Hold me at gunpoint and my favourite Game of Thrones character will still be Cersei Lannister

Game of Thrones gave us many characters to hate, but Cersei Lannister was my favourite character of the show, despite her being the most ruthless villain. Almost nothing shook this character, not even the death of her three children. While she does grieve them, we rarely see her break or lose herself.

Cersei lost her mother, loved the man she wasn't supposed to, got married off to a man who loved another woman, lost her children, and later got humiliated in front of the common people of King's Landing, and still became the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the author's personal opinions.

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Game of Thrones' Cersei Lannister was more than just a villain

Lena Headey's Cersei Lannister was one of the most formidable villains in Game of Thrones. But she was also a passionate mother, lover, and one of the most powerful women Westeros had ever seen. Born as Lord Tywin Lannister and Joanna Lannister's eldest child, she was the twin sister of Jaime Lannister and also the older sister of Tyrion Lannister. Belonging to House Lannister, she was raised in Casterly Rock.

Game of Thrones showed us that Cersei lost her mother when she was merely four, when Joanna died giving birth to Tyrion, and Cersei forever blamed her younger brother for her mother's death. This made her hate her brother long into adulthood, and the two of them never got to mend their differences. Cersei shared a completely different relationship with her twin brother, Jaime. At a young age, they started an incestuous relationship, which continued even after her marriage to King Robert Baratheon I.

In Game of Thrones, the three children she bore, who were recognised as Robert's, were in reality Jaime's. Robert Baratheon fathered many children, but none of them were legitimate, and the only woman he loved was Lyanna Stark, whom he couldn't marry. This was another reason Cersei chose Jaime over Robert, even after getting married to him.

As one can guess, incest wasn't accepted at this point in Game of Thrones. While marrying brothers and uncles was common among the Targaryens in the past, the news of Cersei having children with her brother, Jaime, would have ended in her getting killed. Hence, she went to extreme lengths to protect herself, Jaime, and her children.

You can hate Cersei as much as you want, but she was an amazing mother. While she wasn't an ideal one, and committed heinous crimes, she did everything she could for her children. To protect her children and make sure they sat on the Iron Throne, Cersei imprisoned Eddard Stark after he tried to reveal the truth of Jeoffrey's parentage to everyone. This was a monumental move as it led to Jeoffrey ordering Eddard's execution.

Cersei also got Robert Baratheon killed before someone could tell him of Cersei and Jaime's incestuous relationship. She made Lancel Lannister influence Robert to drink more than usual during a hunt, which made him more vulnerable. That, along with a boar's attack, killed Robert.

In Game of Thrones season two's first episode, The North Remembers, Cersei also ordered the City Watch to track down and kill all of Robert's bastards, to make sure no one else can claim to be his heir.

One of Cersei's biggest mistakes in Game of Thrones was to give the High Sparrow his power back, which led to the re-establishment of the Faith Militant. Cersei did that to make sure the Tyrells were no longer influential, as the new unchecked power of the High Septon led to the arrest of Margaery and Loras Tyrell.

But this plan backfired and Cersei was arrested as well for sleeping with her cousin Lancel Lannister and for orchestrating Robert's death. Septa Unella tortured her mercilessly, which she may have deserved, but due to the grandeur of the character and her power, I felt bad for Cersei. In Game of Thrones season five, episode ten, Mother's Mercy, she was humiliated and made to do a walk of shame, naked, through the streets of King's Landing, while Septa Unnella chanted,

Shame

People threw stones and dirt at her, calling her names, and one even spat at her. However, she had the biggest revenge moment in Game of Thrones season six's final episode, The Winds of Winter.

As everyone was awaiting her arrival at the Sept of Baelor for her trial, Cersei blew up the Sept with wildfire, killing hundreds of people and eliminating the Faith Militant, Margaery, and Loras Tyrell. Cersei sipping on her wine while watching the explosion is one of my favourite scenes from the show, as it highlighted how perfect and satisfying her revenge plan was. This scene was followed by her crowning herself the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

As cruel as she was, Cersei was a genius. Cersei needed a loan from the Iron Bank to hire the Golden Company and fight Daenerys' army. But the kingdom owed the Iron Bank a lot of money, which was hard to pay back. In a genius move, Cersei attacked Highgarden, not only acquiring all their gold but also eliminating the Tyrells. Besides, while the rest of Westeros was scared to fight the Targaryen princess who had three dragons, Cersei didn't bow down. She didn't care about the dragons and fought anyway.

While Cersei was manipulative and shrewd, she could not prevent the death of her children, which further made her the dangerous character she eventually became. Her oldest son, Jeoffrey, was killed by Olenna Tyrell, who poisoned his drink. Cersei's second son, Tommen, killed himself after his wife, Margaery Tyrell, died in the explosion of the Sept of Baelor.

Ellaria Sand blamed the Lannisters for her lover, Oberyn Martell's, death, as Cersei chose Ser Gregor Clegane as the one to fight Oberyn at Tyrion's fight by combat. That fight caused Oberyn's death, and Ellaria killed Cersei's daughter, Myrcella, by poisoning her through a kiss.

I honestly thought losing all her children would make her at least a little vulnerable, that perhaps, she would have nothing to fight for. But she does. She fights anyone and everyone on her path, including Daenerys and her unmatched army. She fights till her last moment in Game of Thrones, and even in that moment, in the Red Keep, in Jaime's arms as she is pregnant with another child, she tells him,

"I want our baby to live. I want our baby to live. I want our baby to live. Don't let me die, Jaime. Please don't let me die. Please don't let me die. I don't want to die. Not like this. Not like this. Not like this."

Cersei drew her dying breath in Jaime's arms as the two died by being buried by debris caused by Daenerys' destruction of King's Landing through Drogon.

Game of Thrones is streaming on Max.

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