Game of Thrones - Neverending Lannister Drama

I have been kind of confused at Jaime’s identity crisis as he goes from forcing himself on Cersei near the corpse of their son in the sept to visiting Tyrion as requested (Podrick visits Tyrion one last time to offer some items that will help while awaiting a trial and sentence, with Tyrion telling him to get out of King’s Landing so he can be safe) and giving Brienne his Valyrian steel sword (made from Ned’s sword and a gift from his father he feels, it seems, unworthy to yield), wanting her to take Podrick as her help/assistant and find Sansa so she can be protected. Jaime can’t seem to convince Cersei that Tyrion is innocent, attempting to rationalize and reason with her to no avail. She can’t listen through her melancholy and rage…Tyrion is all she sees during her grief as the murderer. Sansa is also a focus of her fury, demanding she be found, with a reward of knighthood offered to anyone who does. Littlefinger implies (as does Lady Olenna to her daughter, Margaery) to Sansa while they chart their course for Lysa’s castle, the sister of Catelyn his part in Joffrey’s demise. Sansa, bewildered, wonders why he would be involved in such an assassination when Tywin has rewarded him with Harrenhal and surrounding lands. Littlefinger, in full confidence with a devious, cunning grin, assures her unpredictability and not always being so transparent with motives or involvement is an asset…allies that are powerful and kept secret from those who believe he’s aligned to them could result in further attaining his own growing stature in Westeros. Sansa, it does appear, is a major component in Littlefinger’s rise in the ranks from nothing to significance. But in Westeros the best laid plans often meet great difficulty. In regards to Jaime, you can see he has this dark side that seems to emerge when Cersei is on his mind or near him while someone honorable and decent escapes from behind the dark curtain when around Tyrion or Brienne. Jaime told Brienne he doesn’t want to be called Kingslayer by her when quite ill within the company of Roose Bolton before returning to King’s Landing. Tyrion assures Jaime that he wouldn’t kill Joffrey, even as he doesn’t mourn his death. Tyrion and Jaime within the dungeon as the trial is looming (Tywin enlists Mace Tyrell and convinces rival, Oberyn, to serve with him as Tyrion’s “judges”) clearly have an affinity for each other. Tyrion is right when he proclaims to Jaime that there could all kinds of evidence and even a confession by the real killer and Cersei would still want him dead. And with few allies available to him, Tyrion seems like he’s on an island. Bronn, his former sellsword, cannot visit him, Podrick will leave with Brienne, and Jaime is indebted to his father and sister. Shae is no longer there, either. Poor Tyrion does seem to be all alone. Varys is said to be on the list to testify against Tyrion, even! Thanks to Tyrion, though, Jaime has a partner to practice swordplay in order to shore up his weaknesses without his “good hand”, trying to adapt to the left hand with help from Bronn. And with all of that going on, there is still Margaery hoping to manipulate Tommen into her good graces before Cersei can turn him against her before a marriage of the Lannisters and Tyrells. Tommen, still a youth, has no chance of defying Margaery’s very convincing nature…she’s a natural at persuasion. Tywin, hoping to somehow ease the tensions between the Lannisters and Dorn, even offers a small council position to Oberyn and a meeting with The Mountain. Tywin, ever the diplomat with need for some alliances, convinces Oberyn that he didn’t order The Mountain to rape and kill his sister. Tywin knows that forces are collaborating against his family and needs all the help he can get. Oberyn realizes this as well.