Whoa — The Same Tragic Event Happened Every Time Jaime Returned to King's Landing

The night is dark and full of spoilers, so stop reading now if you're not caught up.

About six or seven decades from now, when I'm on my deathbed and I have my husband, probably Jake Gyllenhaal, lean down close so he can hear my last, dying words, I'll raise my fist feebly in the air and whisper "Justice for Jaime Lannister." That's how bad, undeserved, and nonsensical the character's recent death in Game of Thrones was, and just how angry I still am about it. But now, thanks to Reddit user Flip2428, there's a full-circle aspect to his tragic demise that I hadn't previously considered.

As you'll recall, Jaime foolishly ditches Brienne — the only woman who truly loved him, and made him a better, more honourable man — in Winterfell so that he can ride down to King's Landing and rescue his "hateful" other half, Cersei. Despite the fact he knows she toxic. And that she gleefully put a hit out on him. Flash forward a few gruesome scenes, and Jaime dies with Cersei in his arms after their failed escape, weeping as they're buried under the rubble of a collapsing Red Keep.

But, as Flip2428 notes, they're not the only people who die in that scene — technically the life of Cersei's unborn child ends as well. Making matters even more tragic is the fact that this isn't the first time Jaime's return to King's Landing has signaled the death of one of his children. In fact, every time one of Cersei and Jaime's progeny bit the bullet, it was preceded by their father riding into town:

• Joffery: The king dies at the Purple Wedding when he's poisoned by Littlefinger and Olenna Tyrell. This is just after Jaime has returned from being imprisoned by the Starks.
• Marcella: Her and Jaime are en route to King's Landing from Dorne, when she suddenly dies thanks to a poison kiss from Ellaria Sand.
• Tommen: The boy king decides to end his life by jumping out a castle window after he witnesses the death of his love, Margaery, in the explosion of the Sept. Coincidentally, Jaime is on his way back to the city after helping the Freys.

[SPOILERS] Everytime Jamie returns to Kings Landing... from r/gameofthrones

Pretty freakin' grim, no? While it definitely doesn't make me feel any better about how Jaime goes down in season eight, I'm a big enough person to appreciate the (gruesome) bit of symbolism that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss squeezed into the scene.