#meta-tastic

(For the purposes of this argument, I’m only referring to Hopkins’ performance in “Silence”, as I’m in no way arguing the artistic merits of “Red Dragon” or “Hannibal” the movie.)

People often discuss these two versions of the character as diametrically opposed. Mikkelsen’s Hannibal is charming and aloof and sexy, while Hopkins’ is hammy and more blatantly manipulative. 

But here’s the thing: if you watch both works back-to-back, you can very easily see how Mikkelsen’s version of Hannibal could so easily BECOME Hopkins’ version after years of incarceration. Remember: when we see Hannibal in the show, we only get about half a season of Hannibal behind bars. The Hannibal played by Hopkins has spent years in prison, in a maximum-security ward with little human contact. It’s honestly easy to imagine that a sophisticated, erudite, slick psychopath like Mikkelsen!Hannibal could, after many years under lock and key, turn into Hopkins!Hannibal. Still brilliant, still sophisticated...but also more desperate, more starved for shock value, for attention (whether positive or negative). 

This is an interesting one for me...because, in some ways, I actually agree with this estimation...but NOT AT ALL in the way that most people (Braime shippers, primarily) see it.

Here’s the thing about Jaime in AFFC: his primary impetus, the force that motivates him more than any other, isn’t actually his pursuit of “honor”. Yeah, he says all the time that he’s after this ideal that he thought was lost to him years ago...but we as readers need to remember that Jaime does a LOT of mental gymnastics to reconfigure events in a way that makes him feel better. And, to him, “I’m on a quest for honor” sounds a lot more palatable than “I’m doing most of this stuff because I’m pissed at my sister/lover.”

Jaime in AFFC is REALLY. FUCKING. ANGRY at Cersei. For the Lancel-Kettleblack-Moonboy stuff, for her disdain toward him post-hand loss, for her increased focus on power and her desire to gain it through any means necessary...Jaime has a running list of reasons to resent Cersei. And his resentment fuels a lot of the distance we see him establishing between himself and the woman around whom he previously centered his entire world. In my opinion, the only reason that Jaime even bothers to be indignant about his children and the fact that he couldn’t truly be a father to them is because he’s mad at Cersei and is looking for any and every reason to resent her.

So, yes. AFFC!Jaime isn’t the “the sun is Cersei and the wind is Cersei and the water is Cersei and the earth is Cersei and Cersei Cersei Cersei”!Jaime we get from Jaime’s earlier POV chapters. At this point, he’s likening the wind to a “woman’s fingers” rather than to “Cersei’s fingers” because he’s not able to fully define himself in terms of his relationship to Cersei anymore. 

(Of course, we as readers know that the only woman to ever seductively stroke Jaime’s hair is still Cersei...but Jaime’s denial NEEDS ITS SPACE, GODDAMMIT.)

I’ve had issues with the fandom response to Sansa for a LONG, LONG time. You’re right; there’s a major tendency to hold Sansa’s naivety against her. Which is truly baffling when you consider that Sansa is a very, very young girl who went from an extremely sheltered childhood into a maelstrom of tragedy, betrayal, and abject horror. Yeah, Sansa does still cling to the hope that things might turn out all right (even despite evidence to the contrary), and this optimism can read as naive. But I read this tendency as a survival mechanism. Sansa is, above all else, a survivor. She doesn’t have that rigid Stark-like code of morality; she’ll do what she has to do to push through the difficult situations forced upon her. And if a bit of willful ignorance is what she needs to handle abuse, trauma, and systematic efforts to break her spirit, then who are we to hold that against her?

I say this a lot, because I think it’s incredibly true: Sansa and Jaime are bizarrely-similar characters on bizarrely-similar paths. They both started off as starry-eyed innocents, fully convinced that the world would accommodate their wishes and their goals with few complications. And then they both discovered at very early ages that things were NOT going to pan out that way. We still see Jaime grappling with the consequences of his past actions decades after the fact...and I imagine that Sansa will also need to cope with her own youthful missteps as she grows.

You make a good point about Sansa as a “relatable” character. Hell YES, she’s relatable. The problem (for some fandom folks, that is) seems to be that she forces people to look at aspects of themselves that they may prefer to avoid. Every one of us has been naive and materialistic and petty at some point...but these are always the traits that we judge most harshly in fictional characters. That’s why I think that, for fic writers, Sansa often becomes the “fandom bicycle”; people like to project any number of pairings/personality traits/behaviors onto her, often at the expense of the character that GRRM actually wrote.

Ooh boy, there are just so many! But here’s a list of greatest hits:

1. The Warrior and the Maiden: Jaime says in the books that he always thought of himself and Cersei as The Warrior and The Maiden, and part of his arc in ASOS and beyond involves discovering that he and his sister don’t truly fit into those mythical tropes. As for Sansa, she always dreamed of herself as a fairytale heroine (”The Maiden”), but after all she’s experienced and all she’s learned, she finds that she can’t honestly inhabit that role anymore. Basically, Jaime and Sansa are classic romantic characters...if those characters were thrown in a paper shredder and then taped back together. The saddest thing about both of their situations is how sincerely they once BELIEVED in these tropes. Sansa and Jaime both really thought that life would turn out just fine, that good would triumph over evil, and that their loved ones would never abandon them...only to be proven tragically incorrect.

2. The Search for “Home”: In Sansa’s case, this search is a literal one; she wants to return to Winterfell, but she’s not sure that she really belongs there anymore. For Jaime, it’s more a search for a foothold, for something to anchor his identity to, now that Cersei can’t be that bastion for him anymore. 

3. “Brother” and “Sister”: After her marriage to Tyrion, Sansa becomes Jaime’s goodsister. Sansa has lost almost all of her brothers. Jaime has effectively “lost” his sister. This is a parallel that I like from both a shippy AND a non-shippy perspective (but the former is especially fun to play with here). 

