[Vid] What If This Storm Ends?

by dar_vidder

Summary:

Be the lightning in me that strikes relentless.

Game of Thrones Jaime/Brienne vid to the song "What If This Storm Ends?" by Snow Patrol. Please choose 1080p for best quality.

Notes:

After Game of Thrones ended I knew I had to make a vid for the ship of my heart - Jaime and Brienne. I just love them so much, almost as much as they love each other. This is the first of three planned JB-related vids I've been wanting to make once canon closed so hopefully I'll be ready to post the rest in the next month or two. I'm still conflicted about the final season...I hated the last half for obvious reasons, but the first half gave me more than I'd ever dreamed for my fave duo. In the end I took comfort in the whiplash I suffered mid-season because it made disregarding the ending that much easier.

And god bless Nikolaj for acting his heart out in 802, 803, and 804...it's all down to his intense hearteyes that the script could've made Jaime say he never loved Brienne and I wouldn't have believed it for a second. Thank god, though, that the writers didn't go that far. They just made Jaime's motivation and objective and feelings in the end so formless and ambiguous, he became an unrecognizable cipher. His strange passivity was especially jarring since he'd begun the season with clear-eyed purpose and conviction even when facing the threat of execution during his trial. He was so proactive and assured as he faced his accusers, apologized to Bran, asked to serve under Brienne's command, knighted her, fought in the battle, celebrated afterward, and followed Brienne to her room. During that span of time Jaime acted happier and more at peace than I'd ever seen him before, like a load had been taken off his shoulders. It was shocking to see him spiral from that to such an uncertain, self-loathing, muddled mess in the span of an episode and a half. In his scene with Tyrion in the tent he seemed so weighed down and lost, he was painful to look upon. It was like he'd lost his sword hand all over again, but I digress...

Anyway, I can't remember the last time I had an actor from one of my OTPs commit so fully and make the absolute most of the space between the lines. I'm still not over Jaime sweeping his thumb over the back of Brienne's hand during their devastating final scene. I would bet good money that was all Nik and not the director's call. Knowing how it was all going to end, Nikolaj would've been well within his rights to dial it down several notches early in the season to make his change of heart more believable, but he was like, fuck no, I will not go down without a fight... Jaime may die with Cersei, but by god, the audience will know Jaime was embarrassingly besotted, smitten, fucking gone over Brienne of Tarth.

How much did I want to include the bells ringing in this vid? So much! Jaime's the only notable character anywhere near the bell tower, visibly hurrying to do something just before the bells ring and then he disappears for a bit until he shows up later near the cave. There is only one explanation: Jaime rang the motherfucking bells! I will die on this hill.

I can't believe they didn't show it to us, though, because it'd have neatly explored the duality of Jaime's nature and also confirmed for the millionth time how his actions often contradict his words. It would've taken some of the sting out of his blatantly OOC declaration about not caring for the people of King's Landing and also revealed that his sentiment to Cersei about only the two of them mattering was a pretty lie designed to give her comfort.

I mean, even if he didn't ring the bells, we already know he was being a lying liar who lies in both cases because of what we've seen of his character onscreen all these years, but it would've been nice to have gotten that validation that the showrunners hadn't completely lost the thread of who Jaime Lannister was at his core.

Ultimately I decided not to include the bells at the end of my vid because I didn't want to confuse viewers who don't share my headcanon. But I still feel so strongly about this that I felt the need to spout off about it in my end notes. And who knows, maybe the bells will make an appearance in one of my future vids! :)