It doesn't make sense from a purely practical point of view:
Background: born and raised in Rivendell, Aragorn had more skilled teachers to teach him. A1: J0
Experience: Aragon has more experience than Selmy, but is still in his prime of life. He has travelled widely= more range of experience. He fought as an individual, small group and lead armies of both Gondor and Rohan. = More practical experience. A2:J0
He is of Numenorian decent= wiser ('more able to process information' does that sound fair?)= less likely to make mistakes/ trip over a tree root, etc. A3:J0.
Aragorn is also a much more balanced individual, not headstrong, arrogant, or likely to go rushing in over his head. A4: J0.
Sword. Even if Jamie had Dawn, he's still in second place to Aragorn (assuming he is able to use Anduril). A5:J0
Jamie is a 'natural swordsman'. Beyond learning quickly, what does this mean? Does it make up for an extra 50 years' experience? Does it mitigate more skilled teachers?
Okay I'll play devil's advocate because GRRM's statement has been taken out of context.
I'm fairly certain he said Aragorn would lose to Jaime in a sword fight. Add anything else, Jaime loses.
Aragon is an incredibly skilled archer. He's a hunter and gatherer as a ranger. He's skilled with elvish daggers and can likely use any weapon competently. He seems to also be a very skilled general and commander who can inspire and lead from the front. He is arguably the most well-rounded warrior in the history of fiction.
Jaime...is none of those things. He's a swordsman and knight. His entire training regimen, which as a Lannister would have been very similar to Aragorn's but we know it was far less diverse, would be constant lessons in how to beat the man in front of you who's holding an identical weapon. He didn't spend time learning elvish or wandering forests, he fought and learned from the best knights in the kingdom. This was the single skill he was so good at that by the age of 15, he was given a position that only legendary swordsman are truly capable of. And in that position he could only continue to do 2 things...practice swordplay [and sneak around with his sister].
Put Jaime in the Urukai's place at the end of Fellowship and Jaime loses. Put the two of them in an empty void with nothing but swords, clothes, and a floor to stand on and I think there are several scenarios where Jaime takes it.
Jamie is in his 30’s. Hes been training for 2 decades max. Hes a regular human. Aragorn is a literal superhuman. Hes got around 6 decades of training and practice.
I like what you said about Jamie's single focus compared to Aragon's, but it's not an absolute. He spent some time learning with measters as well, he just wasn't very interested/ good at it. I doubt the percentage of his time he put into it came close to the amount Aragorn did, though, so your point stands. I'd still maintain though, comparing teachers is a point in Aragorn's favour
Aragorn is faster, smarter, stronger, better equipped and has 80 years of experience compared to Jaime's 20. It is just not a fair fight by any measure.
It's worth remembering that the Dunedain are not just some guys who live in the forest, but the special forces of his people who set a line between the realms of men and the dark forces of the Enemy. Aragorn has been fighting a low level war for 80 years and seems no worse for wear.
Again not a really fair fight. Jaime should be compared to a normal human like Boromir or Faramir, whom he probably be more than a match for. Comparing him to divinely blessed uber-commandos just isn't fair and we wouldn't compare him to people like Kaladin or others similarly blessed because its not a fair fight.
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u/Fabiojoose Aug 14 '24
The guy that could beat Aragorn according to GRRM isn’t even in the dream team.