:
It opens by naming his old identity out loud. He tells himself heās safe as long as he has his hand, then safe as long as he has a sword. Thatās the whole of who he was: the hand, the blade, the name. Tywin gives him the sword. Cersei is the only light in the world. The Lannister legacy, past and present, standing before him.
Brienne pops up when heās still defined by all of that. Sheās in chains. She asks him for a sword. He frees her, and she has a sword now, and he can see her in this light as almost a knight, almost a beauty, and then her flames take life, and the darkness retreat some more.
And then Cersei tells him āThe flames will burn so long as you live. When they die, so must youā.
Then his family leaves. Tywin and Cersei turn and go, and they take every Lannister ghost in the cavern with them, leaving just Jaime and Brienne alone.
And Brienne, in this dream, she starts in chains, then he frees her, then he arms her, and then her blade takes flame until sheās a second source of light, equal to him, standing beside him. He notices her body again, sees that she has more of a womanās shape. When she touches him, he shudders, because sheās warm.
Then the ghosts comes. But it isnāt the ghosts that hurt him. His flame only starts to flicker when he gives in to the guilt, and the more it swallows him the lower the flame burns, until it goes out. Jaimeās flame dies because he surrenders to despair.
And what is the rule the dream laid down? As long as the flames burns, he lives. When they die, so does he.
His flame dies. Brienneās is still burning.
And now Brienne is the hand holding the sword and the only light in the world.
When he collapses under guilt, she still stands. She stands between him and his ghosts. She stands between him and the darkness. His flame went out yes, but her light still remains.
So I donāt know if the dream necessarily means Jaime dies before Brienne, but that his living or dying is tied to her. As long as the flames burn, he lives. Once they go out, heās gone. Hers is still burning.
If she falters, if her light goes out, thatās where his death is.
the jaime casting is actually nuts like all jaime fans collectively like āhey thatās that guy Iāve been drawingā like we have manifested an entire guy w the power of the jaime hive mind
Some thoughts I have about Jaimeās weirwood dream in ASOS:
It opens by naming his old identity out loud. He tells himself heās safe as long as he has his hand, then safe as long as he has a sword. Thatās the whole of who he was: the hand, the blade, the name. Tywin gives him the sword. Cersei is the only light in the world. The Lannister legacy, past and present, standing before him.
Brienne pops up when heās still defined by all of that. Sheās in chains. She asks him for a sword. He frees her, and she has a sword now, and he can see her in this light as almost a knight, almost a beauty, and then her flames take life, and the darkness retreat some more.
And then Cersei tells him āThe flames will burn so long as you live. When they die, so must youā.
Then his family leaves. Tywin and Cersei turn and go, and they take every Lannister ghost in the cavern with them, leaving just Jaime and Brienne alone.
And Brienne, in this dream, she starts in chains, then he frees her, then he arms her, and then her blade takes flame until sheās a second source of light, equal to him, standing beside him. He notices her body again, sees that she has more of a womanās shape. When she touches him, he shudders, because sheās warm.
Then the ghosts comes. But it isnāt the ghosts that hurt him. His flame only starts to flicker when he gives in to the guilt, and the more it swallows him the lower the flame burns, until it goes out. Jaimeās flame dies because he surrenders to despair.
And what is the rule the dream laid down? As long as the flames burns, he lives. When they die, so does he.
His flame dies. Brienneās is still burning.
And now Brienne is the hand holding the sword and the only light in the world.
When he collapses under guilt, she still stands. She stands between him and his ghosts. She stands between him and the darkness. His flame went out yes, but her light still remains.
So I donāt know if the dream necessarily means Jaime dies before Brienne, but that his living or dying is tied to her. As long as the flames burn, he lives. Once they go out, heās gone. Hers is still burning.
If she falters, if her light goes out, thatās where his death is.
Oathkeeper and Widowās Wail description does something to me.
Hm.
Oathkeeper and Widowās Wail and how his legacy was tied to his father and sister and the Lannister name but then they all leave and Brienne is carrying the sword and the light, and she swore an oath to protect him, she swore an oath.
Anyways j/b marrying in TWOW/ADOS confirmed (and maybe Jaime dying too lol) šāš¾
Some thoughts I have about Jaimeās weirwood dream in ASOS:
It opens by naming his old identity out loud. He tells himself heās safe as long as he has his hand, then safe as long as he has a sword. Thatās the whole of who he was: the hand, the blade, the name. Tywin gives him the sword. Cersei is the only light in the world. The Lannister legacy, past and present, standing before him.
Brienne pops up when heās still defined by all of that. Sheās in chains. She asks him for a sword. He frees her, and she has a sword now, and he can see her in this light as almost a knight, almost a beauty, and then her flames take life, and the darkness retreat some more.
And then Cersei tells him āThe flames will burn so long as you live. When they die, so must youā.
Then his family leaves. Tywin and Cersei turn and go, and they take every Lannister ghost in the cavern with them, leaving just Jaime and Brienne alone.
And Brienne, in this dream, she starts in chains, then he frees her, then he arms her, and then her blade takes flame until sheās a second source of light, equal to him, standing beside him. He notices her body again, sees that she has more of a womanās shape. When she touches him, he shudders, because sheās warm.
Then the ghosts comes. But it isnāt the ghosts that hurt him. His flame only starts to flicker when he gives in to the guilt, and the more it swallows him the lower the flame burns, until it goes out. Jaimeās flame dies because he surrenders to despair.
And what is the rule the dream laid down? As long as the flames burns, he lives. When they die, so does he.
His flame dies. Brienneās is still burning.
And now Brienne is the hand holding the sword and the only light in the world.
When he collapses under guilt, she still stands. She stands between him and his ghosts. She stands between him and the darkness. His flame went out yes, but her light still remains.
So I donāt know if the dream necessarily means Jaime dies before Brienne, but that his living or dying is tied to her. As long as the flames burn, he lives. Once they go out, heās gone. Hers is still burning.
If she falters, if her light goes out, thatās where his death is.
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