Game of Thrones' Missed Opportunity with Jaime Lannister's Arc
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- Опубликовано: 13 июн 2024
- Every aspect of the end of Game of Thrones has understandably earned a lot of criticism from disappointed fans. But one of the most universally disliked elements of the series end was the demise of Jaime Lannister. And while Jaime's ending was terrible, it's not for the reasons that most fans think.
Content of this video:
00:00 Intro
00:41 Tywin Was The Architect Of Lannister Destruction
02:26 The POV Trap
03:40 Tywin's Whitewashed Fuckery
05:26 Jaime's Necessary Inner Conflict
07:01 Tywin Really Was A Dipshit
08:34 The Inescapable Prison Of Being A Lannister
10:09 Conclusion 
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I never understood how Viserys and Cersei got hate because they were mad at their sibling for killing their mother at birth when they were dumb kids but Tywin an intelligent grown man did the same thing and no one said anything, like it was crickets.
Yeah, for whatever reason I think people equate Tywin's military success with him being some super-intelligent master gameplayer when in reality his wins come from the fact that he basically has a nuclear meltdown any time someone looks at him sideways. He's definitely one of the most interesting characters to me, but that is largely because his image-obsessed, incredibly over-sensitive and over-reactive attitude completely destroys his children and has a disastrous effect on all of Westeros.
@@HillsAliveYT Yeah, Tywin good at his job but he’s a terrible person/father. I don’t know how people just sweep that under the rug.
@@simmingsammi I think it's because they care about him being "badass" (if you can call having everyone who doesn't treat you like the most important person in the world raped and/or murdered being badass) and not much else.
@@HillsAliveYT that makes sense. That’s probably why so many people don’t like Sansa and Theon.
Also, Viserys’ shitty attitude toward Daenerys didn’t started until he had to sell the crown of their mother, before that he was apparently a kind protective brother .
Liking Tywin as a character for me is more about the actor's, Charles Dance, brilliant performance - the subtleties he brings into the role is something fans can disect for days, and they do. Like many famous (but not great) leaders, he has authoritative, commanding voice, oozes confidence and uses subtle body language that just captivates people he is talking too - he controls all of these aspects so well and knows exactly when to use it, and this is why I believe he is such a compelling character.
I think someone summed this up best with this joke “Imagine if Zuko returned to the Fire nation right before Sozin’s comet”
Yeah, but Zuko wasn't meant to die with his sister or father. I watched GOT for the first time and just finished it. I even rewatched many episodes to really get an idea of what I was watching and I've watched a lot of videos about the books and people's opinions. I feel like Jaime was meant to die with Cersei. It's sad Because he really came so far! I mean, from episode 1 pushing a boy out of a window, to becoming a more honorable man and gaining some amazing support like Brienne... But something about him dying with Cersei really made sense to me for some reason. They felt they should always be together and came in to the world together, I don't think he would've continued down a good path once she was dead and he wasn't. Even though I would because I see how terrible she is, he was so deeply in love with her. His entire life. You know?
@@dlorend considering the prophecy Cersei got as a kid involves a younger sibling killing her, it seems the books will have Jaimie feign concern for her but kill her off
@@brigidmadden5577 dang, I really need to read the books. I have been holding off because they aren't finished and I think it drive me insane. Lol I don't even know what to think!
@@dlorend yeah long story short, the prophesy is yet another reason for why Cersei hates Tyrion as she believes the young sibling in the prophecy is him. However since she was technically the eldest kid in the family and Martin loves showing how easily prophecies are to project your weird hang ups on, it’s definitely Jaimie. Also currently in the books he’s basically abandoned Cersei as he’s realized how shitty she is and how much chaos their dumbass affair has caused the entire continent as had to personally see the casualties of war in the river lands
Tywin always stuck me as effective in the short term, but unnecessarily destructive in the long term. Basically "You have to crack a few eggs, if you want to make an omelet" but with way more eggs than necessary. He eradicated two noble houses (one by drowning everyone btw.) for not paying back a loan FFS! I don't understand why the fandom likes him so much.
