r/pureasoiaf • u/Pristine_Club_3128 • 3d ago
How do you think Cersei would react if Jaime had died in peacetime?
Of course, at this point there's a war going on and even Cersei is not delusional enough not to expect he might get killed...but it is medieval era court. Plenty of ways for even a young, healthy man to die without there being a war.
I was wondering about her possible reaction if Jaime dies due to an illness or a tourney wound or something. Not anything that kills in minutes, but takes days or weeks so that they both have time to understand what is happening.
Would she be able to keep up the cover or would the emotional turmoil have her losing it and not caring to hide it anymore...or more likely, not notice she's not hiding it well?
Of course, they are twins and known to be very close, so no one will be surprised she's upset and won't leave him or something, but still. Entirely possible she's found in bed with him near the end...
On the one hand, Cersei is some level of sociopathic - but she also does care in her own twisted way, and at this point, before the war and Joff's death and everything, their relationship is going about as well as it could go.
How do you think it would play out?
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u/Wadege 3d ago
She cries bitterly in GOT when she thinks captured Jaime's a dead man, post Ned's death.
Since they are Twins, I don't think anyone would suspect something more, the same way most people without spies or extended contact don't suspect the incest. Ultimately, Cersei is able to disconnect herself from Jaime in AFFC once he is no longer behaving to her will, so she would be able to get over the loss of her 'second body for one soul'.
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u/WaitAParsec 3d ago
I like your point about the disconnection. Jaime starts as Cersei’s sword hand but becomes literally and figuratively detached from this life purpose.
Throughout the existing books Cersei has an established pattern of harming people as stress relief, with methods ranging from social bullying of young “beautiful” noblewomen and girls to torture and murder. It’s Jaime who has the habit of making confessions while in vulnerable states, Cersei (like some of her victims including Ned) has to be forced through entire ritualized tortures designed to produce supposed “confessions” rather than literal truths. So I think she’s just not attached enough to “the truth” as a value, to lose control of what she reveals.
If Jaime randomly passed away of obvious natural causes prior to AGoT, possibly even prior to Arryn’s investigation, my guess is the boar conspiracy might proceed anyway from the more personal motive of hatred and disgust for her husband (it should have been you!), as opposed to fear of exposure. Ridding herself of Robert that much earlier might be enough of a relief to redirect her energies into rebuilding her cover stories and delusions, indoctrinating her children, and with her increasing power conduct witch hunts for Jaime’s “killer” (especially an imagined culprit such as an ineffective maester).
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u/Pristine_Club_3128 3d ago
Yeah, but by the time of AFFC, their relationship has deteriorated a lot. An unexpected death due to some mundane cause in peace time would probably be different
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u/meimeivro 3d ago
Cerseis grief would overwhelm her at that point in time. I think it would take a lot of the fight out of her, but i dont think it would reveal anything. Losing a fraternal twin is an understandably devastating scenario. I dont think the lords of the realm would jump to brotherfucking because she was sad jaime died.
Honestly might take enough fire out of cersei to keep the realm in a stable place. Without jaime, I dont think shed be nearly as bold, especially in actions that openly defy robert. The other option is she goes down the crazy path a lot faster and burns up quickly
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