Do we like Jaime Lannister?
A character from Game of Thrones (2011–2019)
Our score: 6 out of 10. Starts out as a charming, arrogant menace, then slowly earns some respect. We'd back him with our fingers crossed and one eye on his sister.
Ser Jaime is the golden son of the richest family in Westeros and a knight of the Kingsguard, the king's elite bodyguard. He is a gifted fighter with a sharp tongue and a smirk. The series follows rival families fighting over the throne, and Jaime is at the centre of it as a Lannister. In the first episode he does something horrific "for love", and that sets the tone for how we first see him.
Jaime is one of the show's best character arcs. He begins as a villain, and the show gradually strips away his status, his certainty and his self-image. The loyalty to family that made him dangerous is still there, but he starts asking what honour actually means. He's also funny, which helps. That mix of real harm done and real effort to change is why he lands in the middle of the scale.
His slide down starts when he's captured and loses his sword hand. On the road with Brienne of Tarth, he sees himself through someone else's eyes and begins acting more honourably. He later breaks with his sister Cersei over her ruthlessness. Even so, his old ties pull hard, and he can't fully escape who he was or who he loved. He ends up back where he started, and the final seasons show how far a bond can drag a man.