Jaime Lannister became king of Westeros in George RR Martin’s original Game Of Thrones plan, killing Sansa Stark and Joffrey Baratheon’s son

Jaime Lannister is known as the Kingslayer in Game of Thronesbut he would be killing as king if George RR Martin had stuck to his original plan for A Song of Ice and Fire. Jaime is one of the most complicated and fascinating characters in both the books and the TV series (where he was brilliantly played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as part of Game of Thrones‘ cast). In fact, few characters go through the kind of transformation he does, with hidden layers to his story that few would have imagined from the beginning.

Of course, things were confused by his controversial Game of Thrones ending, where he died alongside his sister, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey). But it’s his beginning that’s most interesting. In 1993, Martin had a global plan to A Song of Ice and Fireproviding a framework for what was then intended to be a trilogy of books. In it, Jaime was one of the most important actors: an assassin, a bandit and the man who would be king, even if it meant killing everyone who stood in his way.

What happened to Jaime Lannister in George R.R. Martin’s ASOIAF sketch

Who else did he kill to become king?

Martin’s original plan for A Song of Ice and Fire was structured around three overarching plots, which would constitute the three books he intended to write:

1. A Game of Thrones would focus on the war between the Starks and the Lannisters.
2. A dance with dragons would then change the story to focus on Daenerys Targaryen’s invasion of Westeros.
3. The winds of winter would bring it all together with a final battle against the real threat from the far north, the Others, also known as the White Walkers.

At this point, it is the vision for A Game of Thrones that Martin developed the most and where his plans for Jaime really matter. As in the finished novel and Game of Thrones Season 1, Joffrey Baratheon becomes king after the supposedly accidental death of Robert Baratheon. When Joffrey is killed by Tyrion, however, Jaime takes the throne, killing those who stand in his way. Martin wrote:

“Tyrion Lannister will continue to travel, plot and play the game of thrones, finally alienating his nephew Joffrey, disgusted by the boy king’s brutality. Jaime Lannister will follow Joffrey on the throne of the Seven Kingdomsby the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession and blaming his brother Tyrion for the murders.”

The big question in this version of the story is who killed Jaime? The only clear answer is Joffrey and Sansa Stark’s son, with the sketch revealing that they not only married, but had a son who was heir to the Iron Throne. If Jaime was removing those before him in the line of succession, then he would absolutely have to kill this boy. However, Martin suggests that Jaime killed several people, so it probably didn’t end there.

It is possible that Jaime himself killed Joffrey and blamed Tyrion (interestingly, Tyrion was blamed for Joffrey’s death he did be part of the history of A Storm of Swordsand Game of Thrones season 4, years later). Joffrey’s younger siblings, Tommen and Myrcella, are not mentioned, but it is plausible that they existed and Jaime killed them as well (there is no mention of Jaime being his real father at this point). Similarly, it is very likely that Jaime killed Stannis and Renly Baratheon also.

Although not in the line of succession, it also appears that Jaime killed Robb Starkor at least played a key role in his defeat, as the war between the Lannisters and the Starks was a big part of it and Ned was killed like in the final version.

“Robb will win several splendid victories and maim Joffrey Baratheon on the battlefield, but in the end he will not be able to face Jaime and Tyrion Lannister and their allies. Robb Stark will die in battle and Tyrion Lannister will besiege and burn Winterfell.”

Why did George RR Martin’s plan change?

Martin is not much of a planner

Martin’s vision has clearly changed a lot over the years, and the story has gotten bigger than he imagined. The main reason for this comes down to the author’s writing style and the fact that he doesn’t plan too much in advance, but rather has a broad idea and then sees where the story and characters take him as he writes. As he described to The Guardian in 2011, he is “much more of a gardener than an architect.”

So much of the story surrounding the battle for the Iron Throne has expanded, going beyond Stark vs. Lannister until the War of the Five Kingswhich is not mentioned in Martin’s sketch. Jaime, in turn, develops into a more multifaceted character, with an arc of tragedy and redemption, and therefore making him a ruthless king wouldn’t make as much sense.

Game Of Thrones shows signs of plan for Jaime to be king

There are subtle hints in the book and in the program

James obviously doesn’t become king, but there are still some signs and fragments of this story visible in A Game of Thrones and, later, Game of Thrones season 1. This Jaime is a much more ruthless version, set up as one of the main villains from the start as he pushes Bran Stark from the tower. He is a major antagonist of Ned Stark, facing him in King’s Landing, and later also fights Robb, although he obviously does not defeat him. Despite what Jaime became, it’s not that difficult to imagine that initial version becoming closer to the draft.

There are other subtle hints too. Ned remembers finding Jaime sitting on the Iron Throne after killing King Aerys II Targaryen during Robert’s Rebellion, which could have been foreshadowing. Jaime is also said to look exactly like what a king should be, according to Jon Snow’s thoughts in the first book. The book also sees Jaime controversially appointed Warden of the East, when he was already in line to become Warden of the West after Tywin Lannister. These two positions would have given him a lot of political influence and military power, so he could have been planning a move to become king.

Cersei took some of Jaime’s original Game Of Thrones story

Her becoming queen echoed the plan for King James

It’s unclear whether Cersei existed when Martin first created his framework for the book, although since Bran’s coma is mentioned, it’s reasonable to assume she was there but gained greater prominence as the story progressed. And with that, what seems remarkable – both in the books and even more so in the series – is how she took on the worst characteristics that were originally Jaime’s.

She becomes much more involved in the wars that take place, increasingly hungry for power, and will do absolutely anything to take it and keep it. This, in Game of Thronesit actually leads her to become queen. This is a little less likely to happen in the books, where Cersei isn’t as smart nor as important to the overall story.

It’s hard to imagine her vs. Daenerys is the final conflict, as young Griff, apparently Aegon Targaryen (son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell), is ready to take the Iron Throne before Dany arrives in Westeros. However, parts of Jaime exist within Cersei and show how Martin’s original vision endures throughout. A Song of Ice and Fire and in Game of Thrones.