Summary
After the Stark host was decimated at the Red Wedding, the man behind the massacre - Tywin Lannister - invited the finest Volantene smith with the know-how of how to rework Valyrian steel. He gave assent to reforge House Stark’s greatsword, Ice into two swords, and presented the first to his son, Ser Jaime Lannister inGame of Thronesseason 4, episode 1 “Two Swords.” Jaime regifted this sword to Brienne of Tarth while the second blade went to Joffrey as a wedding present at a breakfast held in his honor.
While a Lannister apologist may argue that House Lannister was at war with the Starks, and free to divide the spoils between its members; Ice was a historical sword, spell-forged in ancient Valyria and had beenin the Stark familyfor hundreds of years. Tywin wasn’t a man of honor but the cutthroat head of the House who wouldn’t let anything stand between him and his desire to build a legacy for his children. Oathkeeper went from Jaime to Brienne, but what became of Widow’s Wail after the Purple Wedding inGame of Thrones?
Oathkeeper And Widow’s Wail
The first of thetwo swords obtained from Ice, Oathkeeper was used by Brienne in Sansa’s service as sworn protector and later as Lord Commander to King Bran. As for its sister blade - Tywin presented it to Joffrey on his wedding day inGame of Thronesseason 4, episode 2 “The Lion and the Rose,” saying:
Oneofonly two Valyrian steel swordsin thecapital,Your Grace,freshly forgedinyour honor.
Joffrey excitedly drew the blade and used it to hack Tyrion’s copy of Maester Kaeth’s ‘Lives of Four Kings’ into pieces. Besides giving his sword the inauspicious name - Widow’s Wail at a guest’s suggestion, using it to hack a book is the most the boy king got out of it. Grand Maester Pycelle, present at the breakfast, warned the amateur swordsman, Joffrey to be careful with his blade, and it took him several tries before he managed to destroy Tyrion’s book completely. Later inGame of Thrones' “The Lion and the Rose,” a massive ceremonial pigeon pie that contained actual pigeons was brought out atJoffrey and Margaery’s wedding feast. The vicious boy king used Widow’s Wail one last time to slice its crust open. A laughable swordsman, Joffrey decapitated some of the birds inside with his sword and only a few were able to take flight. Joffrey was killed at his own wedding feast later, but Widow’s Wail wasn’t buried with him. It was last seen beside his corpse in the Great Sept of Baelor.
Jaime Lannister Wields Widow’s Wail
Jaime wielded Widow’s Wail after Joffrey’s assassination. The sword reappeared inGame of Thronesseason 7, most notably duringthe Sack of Highgarden. After the sack, Jaime met with the only Tyrell alive, Lady Olenna to give her death by poison. She noticed his sword and remarked:
That was Joffrey’s sword. Wasn’t it? Not that he ever used it. What did he call it?
While Olenna assumed Jaime was about to kill her with Widow’s Wail, he brought out a vial of poison and poured it into her goblet of wine. While returning to King’s Landing, Jaime used his sword to fight Daenerys Targaryen’s Dothraki horde inthe Battle of the Goldroadwhich took place at the crossing of the upper waters of Blackwater Rush. He fought valiantly inGame of Thronesseason 7, episode 4 “The Spoils of War” but lost to Dothraki and Daenerys atop Drogon.
Grey Worm Confiscates Widow’s Wail
Game of Thronesseason 7, episode 7 “The Dragon and the Wolf,” featured both Oathkeeper and its sister blade, Widow’s Wail when the opposite side, led by Cersei and Daenerys gathered for a negotiation in the ruined Dragonpit at King’s Landing. Jaime had Widow’s Wail while Brienne of Tarth carried Oathkeeper. Jaime also brought Widow’s Wail with him when he left King’s Landing to fight for the living side in the North. Grey Worm confiscated his weapon but returned it after the Warden of the North, Jon Snow let Jaime stay in Winterfell. Jaime fought inthe Battle of Winterfelland after the Great War was over, he left Brienne’s side to be with Cersei. He left in the middle of the night and brought the sword with him.
Widow’s Wail was lost before the Battle of King’s Landing as Jaime was arrested by Daenerys' men for trying to get past their lines. The Targaryen soldiers confiscated his weapon, and per the show,Game of Thrones, its exact whereabouts remain unknown. The interesting bit, however, is that bothWidow’s Wail and Oathkeeperwere obtained from melting down Ned’s Stark’s greatsword, Ice, and later, used to fight for his home.