WHY? You ask that? You who have killed your mother to come into the world? You are a ill-made spitfull little creature! Full of envy lust and low cunning! 😂 More seriously: I think most of the people like Tywin because he is the representative alpha male, machiavelous mind, you could loses battles and yet, win the war with knowledge, Intrigue etc... The successful man... The damage he's doing all around himself they don't really pay attention... I like Tywin as a villain (Mostly with Charles Dance performance who carries every scene he's in it), but I despise those kind of men
Yeah tywin was definitely the architect of his own family's destruction just like what ares the mad king did with his own family
Yeah, it's actually very interesting and clear how much the actions of the parents of the main characters influence the outcomes of their families long after their gone, for better and for worse. Tywin and Aerys essentially doomed their own families, while even people like Ned's actions on the one hand saved his family (i.e. being a good Northern ruler kept his subjects loyal to his family even after he was dead) and on the other hand hurt them (i.e. keeping Theon as a hostage really bit the Starks in the ass, as did Ned's inaction when it came to the obvious problem that people like Roose Bolton were).
@@HillsAliveYT how did keeping Theon hostage bit them, it was by freeing him they were doomed plus Roose Bolton wasn't a problem when Ned was alive
@@HillsAliveYT I think it’s also fair to say that Ned’s own honor cause him his own head and therefore leaving his family vulnerable because they were so dependent of him.
It’s so sad, actually.
I sometimes wonder what would have happened if Tywin acted more like his father.
Well, ironically I think House Lannister would have been much better off despite the fact that Tywin tried so desperately to separate his own legacy from his father's.
That’s what I’ve been thinking lately as well. I’ve been rereading the series slowly, and I keep coming back to this thought. Your video gave me a lot more to think about, and for that, I thank you. :)
He went to the opposite extreme of being the ultimate hardass because of how soft Tytos was
Tywin was an extreme over correction from Tytos. He went in the right direction as a lord, one can't be soft on they're lower nobility like Tytos was. At the same time, ruling exclusively through fear is not an effective long term method nor is it moral. Also, being an absolute tyrant in the house with little to no emotional connection to your children aside from psychological and even s**ual abuse, in the case of Tyrion, an effective and moral way to raise children.
i couldn't have put it more perfectly!!! when i first read the books, i too assumed that jaime was on a redemption arc, but upon further reflection, the guy's still a piece of shit. he rewarded the freys for breaking one of the most sacred laws in the north and threatened to trebuchet a baby. and that was *not* an empty threat. jaime has shown time and time again that he doesn't give a shit about children. he doesn't care about his children (sure, he wants to tell tommen and myrcella that he's their biological dad but he doesn't see himself as a father and he sees tommen as his king first and foremost, not his son), he doesn't regret pushing bran out of the window, and he regrets almost killing arya bc he trusted cersei, not bc she was an innocent child. i think the reason so many people assume jaime is a better person than he is is because he's an unreliable narrator who creates false narratives in his head to justify the shitty things he does, but you put it perfectly when you said that jaime wants to be seen as good more than he wants to BE good. him being the valonqar is the perfect ending for him and cersei
Thank you so much for this video. It drives me nuts when people say that Jaime got a perfect redemption arc only for it to be ruined by him going back to Cersei. Calling his arc in the books one of redemption is a stretch. As you said, he longs for people to see him as honorable, but he doesn't seem to care that much if his actions are actually honorable. Like, he never once thinks back to what he did to Bran with remorse, for example. Perhaps because very few people are aware of that sin of his and therefore don't judge him for it. It doesn't taint his image like kingslaying or being a Lannister does. He is defintely capable of doing good without an ulterior motive, like killing Aerys or saving Brienne, but he also justifies his terrible actions to himself easily.
If the books ever do get finished, I'm almost sure that he will kill Cersei, thus fufilling the valonqar prophecy. But I would love to know if he's going to kill her in an honorbale way, like he killed the Mad King, to protect innocents, or in a jealous rage, since Cersei's infidelities have been eating away at him. Hell, there's even the chance that it will be a mercy kill, in some way, and therefore more in line with his Show ending.
