We all know GRRM loves history repeating itself, and there are lots of parallels between the main series and Fire and Blood. A few months ago u/SeeThemFly2 wrote a great analysis of the parallels between Jaime and “Kingmaker” Cristin Cole, but (queue Yoda voice) there is another.

Fair warning - this is bittersweet. I absolutely want meadows in Tarth but I looking at all options in case we don't get those books...If you're melancholy enough already give it a miss.

Tyland Lannister

Ser Tyland Lannister was a major player during the Dance of Dragons. He was the younger twin brother of Jason Lannister, the heir to Casterly Rock. They were both typical Lannisters - “tall, golden haired and dashing” - and they both vied for Rhaenyra’s hand without success.

Once the Dance of the Dragons broke out the Lannisters supported the greens, Jason leading the Lannister forces and Tyland serving on the small council as Master of Coin. In this role Tyland split the king’s revenue in four, hiding three parts of it, and using the fourth to fund the war. When KL fell he was captured by the blacks and subjected to horrific torture, blinding and disfigurement. Once released, he initially continued to support the greens, and went east to recruit mercenaries. He advocated some extreme measures, including that Rhaenyra’s heir, Aegon the Younger be executed to put an end to the fighting.

However, Aegon the Younger was eventually crowned as Aegon III, at 10 years old. Despite their past, Tyland was appointed as Hand during Aegon’s regency, and served him loyally for many years. Tyland even claimed that he couldn’t remember who had fought for the blacks and who the greens, and various of his actions angered both sides. Tyland’s face was so scarred and ugly that he had to wear a cloak to hide it, and thus he became known as the “the hooded hand”. His appearance was considered sinister and he ended up with a maligned reputation among the smallfolk and was never given the credit he deserved by anyone.

Tyland Lannister is often associated in fandom with Tyrion - the cunning second son, denied wealth and glory, yet a good Hand who did not get any credit for it. The parallels are obvious in terms of the Tyrion being vilified and judged because of his physical differences, and there are some other parallels in terms of Tyland going east to recruit mercenaries etc. The names are similar too.

However, there are parallels between Tyland and Jaime as well. They are both second twins, and both began as handsome, popular and talented perfect knights but then fell from glory, albeit one out of loyalty to his king, and the other both by betraying his to save the people of KL, and also by keeping a king's secrets. Granted, Jaime’s devastation did not initially involve physical torture, but it involed the destruction of his honour, and he did end up with an ugly reputation. His fall arguably continued until he lost his hand (arguably his ‘imprisonment’ extended from the time he executed Aerys to the time he freed himself in that white book scene). The loss of his sword hand was a catalyst for events that led to his break from unquestioned loyalty to Cersei and his family, just as Tyland eventually broke from the Greens.

Tyland’s appearance at court caused such disquiet that he took to wearing a cloak to hide his face, with Master Gyldayn describes as follows:

The veil he wore to conceal his disfigured face gave rise to the tale that the visage underneath was monstrous and evil.

Jaime wears a metaphorical ‘mask’ the protect himself from people’s judgement, albeit one he is learning to remove.

Further, according to archmaester Gyldayn, Tyland’s actions as when associated with the green sowed the seeds for Rhaenyra’s downfall, just as Jaime’s actions while a kingsguard arguably did for both Targaryans, the Starks, and maybe even Cersei. However, Tyland then “served Rhaenyra’s son well and faithfully as Hand”, just as many of us hope Jaime will work with Jon against the Others (or, I suppose, with Bran).

What does this mean for Jaime? Well, I don’t know, But it could mean a true bittersweet ending, where Jaime not so much swaps sides as transcends them. He works to do good for the realm, particularly through diplomacy, but at the sacrifice of his honour and reputation, and in circumstances where he will never receive the credit he deserves, much as Tyland did. And of course, just as only a few people knew the truth about Tyland, only a few people would know the truth about Jaime - with Brienne being the main one.

Tyland died of “Winter Fever”, a plague like condition that accompanied a long winter When he passed, Aegon III was holding his hand. He had ordered the gates of the city and the Red Keep closed to prevent the disease from spreading, but fell ill himself. “Winter fever” came with the cold, and could parallel Jaime dying fighting the Others, who bring the chill of winter. Perhaps, if there are indeed parallels, he stays behind to fight.

Of course, the parallels are not perfect, and we can all be confident that Jaime’s story will diverge in at least one way - he will at least know that Brienne loves him (although Tyland did have Aegon III and Eustace with him, a different kind of love, but real nonetheless). There are also many, many similarities between Tyland and Tyrion. But to the extent that history repeats itself and F&B hints at futures for characters in the main series, Tyland deserves a look as hinting at Jaime’s future. If nothing else, an argument could be made that just as Cersei appears to be a kind of a combination of Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower (mainly their worse traits lol), the similarities work the opposite way with Tyland, and he combines some of the traits and arcs of both Lannister brothers, such that his fate may also be shared between them.