‘Game Of Thrones’: Who Is Queen Cersei’s Greatest Threat [Spoilers]
On Game of Thrones, the whole world is converging on King’s Landing to try to kill the newly crowned Queen Cersei (Lena Headey), but could her greatest threat come from within King’s Landing itself? Huffington Post has put out a new theory on who may bring about Cersei’s inevitable demise by the time Game of Thrones ends, and it’s most likely not who you think. Well, actually, this GoT theory has been around awhile among the book enthusiasts, but is now gaining traction and looking more likely after that season finale.
Spoilers for past episodes follow, as well as potential spoilers for the upcoming season of Game of Thrones.
The Starks certainly have plenty of reason on Game of Thrones to want to kill Cersei, and Jon Snow (Kit Harrington) is coming down from the north with his army to try to avenge the Stark name and the slaughter of most of his family. Snow would definitely like to get his hands on the mother behind the boy-king, Joffrey (Jack Gleason), who slaughtered his father directly, and indirectly caused the death of his brother and mother at the infamous Red Wedding. But Jon Snow has plenty of notches on his belt, so to speak, and plenty more to come in the upcoming battles not only for King’s Landing, but against the White Walkers. He seems destined to take out the Night King, and it’s likely Game of Thrones writers will want to spread out those big deaths and victories among the many deserving characters.
Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) certainly has Cersei on her Kill Bill-style revenge list, but she just avenged the host of the Red Wedding himself by feeding him his sons and then slashing his throat, so she can’t have Cersei, as well. That wouldn’t be fair with so many Game of Thrones characters wanting the honors, and that pretty much rules out the Stark clan and the warriors of the north.
In the south, Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) wants that Iron Throne, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill Cersei for it. While Daenerys is certainly capable of doing the wet work herself, why would you dirty your hands when you have a whole army and three dragons? Of course, her allies harbor a whole slew of people itching for Cersei’s blood on their hands, including her new advisor, Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage).
This is where things get interesting, because Game of Thrones fans should not forget that witchy prophecy by Maggy the Frog that predicted that Cersei would outlive all of her children. But Huffington Post reveals that in the book, there was a little bit more to that prophecy that was left out in the TV series.
“And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands around your pale white throat and choke the life from you.”
“Valonqar” is High Valyrian for “little brother” or “little sibling.” Although the TV series Game of Thrones often differs from the books, this could hold the key to Cersei’s final fate and who delivers the final blow. While “little brother” clearly seems to point to Tyrion, that seems a bit too obvious.
Her other brother and the incestuous father of her children, Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), could arguably be considered “smaller” in nature as he is always pushed into a secondary role behind his twin sister, and especially now with her becoming Queen. Given the look on Jaime’s face at the end of Season 6 when he watches his sister take the Iron Throne, it’s fair to say their special relationship may be on the rocks, to put it mildly. But could he really be driven to kill her?
Jaime has already been a Kingslayer once before, but could he become a Queenslayer? Game of Thrones writers love cruel irony and Jaime as the valonqar serves up a heaping helping if GoT writers go that route. Jaime slayed the Mad King when he wanted to torch the whole city with wildfire, and now Cersei has used that very wildfire for a massive slaughter that drove their son Tommen to suicide. Although she didn’t burn the whole city, in a sense, Cersei’s use of the wildfire for mass murder reversed the sacrifice Jaime made in killing the King. That choice brought the shame of being known as the Kingslayer by those who had no idea that Jaime actually saved them and was a hero. There’s some cruel irony for you.
Another form of cruel irony could lead to perhaps the most satisfying twist for Game of Thrones fans. Cersei has lost her children, and Jaime is about the only person she has left in the world, although she takes him for granted. In fact, she has been rather abusive to him, as noted by Reddit poster sparkledavisjr. Among other things, Cersei doesn’t even send word to Jaime about the death of their son, then names Qyburn as her right hand instead of Jaime. That’s a whole new level of cold, even for Cersei, as summed up by sparkledavisjr.
“Many people theorize that Jaime will end up being the valonquar because of Cersei’s Mad King antics. However, I think his reasons will be a little more subtle than that. I feel that Cersei, intentionally or not, is marginalizing and alienating Jaime in a way that will destroy their relationship forever.”
Yeah, the marginalizing thing probably won’t help their relationship, but that whole mass murder thing and the suicide of his last son seem a bit more likely to send Jaime over the edge.
But going back to cruel irony, there is no other character left in Game of Thrones that Cersei remotely cares about, except having the Mountain to protect her. To be killed by the very man she loves, who has fathered her children, and is the last person she would suspect of ending her reign and her life? Sweet, sweet justice that would be for such a wicked queen.
But just ask yourself one question, Game of Thrones fans. If the book prophecy says the valonqar chokes the life out of her with his hands, how does a man with one hand do that?
[Image via HBO]
