Could Jaime Be The Valonqar?
Another popular theory, although one that isn’t given nearly as much credence, is that it’ll be Jaime who ends up as the Valonqar. He’s technically the younger of the two twins, born after Cersei, and would therefore be her “little brother.” And from a storyline perspective, the discontent between the twin Lannister siblings has been steadily growing for several seasons, with Jaime becoming increasingly unnerved with Cersei’s transformation into a power-hungry monarch. Conversely, Cersei has been equally frustrated with the many shortcomings of Jaime over the course of the series.
This led directly to the pair separating at the end of season 7, when Cersei explained to him her plan to let the North handle the Night King and his ravenous army of undead soldiers after expressly pledging her support. For Jaime, who’s generally blinded to Cersei’s Machiavellian tendencies due to his intense love for her, he can’t just sit idly by and “deal with what’s left.”
So, the end of season 7’s finale saw Jaime abandoning his sister and start on the road to Winterfell to help defend the Seven Kingdoms from the threat of the Night King. However, it’s highly unlikely that Jaime and Cersei will remain apart for the entirety of the final season. The theory postulates that, eventually, Jaime will come face to face with his sister again and live up to his Kingslayer nickname by killing her in order to save the realm from her, much like he did with the Mad King so many years prior.
Several have also hypothesized that Jaime could be spurred to action in order to save Tyrion, who’s ever held the ire of Cersei and been in her crosshairs for the majority of the series. Whatever the reasoning, it’s entirely plausible that Jamie could fulfill this prophecy and end up being the Valonqar. If true, this could be the impetus for his moral reformation, if such a thing is even possible for a man such as Jaime.
However, Tyrion and Jaime aren’t the only options available to fulfill this prophecy. In fact, it’s just as likely, if not more so, that another character will end up being the Valonqar, if only for the show to continue the trend of breaking expectations. If this turns out to be the case, the likeliest candidate is none other than “The Hound” Sandor Clegane.
In regard to the trajectory of the series, this option actually makes a lot of sense. For starters, no other character is more synonymous with being a “little brother” than The Hound, except perhaps for Tyrion. Even so, a large chunk of the characterization of Sandor is that he was always in the shadow of his more physically impressive and well-known brother, Gregor. In fact, the motivation that drives the younger Clegane throughout much of the series is revenge against his older sibling.