Honestly, viewing his arc through Jaime never being able to escape the legacy and impact of Tywin and the reality of being a Lannister/what he has done- not being able to change the view Westeros has of him no matter the good he does, could justify him returning to Cersei. Not necessarily just in the Valanquar route, either. Just in a “no matter what I do, they’ll never see me differently. At least I can go back to the one constant I’ve ever had in my life. The only thing that makes sense. Cersei.” Bravo
Oh yeah that would totally work, holy crap! Still though, the way the show did it makes absolutely zero sense
I recently subscribed and really enjoyed your section on Tywin being the abuser and it having a long term effect on the children altering their outlook on the world.
“The show went out of its way to avoid a lot of the obvious building blocks that led to Cersei and Jamie’s demise…” only to kill them with building blocks
I don’t fully agree with everything but that’s just life 😂, great video sis and much success 🙌🏿
Haha thank you, if only other YT comments were so chill.
I was disappointed about how jaime's character arc was destroyed in the final season of the show it was so stupid what dan and dave did with his character
it wasn't destroyed, u just didn't liked it. It was obvious jaime will die with cersei... Never he would have stay with Brienne... they are (Jaime and Cersei) bound to death by an unhealthy love. it has always been like that, the end of game of thrones will be bitter than u expected, because its life, people thought their fav characters like Jaime would have a "good" ending. His end is dramatic, sad but sweet. Jaime said once "nothing else matters, only us", and even when he left cersei, the bound didn't disappear. Life isn't perfect, as characters arc. For me the serie has been rush, we didn't see important book's characters, some died too early, but Jaime end isn't bad.
@@raphaeldbz really isn't that simple as people liking it or not.
Awesome video!! You are always able to put into words exactly what I’m thinking or feeling about this show.
It always bothers me when someone says “funny how Jaime becomes a good person as soon as he’s away with Cersei.” Yes, Cersei is not a good person, and yes, people can be bad influenced on you. But it’s not like she’s a horcrux which instantly makes him become mean and aggressive when he’s within 10 feet of her and then suddenly becomes the nice person he always was when he steps out of range. That’s ridiculous. They are both damaged people fueled by their own desires and they do bring out the worst in one another. But saying everything is because of Cersei is not only sexist, it’s also demasculating to Jaime. It takes away his autonomy by claiming he’s essentially just Cersei’s dog. He is a someone who’s seen a lot of bad things and was raised by an abusive father, but the same could be said for Cersei. Both of them have to take responsibility for their actions, and although Jaime has traits that the audience can find more endearing, that does not mean that he’s a good person if not for Cersei. The first scene where we catch a glimpse of his true self was when he pushed bran out of the tower. All Cersei said was “he saw us” and then Jaime goes “aw dang that sucks *shove*”
If anything after that, we see more of Cersei’s sympathy towards Cat for what happened. It’s difficult to tell how much is genuine but.. I do actually think she was being genuine. If it’s one thing she understands, it’s the fear of losing a child. Of course, she most likely doesn’t regret it since her children would be put to death if bran wakes up and remembers what he saw. But I still think she experiences a rare moment of sympathy for another human. We don’t really get that from Jaime. All I remember is season 8, him and bran going 👀 at each other and him saying sorry. I don’t really remember seeing him reflect on that before he’s directly confronted.
Jaime's yearning for Freedom is what always set him apart for me.
Thanks for the vid. Jamie is an intriguing character. A lot of people think that golden children have it easier - they don't. They tend to be under the most threat of losing favour if they stop out of line because they are the most favoured. When in Tywin's death, we see his effect on his children that they struggled to break away from his influence.
More excellence...
Psychological ABUSE if children is a theme of Tremendous importance and the show was in no way equipped to really *handle* that...
This was a really good video. If the Lannister children are to be better they have to escape Tywin’s specter both the one he left in their minds and the one found in his material legacy. Tyrion did the latter by escaping Westrose where he doesn’t have to be a Lannister, but the ghosts of his father and his past urge him to his new path. Cersei and Jaimie are trapped both ways. If Jaimie or Cersei are to escape I think leaving everything behind with a new name would be a good way to do it.
