Feared queen. Fiercely protective mother. Cunning player in the Game of Thrones.
Or is she?
For someone that has gained a reputation as an undeniably-capable survivor, Cersei has also proven to be decidedly incapable of using her undoubted intellect when it matters, resulting in the death of her children, the safety of the realm, and her own dignity.
We’ve picked seven moments (one from each season) where Cersei has created more problems than she’s solved.
Season 1 - Cersei & Jaime at Winterfell
What happened:
This is an easy and obvious one - Cersei and Jaime’s inability to keep it in their pants results in Jaime shoving Bran out a window
The consequences:
Setting into motion the chain of events that culminates in everything in 'Game of Thrones'.
This extends beyond and before this moment of course. Jaime and Cersei had been sleeping with each other for a long time before 'GoT' started, and their continued love for one another sets the scene for the mayhem that Westeros has to deal with right up till Season 8.
Season 2 - Cersei Betrays Her Own Advice
What happened:
Cersei, in an uncharacteristic moment of self-reflection, tells Sansa that she should love no one but her children - revealing that Cersei will never have the bigger picture in mind, beyond how it affects her personally.
She almost immediately betrays her own advice by taking on Lancel as a lover (Jaime, father of her kids, will like that), getting very close to poisoning Tommen while drunk, and treating everyone that is in a position to help her children (Tyrion, Tywin) practically as enemies.
The consequences:
Here it is, the first step in Cersei destroying the Lannisters. Her continued alienation of Tyrion (and believing of false accusations against him) would drive him to hate his own family (Tywin did not help matters either) so much that he’d be willing to kill his own father (and work for the enemy).
This is the season where she starts driving Jaime away, while also setting up Joffrey to become cruel as she badly underestimates her capacity for controlling Joffrey’s impulses as she continued to indulge him (parents spoiling kids, eh).
Season 3 - Cersei vs Tywin
What happened:
Cersei whines to Tywin about Margaery getting her talons into Joffrey… resulting in Tywin rebuffing her, and driving Joffrey even more into Ms Tyrell’s arms.
She then compounds matters with her abject refusal to play ball (or sword, in this case) to marry Loras to strengthen the alliance between Houses Lannister and Tyrell.
The consequences:
Cersei ends up having Joffrey even less under control (as Margaery indulges his cruelty as a means of keeping him under her spell), resulting in a series of events that will eventually lead to his assassination by Olenna Tyrell and Littlefinger.
Cersei’s grasp on her children at this point (and their welfare) is getting extremely shaky.
Season 4 - Cersei vs Jaime / Cersei vs Tywin
What happened:
Here’s a two for one in the same season.
Here’s part 1 - Her steadfast refusal to listen to Jaime about Tyrion’s innocence in Joffrey’s death, choosing the Mountain as her champion in the trial by combat, and then letting that trial go ahead knowing full well that House Martell is in possession of Myrcella…
Part 2 - Cersei flat out tells Tywin, in a fit of pique, that she refuses to marry Loras because… she’s been sleeping with Jaime and has loved him all their life. She then threatens to destroy everything that Tywin has ever done to hold the realm and the family together by revealing all to the world.
The consequences:
This knowledge would be used against her in the future (Hello High Sparrow!), resulting in her imprisonment and leaving Tommen to be manipulated by Margaery. Her refusal to consider that Tyrion would never actually kill Joffrey results in House Martell swearing revenge for Oberyn’s death… and killing Myrcella instead.
Season 5 - Putting Friends in High (Sparrow) Places
What happened:
Cersei, in a desperate bid to gain control over the crown/Tommen/Margaery, installs the High Sparrow and the Faith Militant in positions of authority. She thinks she can outsmart the High Sparrow and his band of religious fanatics.
The consequences:
Plenty. Where do we start? Her basically handing power to a group of zealots that would then imprison her and force her into The Walk of Shame? Her pushing Tommen into Margaery’s arms even more by pretending to have Tommen’s interests at heart? Giving the zealots and Margaery so much sway over Tommen that she decides her on only course of action is...
Season 6 - The Destruction of the Great Sept of Baelor
What happened:
Wildfire. Explosions. Death. The High Sparrow, Lancel, Margaery, and many more (including innocent bystanders) all meet their end thanks to Cersei’s machinations.
The consequences:
Tommen jumps to his death after seeing the woman he loves go up in flames. Cersei has now lost all three of her children. So much for ‘love no one but your children.’
Season 7 - Agreeing to Marry Euron
What happened:
To cement an alliance with House Greyjoy and to get her hands on the Iron Fleet, she agrees to marry Euron. Yes, that’s right - Euron the Unbalanced, Euron the Mad Sailor, Euron the Nutjob.
The consequences:
This arrangement (which we now know also involves Euron hiring the Golden Company on her behalf) gives Euron considerable power over Cersei… including her actual physical self.
It beggars belief that she didn’t seek to hire the Golden Company herself (or have her own representative to sign the contract, before then engaging Euron to ferry them over), since it is now clear that the Golden Company signed a contract with Euron instead of her. How do we know this? Cersei giving in to his demands.
Tywin would never have allowed himself to be put into such a position.
Is Cersei an Idiot or Just Unlucky?
Her obviously human flaws make her a compelling character, of course - yet there are plenty of times when we just want to scream at her for failing to see the bigger picture and being so wrapped up in her own world.
Eventually, we believe the valonqar prophecy will come to pass… and Jaime will be the one to kill her.
The highly-anticipated final season of 'Game Of Thrones' will be invading your TV screen starting 15 April and you get to watch it the same time as the United States on HBO (Astro Ch 411, 431).
If you're not a fan of the series but you're afraid of being left out when your friends discuss how awesome that week's episode is, you can actually catch past seasons of the series on Astro On Demand and Astro Go. Here's the best part: all episodes on demand will be uncensored!
For more information, check out this link.