The shades dismounted from their ghostly horses. When they drew their longswords, it made not a sound. “He was going to burn the city,” Jaime said. “To leave Robert only ashes.”
“He was your king,” said Darry.
“You swore to keep him safe,” said Whent.
“And the children, them as well,” said Prince Lewyn.
Prince Rhaegar burned with a cold light, now white, now red, now dark. “I left my wife and children in your hands.”
“I never thought he’d hurt them.” Jaime’s sword was burning less brightly now. “I was with the king …”
“Killing the king,” said Ser Arthur.
“Cutting his throat,” said Prince Lewyn.
“The king you had sworn to die for,” said the White Bull.
The way people treat this passage as admission of Jaime's responsibility in the deaths of Elia and the children as if the Rhaegar in the dream is the actual person and not a figment of Jaime's own subconscious. Which also completely misses the whole point of this episode btw. The dream's narrative purpose isn't to point a finger at Jaime and add to his tally of crimes. The figures to pay attention to here aren't Rhaegar and the dead kingsguard, they're Jaime and Brienne. Jaime is faced with ghosts that have been haunting him for 15 years, and that have been paralysing him for 15 years, but this time, he has Brienne beside him.
Terror closed a hand about his throat. Then his sword went dark, and only Brienne’s burned, as the ghosts came rushing in.
And then he wakes up and goes to get her. ("You want her? Go get her." And so he did. + "I dreamed of you.") He acts, counter to to his usual trauma response of disassociating. This is the takeaway from the dream. It's a view into what motivates him for the rest of his arc in ASOS and FeastDance.
Elia and the children are only brought up to 1) show Jaime's attitude to innocents as collateral damage in war as well as his obvious struggle with his own father's cruelty and the legacy that it leaves behind, and 2) serve as an added motivating factor in returning Sansa and Arya to Winterfell.
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