Great video. I like how you brought up the fact that the fans like to praise Tywin for being a genius when in reality he is a moran. I have come to the realization that every time the Lannisters join a conflict they "jump on the bandwagon" of people who have a good idea and the switch sides when things go bad. During the conquest The Gardners decide to fight against the Targaryans and the Lannisters join them for no reason other than its sounds like a good idea. And once it goes bad they switch sides. Its the same in the dance of the dragons and the same in Robert's Rebellion. At the end of the day The Lannisters are cowards that switch sides because it's inconvenient rather then sticking to their beliefs. Tywin is always talking about the pride of House Lannister when it actually never existed and Tywin is just feeding into his and his house's inferiority complex.
In Jamie's case here I think the video lacks the understanding that the reason Jamie is so concerned with appearing to be good is because he's always defined himself by how other people see him. He's been living in a villain role he cast himself in because he knows that how he's going to be seen. But going back for Brienne in the bear pit, stopping Loras from attacking her and ordering the Kingsguard not to beat young girls just because the King says so. In these instances there's either no one to perform for or an audience that will see him as playing against type. Even the fact that he's no longer comfortable with the idea of being remembered as a smirking villain is a huge contrast to the man who wore that like armor. I doubt he'll ever be the boy scout the show morphed him into until it's last minute swerve but I do think he's on as straightforward a redemption as Martin would ever allow.
Really good video! Jaime's ending was the worst thing about the finale to me, but after I cooled down and thought about it, I think it's quite likely he'll have a similar end in the books because such a straightforward redemption arc doesn't really seem GRRM's style. And that could be really good in the books! Watching a bad person struggle to be a better one, only to fall back into their old ways, could make for a very compelling story. The problem (as with most things in the last few episodes) was in the execution. Now that I've let go of my hopes for a Jaime redemption arc (hopes I'd nurtured since getting into the series in 2010), I'm looking forward to how GRRM will (probably) handle his failed redemption arc in the books, if he ever finishes them.
the show ruined his arc when they sent him to dorne instead of the riverlands and removed the tysha reveal. as with everything, s5 is to blame (and to some extent 4)
Hey thought I would let you know I started reading the books because of you. I love your commentary keep it up. I have watched like 20 of your videos
love your last sentence about how one act does not define a character, even their final act
The show showed tywin in a more positive light with his interactions with Arya and Tommen so as a result the average show only fan probably has a more positive view of tywin then then the pre-show book fans.
Doesnt this make Jaime a sort of foil to Theon?
Maybe it's because I read the books, but it always seemed obvious to me that no matter how evil Cersei is, Tywin is clearly the worst of the Lannisters, and all the abuse his children commit is primarily because of him. Although I've admittedly always perceived Tywin as smart, it never rose to the level of mastermind. I always interpreted his orchestration of the Red Wedding as cheating. And when I point that out to fans, some of them reply that there are no rules in war, when IMHO, there alwys are.
I like Tywin, but as a character and not a person. He's undeniably a villain but unlike, say, the Mountain, he's a three dimensional one.
Awesome show. Love it. Keep it up. Thank you.
Another great dose of truth! Thanks for great video.
Thank you!
You’re becoming one of my favourite GoT RUclipsrs :)
Could you do Cersei video I struggle to see her point of view and you are really good at helping see the other side of characters I previously didnt like.
Basically, her dad is dead and she is trying to rationalize his abuse of her and her own abuse of others.
Seems like GoT didn't so much miss an opportunity as they just failed to appropriately craft the nuance necessary for the character arcs to come full circle as intended (this is also true of Daenerys, as well). Unless you view the show completely removed from the ideas of GRRM and the source material, the outcome of Jaime's arc makes perfect sense in the context of his character; trauma and all. The only arc that seemed to make no sense was Tyrion's because his character had ALL nuance removed by turning him into an "everyman avatar" for the audience. But I don't think the show (definitely not the books) discounts the role that Tywin plays in creating the messy state of the world. One of the central themes for most of the characters, especially the Lannister children, is that their stories revolve in many cases around living with the consequences of actions/legacies of their parents and those that came before and trying to make the most of it, no?
