Jaime Lannister is one of the most interesting characters in Game of Thrones. He started out as being a character that was so easy to hate but eventually more layers were revealed, and he became one of the show's most popular heroes.
During that long and epic character arc, Jaime hasn't always made the smartest decisions. He can be reckless, arrogant and downright stupid at times. Sometimes he recovered from his missteps while others came back to haunt him. Here are Jaime Lannister's biggest mistakes on Game of Thrones.
Having Sex With Cersei At Winterfell
Jaime is one of the most feared warriors in Westeros and that reputation has allowed him to develop a sense of recklessness. He doesn't seem to fear much and that sometimes causes him to take unnecessary and unwise risks.
When visiting Winterfell with King Robert's entire entourage, Jaime and his sister Cersei decide to sneak away and have sex. They are found by Bran and Jaime throws him out of a window, igniting the war between the Lannisters and Starks.
The Loot Train
When Daenerys Targaryen arrived in Westeros it seemed like she would make short work of her enemies, including the Lannister army. However, Jaime is able to achieve a surprising victory when he captures the Tyrells castle and all their gold.
However, Jaime must have been feeling overly confident after his victory and allowed Daenerys to ambush his army, almost wiping it out. If he had pushed his army a little harder, they could have returned to Kings Landing safely.
Trying To Kill Daenerys
Even when facing a dragon and the entire Dothraki army, Jaime doesn't know when to quit. After seeing most of his army get annihilated, he decides the smartest thing to do would be to charge Daenerys while her dragon is sitting right there.
While it's understandable that Jaime would want to end the war by killing Daenerys, after the butt-kicking he just received, he should have known when to quit. If not for Bronn, this would have been the end of Jaime Lannister.
Trusting Ellaria
Most fans would rather forget about Jaime's lame adventures in Dorne but they are noteworthy for featuring some of his worst decision-making. Remarkably, Jaime is able to avoid getting killed and convinces Prince Doran to let him leave with Myrcella.
However, nothing in Game of Thrones is that easy and Ellaria Sand poisons Myrcella just as she leaves. Given the fact that Ellaria already attempted to kill Myrcella and seemed to have no remorse about it, he should have known she would try something again.
Attacking Ned Stark
The Starks and the Lannisters have no love lost between them. Ned Stark and Jaime seem to have a particular hatred for each other, and it feels as though they would kill each other if given the opportunity.
That opportunity comes when Jaime confronts Ned about Tyrion being taken captive. Jaime attacks Ned and his men, before fighting. After one of Jaime's men unfairly injures Ned, Jaime leaves. As Tywin later points out, it was foolish to attack Ned and even more foolish to leave him alive.
Battle Against Robb Stark
When in his prime, there were few people in Westeros that could beat Jaime in a one-on-one fight. However, Robb Stark proves to be a better military leader than Jaime when they meet on the battlefield.
Robb lures the bulk of the Lannister army away then ambushes Jaime and his smaller army which leads to Jaime being taken captive. Jaime, like the rest of the Lannisters, underestimated Robb Stark and paid the price.
Not Leaving Cersei Earlier
There are many reasons why the relationship between Jaime and Cersei is unhealthy and the fact that they are siblings is only one part of it. Jaime is guilty of a lot of terrible things but he works to become a more honorable man.
Being with Cersei is like a poison, slowly making Jaime a worse person. He finally leaves her after she refuses to fight the Night King's army, but that's just one of the many, many terrible things she did that he should have left her for.
Attempting To Bargain With Locke
Jaime might be a skilled fighter, but he rarely finds himself in a vulnerable position and isn't very skilled at talking his way out of it. When on the road with Brienne, they are taken prisoner by some Bolton soldier, including the sadistic Locke.
After successfully talking Locke out of abusing Brienne, Jaime pushes his luck and tries to convince Locke to free him. Jaime's arrogance offends Locke and he cuts Jaime's hand off as punishment.
Choosing Cersei
When Jaime finally left Cersei, fans breathed a big sigh of relief. When he finally got together with Brienne, fans cheered with excitement. However, many fans knew this happiness couldn't last and they were right.
With Daenerys about to destroy King's Landing, Jaime chooses to be with Cersei and returns to her. While they certainly love each other, Cersei was responsible for so many terrible things, including the deaths of countless people. Choosing to die with her was not the noble ending he had been working towards.
Not Telling Anyone About The Mad King's Plan
For the first few seasons of the show, Jaime is known as The Kingslayer, an insulting nickname given to him after he apparently stabbed King Aerys in the back during the Siege of King's Landing.
Since Jaime was meant to protect King Aerys, most saw this as a cowardly and treacherous move. However, Jaime later revealed to Brienne that he did it to stop Aerys from burning all of King's Landing. If Jaime had told people about this, his reputation would have been much better. It also would have been good if more people knew there was wildfire hidden all throughout King's Landing.