4. Disappointment With Cersei: On that note, aside from Tyrion, Sansa is probably the only other person who understands what it’s like to feel deeply and painfully disappointed in Cersei. At one time, Sansa really believed that Cersei was the perfect lady and queen. She worshipped Cersei until she found her illusions of her completely torn to pieces...sound familiar? 

Jaime/Cersei:

when I started shipping it if I did: I found them fascinating right from the get-go (from the broken-tower scene). But I think the hardcore shipping started after the “you win or you die” scene...Cersei’s description of their relationship gave me endless feels, and things just really snowballed from there.

my thoughts: Oh man. What can I say about them that I haven’t already said? I just fucking love Jaime/Cersei. It’s a deeply complicated ship that’s fraught with pain and betrayal and terrible judgment on both sides...but they have one of the most genuine loves in the entire series.  

What makes me happy about them: Well, considering how canon is shaping up, this also makes me really sad...but I adore the sense of completion that they bring to each other. They never feel like they’re truly alone, not as long as they have the other. They’ve both used their union to help them push through difficult points in their lives (their mother’s death, Cersei’s marriage, Jaime’s kingslaying), and up until their canon estrangement, they’ve been each other’s strongest possible support systems.

What makes me sad about them: YOU KNOW WHAT. DON’T GIVE ME THAT SHIT. :P

things done in fanfic that annoys me: Like @apprenticemockingbird, I’ve also had it up to here with any fic that involves a “Cersei is the devil and Jaime is a secret archangel who’s a victim of her dastardly ways” dynamic. But it’s especially galling when fics like this actually have the nerve to call themselves Jaime/Cersei stories. I think it smacks of lazy writing in any circumstance...but when the story is supposedly about the relationship between the twins, and the author pulls this crap? NOPE BYE.

things I look for in fanfic: Strong characterization, above all else. Also, I look for authors who really understand the importance of Jaime/Cersei to these characters’ overall arc; they would not be who they are if not for their relationship. 

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Literally no one. If they don’t die together, then that’s a load of garbage. In fandom, though, I ship Jaime/Sansa, Cersei/Sansa, and (especially) Jaime/Cersei/Sansa.

My happily ever after for them: An Antony and Cleopatra-esque murder-suicide. I will accept nothing less. 

who is the big spoon/little spoon: I don’t think that they’re big on spooning, tbh. But I guess Jaime would be big spoon.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Making fun of people, ABSOLUTELY. 

Jaime:

How I feel about this character: Oh, I absolutely love my precious trash monster. Jaime is probably my absolute favorite character in the series.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: In terms of canon, I’m a Jaime/Cersei-or-bust person. But in fanon, I ship Jaime/Sansa, Jaime/Cersei/Sansa, Jaime/Catelyn, Jaime/Edmure, Jaime/Jon Snow, Jaime/Arthur Dayne...Jaime/pretty much everything that moves.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: Jaime and Tyrion. *sob*

My unpopular opinion about this character: Jaime’s love for Cersei is every bit as narcissistic and self-serving as her love for him. 

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I do really want Jaime to help Brienne with her quest to find Sansa (and then to join Team Sansa for whatever comes next).

my OTP: Oh gee, I dunno. Gotta think about that one...

my cross over ship: I just did a rewatch of HBO’s “Rome”, and I think that Jaime and Octavia would get along pretty damn well. They’re both rocking the pretty-blonde-people-with-weird-sibling-issues-and-overbearing-parents thing.

Oh man. Where do I even start?

I’d say that the #1, most egregious (and, probably, most common) misinterpretation of the Jaime/Cersei dynamic is the myth of “Jaime’s secretly a GOOD GUY who just needs to escape his evil sister and her EVIL VAGINA”. 

Yeah, Jaime’s a fan favorite. He’s snarky and charming and handsome and has several clear moments of growth throughout the series, which allow us to invest our sympathies and interest in him. BUT. BUT BUT BUT. He is also ENTIRELY complicit in his relationship with Cersei. She’s not OMG MANIPULATING!!!!! him. Or rather: she DOES manipulate him, but it’s only possible because he ALLOWS HIMSELF TO BE MANIPULATED. 

I just did a re-read of that chapter in A Storm of Swords...and yes, you’re right in that he never explicitly mentions wanting to save the people of King’s Landing during his conversation with Brienne. The show definitely reconfigured that scene in order to present Jaime as a hero figure who tried to SAVE ALL OF THESE INNOCENT PEOPLLLLLLLLE HE’S A GOOD GUY SEEEE?! But in the books, the situation is far more nuanced.

For what it’s worth, I do believe that book!Jaime had an interest in trying to protect the people of King’s Landing from Aerys. He spends a significant amount of time recalling the specific threats made by Aerys against the city itself, even comparing Aerys’ desire to “burn them all” to the wishes of past “mad” Targaryens. Jaime knows that he can take action to prevent the senseless murder of thousands, if he’s willing to break his oath.

I do think that Jaime will be responsible for Cersei’s death (as per the prophecy), and I also think that they’ll die together. However, I’d be massively disappointed if Jaime killed Cersei out of “revenge” or out of anger; to me, that would be a massive oversimplification of their relationship, and it would feel SUPER gross and untrue to these characters.

In my ideal world, the valonqar prophecy would involve a murder-suicide by Jaime, done to spare Cersei a worse death at the hands of Dany/Aegon/The Others. I imagine her being entirely complicit in what happens, asking her twin to take her life rather than allowing some lesser creature to be responsible for her demise. And, of course, I think that Jaime would immediately kill himself after finishing the task, because he can’t live without Cersei.