I agree that going back to Cersei shouldn't have to singularly define Jaime's character. I think part of why fans were upset had more to do with how they expected Cersei to die, rather than how they expected Jaime to. Most fans expected one of the following: *_1) Jaime kills Cersei 2) Arya kills Cersei 3) Cersei dies a satisfying horrible death._* As far fans are concerned, neither of those scenarios occurred. Yes, Cersei technically died horribly, but she died in Jaime's arms, knowing that she loves him. That was too kind of an ending in some fans eyes.
do you think the first 4 seasons of the show was good or do you think it was also bad?
A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad the good.
Jaime's ending in the show was definitely my most frustrating point. A near perfect redemption arc. Gets with Brienne. It was almost a win win for me lol
7:36 tbf isn’t he a super good strategist in the books as well? Also I love Tywin as a character but always viewed him as an abusive asshole who is a bad person but is also very pragmatic (to his ultimate undoing)
Well I actually did a video about it but in my opinion Tywin is actually a completely dog shit strategist that people tend to hype up because they mistake mass murder for badassery.
@@HillsAliveYT thats fair, I think alot of the respect come from how he mostly is abel to maintain his composure (save for his family ) how house lanister was in a bad position before he came to power and being an interesting though also a massivly evil one too) character, i'll definitely check out that video
Tywin reminds me of Caesar from Fallout New Vegas. He's not that smart, he just displays a level of brutality that was not on the table by then (completely eradicate two vassal houses in a single blow for some middling rebellion) and took everyone out of place. By the time things settle down and he faced Robb, a 15 years old kid outsmarted him almost everytime. Until he, again, displays another out of the charts level of brutality in the red wedding. I mean, there are some Freys that basically deserted from their own home to stay away from that abomination. That's the level...
People tend to mistake badassery with fear. Westerosi houses don't respect Tywin because is a great strategist, they only do it because they are scare of him knowing what he is capable of.
I think it is tricky to make the devil hansom in stories. You do not want people leaving looking up to someone like Tywin. But our history was full of dark leaders with great charisma. And if do it right maybe your fiction can be like a vaccine for occult thinking.
I dont agree about your conclusion mainly because I think Jaime's ending in the show was portrayed as conclusive, defining one, in a way in which slaying Aerys wasnt. It comes after his realisation that he never really cared about innocents or anyone but Cersei and was deluding himself the whole time so he just retreats to his *true* side. This is the framing I get, especialy with his final lines - Nothing else matters only us.
Seeing how literally no character conflict was shown in his last episode after "realisation" kicked in, seeing how entire emphasise was put on being with Cersei, I dont see reason why audience arent supposed to take this line at face value, with everything it entails, given that it is literaly the last thing he utters before the curtains drop on him.(along with bricks)
I also dont agree with take that Jaime was whitewashed in the show, especialy comparatively to Cersei. For once, both Jaime and Cersei may be have done villainous things, but puting them in the same category morality-wise seems out of place with me. Like consider how many antiparallels are between them in the books; not that I think book Jaime is hero but he isnt exactly villain either. And bookCersei hasnt done one good thing in her life, in fact thatd be understatement. So naturaly when you adapt them Jaime's lining up with heroes such as Brienne while Cersei descends further into chaos and tyranny, as she tries to grasp for power, is inevitable. Jaime as a character does deal with the redemption arc, and Cersei with a villain arc - that is the undeniable aspect of the book, regardless of how not straightforward their path is.
And most importantly when you compare list of actions for Jaime and Cersei both in books in show, for me it feels like Cersei is the whitewashed one, not Jaime. With him the only thing whitewashed is his posturing I guess? He presents more as a mean, snarky sardonic type in the books but in the show past s3 NCW has him portrayed with this warmer, nicer presense as if to indicate that he is changed man. And I agree that GoT's take on Jaime and his redemption is simplistic, (when he is not around Cersei he presents as nice man, its different than a more conflicted still, full of turmoil book Jaime) But then at the end, it turns out that this perspective on Jaime was not real, so when you take the whole picture its not as if Jaime was framed as better than in books. But he wasnt a well written character anyway so disparaging discrepancy between his actions, and how he was framed becomes kind of pointless. He was whatever plot needed him to be, 1)Cersei's accesory and villain who enables her worst impluses willfuly and 2) hero who wants to become the oathkeeper and leaves Cersei to her fate simultaneously. With little character conflict to show trajectory between the two. One thing he was not, was being consistent.
