"Goldenhand the Just": King Jaime Lannister I: (Spoilers Extended)

Background

It is quite often discussed how among the many changes from the original outline, that GRRM originally had Jaime Lannister becoming king. There is plenty of abandoned foreshadowing in AGoT for it as well. In this post I wanted to take a look at a quote(s) from ACOK that might have also been tied into this abandoned plotline.

If interested: Revisiting the Redacted Text in the Original Outline

Jaime in the Original Outline

From the original outline it seems that GRRM intended Jaime to not only battle Robb but also later become king:

Robb will win several splendid victories, and maim Joffrey Baratheon on the battlefield, but in the end he will not be able to stand against Jaime and Tyrion Lannister and their allies. Robb Stark will die in battle, and Tyrion Lannister will besiege and burn Winterfell.

and:

Tyrion Lannister will continue to travel, to plot, and to play the game of thrones, finally removing his nephew Joffrey in disgust at the boy king's brutality. Jaime Lannister will follow Joffrey on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, by the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession and blaming his brother Tyrion for the murders.

If interested: Abandoned/Changed Plotline: The Siege of Winterfell

Abandoned Foreshadowing from AGOT

As I mentioned A Game of Thrones is littered with abandoned foreshadowing about Jaime:

• Jon's Thoughts on Jaime's Appearance

Ser Jaime Lannister was twin to Queen Cersei; tall and golden, with flashing green eyes and a smile that cut like a knife. He wore crimson silk, high black boots, a black satin cloak. On the breast of his tunic, the lion of his House was embroidered in gold thread, roaring its defiance. They called him the Lion of Lannister to his face and whispered "Kingslayer" behind his back.
Jon found it hard to look away from him. This is what a king should look like, he thought to himself as the man passed. -AGOT, Jon I

• Jaime & the Hand of the King

“I do not like it,” a woman was saying. There was a row of windows beneath him, and the voice was drifting out of the last window on this side. “You should be the Hand.”
“Gods forbid,” a man’s voice replied lazily. “It’s not an honor I’d want. There’s far too much work involved.” -AGOT, Bran II

and:

"Why would you want me as your Hand, if you refuse to listen to my counsel?"

"Why?" Robert laughed. "Why not? Someone has to rule this damnable kingdom. Put on the badge, Ned. It suits you. And if you ever throw it in my face again, I swear to you, I'll pin the damned thing on Jaime Lannister." -AGOT, Eddard X

If interested: Orys Baratheon and Jaime Lannister

• Warden of the East (super important)

"Angry," Brynden Tully admitted. "Lord Jon was much loved, and the insult was keenly felt when the king named Jaime Lannister to an office the Arryns had held for near three hundred years. -AGOT, Catelyn VI

• Ned's Thoughts on Jaime after he slayed Aerys

"I cannot answer for the gods, Your Grace … only for what I found when I rode into the throne room that day," Ned said. "Aerys was dead on the floor, drowned in his own blood. His dragon skulls stared down from the walls. Lannister's men were everywhere. Jaime wore the white cloak of the Kingsguard over his golden armor. I can see him still. Even his sword was gilded. He was seated on the Iron Throne, high above his knights, wearing a helm fashioned in the shape of a lion's head. How he glittered!"

"This is well known," the king complained.

"I was still mounted. I rode the length of the hall in silence, between the long rows of dragon skulls. It felt as though they were watching me, somehow. I stopped in front of the throne, looking up at him. His golden sword was across his legs, its edge red with a king's blood. My men were filling the room behind me. Lannister's men drew back. I never said a word. I looked at him seated there on the throne, and I waited. At last Jaime laughed and got up. He took off his helm, and he said to me, 'Have no fear, Stark. I was only keeping it warm for our friend Robert. It's not a very comfortable seat, I'm afraid.'"

The king threw back his head and roared. His laughter startled a flight of crows from the tall brown grass. They took to the air in a wild beating of wings. "You think I should mistrust Lannister because he sat on my throne for a few moments?" He shook with laughter again. "Jaime was all of seventeen, Ned. Scarce more than a boy."

"Boy or man, he had no right to that throne."

"Perhaps he was tired," Robert suggested. "Killing kings is weary work. Gods know, there's no place else to rest your ass in that damnable room. And he spoke truly, it is a monstrous uncomfortable chair. In more ways than one." The king shook his head. "Well, now I know Jaime's dark sin, and the matter can be forgotten. I am heartily sick of secrets and squabbles and matters of state, Ned. -AGOT, Eddard II

• Golden Helm = Crown?

Not as strong as the others but:

Ser Jaime wore the white cloak as well, but beneath it he was shining gold from head to foot, with a lion's-head helm and a golden sword. -AGOT, Sansa II

If interested: Jaime Lannister's Character Arc Change

ACOK

Now if we look at this passage from Tyrion IX in ACOK we get a quote that seems to replicate what Jaime was going to do in order to achieve the throne:

Jaime Lannister will follow Joffrey on the throne of the Seven Kingdoms, by the simple expedient of killing everyone ahead of him in the line of succession

and:

"His Grace is but a boy. In the streets, it is said that he has evil councillors. The queen has never been known as a friend to the commons, nor is Lord Varys called the Spider out of love . . . but it is you they blame most. Your sister and the eunuch were here when times were better under King Robert, but you were not. They say that you've filled the city with swaggering sellswords and unwashed savages, brutes who take what they want and follow no laws but their own. They say you exiled Janos Slynt because you found him too bluff and honest for your liking. They say you threw wise and gentle Pycelle into the dungeons when he dared raise his voice against you. Some even claim that you mean to seize the Iron Throne for your own." -ACOK, Tyrion IX

Obviously this isn't the exact same thing but you can potentially seem remnants of what Jaime would have been doing (removing people/killing people that are in the way of him taking the throne).

Final Thoughts

And I theorized here (Some Thoughts on Jaime Lannister in the Original Outline) that Jaime was also responsible for the death of Joffrey/Sansa's child:

Each of the contending families will learn it has a member of dubious loyalty in its midst. Sansa Stark, wed to Joffrey Baratheon, will bear him a son, the heir to the throne

it should be noted that Jaime hasn't shied away from killing children as we see:

The man looked over at the woman. "The things I do for love," he said with loathing. He gave Bran a shove. -AGOT, Bran II

and:

"As I was fucking her, Cersei cried, 'I want.' I thought that she meant me, but it was the Stark girl that she wanted, maimed or dead." The things I do for love. "It was only by chance that Stark's own men found the girl before me. If I had come on her first . . ." -AFFC, Jaime IV

and:

Jaime got to his feet. "Your wife may whelp before that. You'll want your child, I expect. I'll send him to you when he's born. With a trebuchet." -AFFC, Jaime VI

If interested: Dead Branches in the Garden: Abandoned/Changed Plotlines of Ice & Fire

TLDR: It is well known that in the original outline that GRRM planned to have Jaime become king (which he gardened into Cersei). There is plenty of abandoned foreshadowing for this in AGoT. There is a quote from ACOK that has a small chance of being remnants of some of Jaime's actions after the death of Joffrey.