'Water' Way To Go: Science Proves Jaime Lannister Should've Died On 'Game Of Thrones'

Uh oh, we've got that sinking feeling when it comes to that latest plot twist on HBO's Game of Thrones. With Season 7 kicking it up a gear in the action stakes, our most intense episode came courtesy of "The Spoils of War" as Queen Daenerys torched her Lannister forces. Among the possible casualties was #NikolajCosterWaldau's Jaime Lannister, who made a valiant charge at Dany before being plonked into the river and falling to an unknown fate.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait a while to find out if the Kingslayer had breathed his last — *cough* Jon Snow *cough* — as a spluttering Jaime emerged from the water in the opening scene of Season 7's "Eastwatch." However, while the #GameofThrones golden boy lives to fight another day, a small faction of the show's loyal fans are calling out the scientific accuracy of Jaime's survival. Sure, flying dragons and giant ice walls are acceptable, but heaven forbid that a man can swim in a suit of armor.

Drown and Out

Trading Jaime's fiery death for one at the hands of the Drowned God would've certainly been the biggest shocker of an already gobsmacking season, however, it wasn't meant to be. After Jaime made one of the stupidest moves in the Seven Kingdoms, he was saved when Bronn of the Blackwater — not quite Bronn the Dragonslayer — pushed Jaime off his horse and into the briny deep and then rescued him from that grave.

Courtesy of Refinery29 and filmmaker Michael Bergstrom, we can see just how slim Jaime's chances of survival would've actually been. A few years ago, Bergstrom filmed a video of himself trying to survive a swim in armor, finding that it was nearly impossible at a depth of only a few feet.

Sure, the water that Jaime galloped through didn't look that deep, but the closing scene of "The Spoils of War" showed him disappearing into the dark abyss. In Bergstrom's test, he found that he couldn't perform any kind of stroke, float on his back, or push himself to the surface when he entered water that was deeper than 5 ft. Even with the help of Jerome Flynn's Bronn pulling Jaime to the surface, the pair would struggle to get out of this alive thanks to the Lannister's heavy wardrobe.

Also, bear in mind that Jaime was proudly sporting his Kingslayer armor AND that substantial golden hand, meaning there was some serious weight dragging the duo down. However, with some 10.2 million people tuning in for Jaime's watery wonder, I don't imagine showrunners #DavidBenioff and #DBWeiss are too fussed with this minor detail.

Bran can survive his tumble from the tower, gold can melt is seconds on a Dothraki campfire, and Daenerys can land a dragon still with perfectly coiffed hair — apparently, science just isn't that big a deal in Westeros!

(Source: Refinery29)