That doesnt make show!Jaime better imo bc actions speak louder than words or thoughts, that is to say the things Jaime in the show did are more indicative of his morality than how he behaves especialy with how much of his mean, cynical presense is presented as a shield of sorts in the books. In the show Jaimes bigger devotion led him to justify and continue to enable Cersei after she recreated his nightmare scenario with wildfire massacre /that book Jaime literally has nightmares about in ASOS/ that also led to their son's death. Book Jaime for instance was appaled at seeing Cersei merely burn the empty tower of hand with wildfire and look ecstatic. He doesnt need Brienne to take initiative for riverrun siege without bloodshed and he evidently has enough backbone not to enable Cersei, once he returns to KL from captivity.
IMHO, the problem with Jamie is this: bleakness for bleakness's sake is boring. A five-act play that is a tragedy, and can be brilliant. An eight season show, or book series that takes 236472364723869 years to finish, that has tragic endings for every character is BORING. You already know the destination and, in so knowing, can largely guess the way that every character gets there.
So, you are locked into just watching it play out; no real surprise, and no moral other than, "Gee, it certainly does suck to be anyone in this world, EVER." And, while that may be some people's bag, it ain't my jam.
Jamie (even moreso in the books) would have been a very interesting choice to have a quiet, subdued 'happy' ending. Even moreso than Tyrion (especially in the books), Jamie has turned a corner VERY sharply in his life. And, to have him, in the end, survive this character apocalypse of a show/book series specifically BECAUSE he changed so much from that guy who yeet'd a kid out a window, would have been much more resonant than the survival of most of the other characters who lived.
It speaks volumes about Tywin’s capacity for love when the only interactions he has with his children are when he’s criticizing them, manipulating them, or straight up disowning them.
He even says it himself that love does nothing for you, so why would he love anyone?
Don't think him going back to cersei cna really be compared to what he did to bram considering when both actions occurred.
I think there's very skewed view of Tywin if you interpet him as "moronic," having seen your video on him I think part of what poisons the well is a misunderstanding of the situation that led to The Rains of Castamere incident. Tywin's primary historical inspiration is Edward I (Longshanks to Braveheart fans) and the Reynes and Tarbeks are analogous to Simon de Montfort. Tywin wasn't bullying a smaller house and then slaughtering them for having the temerity to stick up for themselves as your video puts forth. They had been refusing to pay debts owed to their liege lord and when Tywin demanded of the Lannister vassals repayment or hostages they laughed and told their own vassals, friends and allies to ignore Tywin's edict. This is seditious and comes right to the brink of treason.. Tywin is his father's heir and pretty much given free reign once he returns from campaigning in the War of Ninepenny Kings where he serves as a captain under his Uncle Jason who dies in the big battle. He comes back and has his brother Kevan take 200 of their newly salty knights and clear the Westerlands of bandits that had become a problem. At the same time he issues the call for the repayment or hostages. Now the thing is no one nay says him in this and as Tytos's heir being allowed to act as his second Tywin is in the rightful position of expecting obedience unless his father states otherwise. Tytos it should be noted doesn't bother to overrule Tywin until the hostage situation ensues after Lord Tarbek is jailed. Abducting and threatening there liege lord's kin is flagrant treason.
It should also be noted this hostage situation in which Lannisters have been kidnapped and threatened with possible death is the first known insance of Tywin's customary brutality when he suggests sending Lord Tarbek back to his wife in three pieces. This is probably because it's the first time Tywin's been confronted with the fact that his family's perceived weakness isn't just a threat to their position but could realistically escalate to a threat on their lives. In this instance for three of his cousins it has. Is it any wonder that Tywin starts gathering levies from the houses that complied with his demands and sets out to do away with them? The Rains of Castamere my have been terrible in most every moral sense but in terms of its practical effects it brought a land that had fractured to the point civil war could break out whenever it suited the strongest vassals and the leaders were laughed undermined and under threat into a land that stayed firmly united under House Lannister without question for the next 35 years!
