'Game of Thrones' spoilers for season 8, episode 2 show Jaime Lannister under trial. Is this the last we see of him?
This article contains spoilers for 'Game of Thrones' season 8.
'Game of Thrones' released promotional photos teasing the plot for season 8's episode 2 and while there's a haunting reminder of the war between the North and the White Walkers beginning before the sun rises, what we can't overlook is the predicament Sir Jaime Lannister has landed himself in.
Last when we saw Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), the Lannister twin had traveled all the way to the North to send a peace offering between the Starks and the Lannisters, so that the two armies could join forces and march against the impending doom, that is the army of the dead. But soon as Jaime landed on the grounds of Winterfell, he was met with the daunting stare of Bran Stark (Isaac H. Wright) - whom he had pushed off a tower in season 1, leaving Bran sitting in a wheelchair permanently.
The much talked about Jaime and Bran reunion was a striking stare-off between the two characters that lasted for a good minute as the episode wrapped. But it was also a probable metaphor for Jaime contemplating the many vices he has engaged in since trying to kill Bran for having spotted him having sex with his own sister, Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), all the way back in season 1. Which brings us to the newly released photos of the upcoming episode, where, in a very Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen) style, Jaime seems to be part of a trial in the Stark court.
The promo video for the episode has already shown Jaime being tried for committing the murder of the mad king, Aegon Targaryen, whose daughter Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) is now the queen in the North. Jaime is also responsible for the attempted murder of Bran, and of course, for committing incest with his sister Cersei, with whom he also fathered three children, with a secret fourth one supposedly on the way.
True, Jaime's crimes aren't as poisonous as the heinous treachery Lord Baelish had engaged in until he was tried and murdered by the Stark siblings last season, but still - Jaime's crimes are quite punishable. For starters, he is the murderer of Daenerys' father, and anybody who knows anything about the show would know what consequences it would bear for the accused. Daenerys is pretty much the all-powerful on the show (right after the White Walkers, that is) and even though she might not engage in fighting, she has an unconditionally devoted and loyal army who could take out the Lannisters at one go. Let's not even bring her two dragons into the context.
We know the White Walkers are approaching and as Tormund claims in the trailer, they don't even have the entire night to wait for an attack, but Jaime can't be seen anywhere near the action. Moreover, let's not forget how ruthlessly the Starks punish treason and attempted murder since they have made it very clear with the way they handled Lord Baelish. In the middle of a full court, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) had sentenced him to death and Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) took his life by slitting his throat as he bled profusely in front of everyone. Jaime's trial scene looks a lot similar to that, with Daenerys telling him a little anecdote from her childhood where she and her brother would discuss the things they would do to the man who killed their father. There's no mercy in her eyes, neither is there a flicker of the same in any of the Stark's expressions, leading us to believe that this would quite possibly be the last time we might see Jaime.
The trailer also shows conversations between Sansa and Daenerys regarding the mad queen, Cersei, and how her peace offering by joining forces sounds like a blatant sham. Both the women claim that trusting Cersei is a stupid idea and since Jaime is there with a proposition made by the queen, it's quite likely that he could get executed even before he can make a plea bargain. It's quite unfortunate considering over the last few seasons we have seen Jaime rise to redemption on countless occasions in a way that has made us begin to root for the Kingslayer, yet the trailer and the photos prove to be an alarming development regarding his future on the show, which quite frankly, seems bleak now.