Okay, so I just barely watched GOT for the first time because I watched HOtD... Now... I'm a little afraid to be honest but I liked season 7&8... What's the problem with Jaimes death? Him and Cersei were meant to die together. That much was obvious to me. And Dany most definitely fit the bill to burn everything and everyone down. I think she will be brought back to life though. They left the ending open for that.
🐲
Tywin’s “Golden Son” doesn’t get anything from being the favorite, he just has more to lose.
Honestly, Tywin was THE narcissistic parent. Yes, he was “nicer” when kids (Jaime and Cersei) were small and malleable, but the minute they developed a personality and desires of their own, he squashed and wore them down. Jaime’s happiest childhood memories don’t involve Tywin, and Cersei’s happiest memory was when Tywin was selling his six-year-old daughter to MC syndrome Rhaegar Targaryen.
Tytos was a better parent. Look at Genna, Kevan, Tygett and Gerion. Intelligent, well-adjusted, and good-natured people who lead happy lives and are politically astute/aware.
To even the scales a bit on Tywin’s story, it’s worth mentioning:
There is a theme of patriarchal arrogance in the books, particularly in Tywin that is intertwined with mercy. Tywin likely knew that Rhaenys’ body (and therefore Aegon,s body) was fake. The Lannisters use the same “Padme” defense to protect Marcella with her similar looking cousin, who is really the one who lost a ear. Tywin, if being absolute, would have continued to hunt the kids down; but as Oleanna noted, he knew when to stop. This ends up with irony with Cercei being (temporarily) dethroned by Aegon. Also Darkstar is part of this theme thread as likely his hair is partly white for house Reyne and his mother, likely married off to house Dayne, should have been hunted down as well; but as a woman, Tywin mistakenly didn’t consider her a threat since now her last name is Dayne. Darkstar set in opposition to Oberyn and his story likely mirrors Ramsey’s, raised to revenge their mothers and her family.
Another balancing historical note is Jaime and Cercei aren’t Tywin’s but Aerys’ kids. Being Tywin’s motivation to usurp Aerys for at minimum for abusing his wife, or maybe knew she was raped by Aerys, is pretty much the same as Oberyn’s and Darkstar. This cycle of revenge, of course, wraps up into the general theme of GRRM’s personal beliefs of pacifism and no violent revenge is honorable, right, or worth it. Which wraps into the aforementioned “mother’s bitter pill” revenge plots of Oberyn, Darkstar, Ramsey, and Tywin’s actual natural son Tyrion, who ironically is Targaryen through the maternal Blackfyre line and not Joanna’s, who Tywin probably killed for her attempting to marry of the Twins behind his back. Tyrion birth creates even greater cascade of ironies with Cercei blaming Tyrion for Joanna’s death or all of Tywin’s kids a Targaryens of some manner, Tyrion probably his choice, though probably unaware of the spicer girl’s lineage, in likely trying to fulfill his prophecy. That all wraps up with the representative maternal line of Targaryens ends (crossbow) Tywin as well as the last living paternal Targaryens [metaphorical Green Goblin Pumpkin Bombs for Cercei/Jaime destroying the tower their in causing Cercei to suicide jump and Jaime to swing out and fail to save them; Aegon(Jon’s )undead and won’t claim the throne as like the show will head North] and probably rules as King of the Westerlands after Bran’s reign ends; congratulations King Tyrion.
She was his sister, and the mother of his children. I don't think he was ever meant to leave her behind
Tyrion instituted a new kingdom, a better kingdom than the one it replaced.
I think we can all agree that Tywin is a terrible father, and one of his greatest atrocities is being allowed to be a father.
Does he even love Joanna? He married his cousin, a the perfect Lannister woman. There’s evidence that he privately cheated on her, and his insults to Tyrion being “ill-made” and “not mine” seems to imply that Joanna was unfaithful or a victim of assault.
He’d rather dishonor his wife’s memory, even victim-blaming her, rather than face the consequences of his own incest.
There’s also evidence that they didn’t have a perfect marriage. Joanna didn’t tell him about the twins’ incest, implying that she could be scared of his reaction. She also ruled him and his household. This is Tywin Lannister, he does the ruling. It seems like an inverse of the Cersei x Jaime relationship, and it’s just as toxic, but more socially acceptable.