Cersei has been a villain since Game of Thrones began. Tyrion once told Cersei that her one redeeming quality was that she loved her children.
Cersei’s reckless moves and boundless ambition have always been checked by the limits of her power and a desire to keep her family safe.
Those limits, along with her children, are gone. Now the queen, she has more power than ever and nothing left to lose.
She is letting her brother banger flag fly. She is destroying great houses and making overtures to foreign powers unilaterally and without hesitation.
Many assumed that with her children all dead Cersei would finally slip into the madness she has always teetered on.
However last night’s Game of Thrones, Eastwatch, introduced an interesting new wrinkle; Cersei is pregnant.
Or so she claims.
Cersei has always been her own worst enemy, making decisions that give her some satisfaction in the moment, but ultimately blow up in her face. Pregnant or not, this may be the beginning of the end for her.
As Melisandre will tell you, prophecies are a tricky thing. And while the entire prophecy wasn’t introduced on the show, the prophecy by Maggy the Frog about Cersei has been right on the money so far.
The big part of the prophecy people have been anticipating (and was left out of the scene in the show) is Cersei’s death at the hands of the valonqar (little brother), who people speculate will be Jamie.
A Cersei pregnancy, real or fake, may lead to the fulfillment of this prophecy.
If Cersei is pregnant and Jamie is the father, Cersei could die in childbirth. Joanna Lannister died giving birth to Tyrion as Cersei is so wont to remind him.
This sets a family precedent and if Jamie is indeed the father, this incestuous union could result in complications.
While Jamie wouldn’t be actively killing her in this situation, he did get her pregnant and her pregnancy ended in her death.
This would subvert expectations and give her a tragic end that would also destroy Jamie. A death in childbirth is not at all the comeuppance we want and expect Cersei to face.
Alternatively there is the possibility that Cersei is lying.
Cersei needs Jamie. Jamie is having doubts about their prospects in this war and his meeting with Tyrion is an alarming betrayal to her.
She sees enemies everywhere and paranoia is her constant state. But she still needs him. Jamie is a critical military strategist and commander that even Euron cannot replace. She has to keep him close using any means necessary.
Jamie now knows that Cersei doesn’t trust him and he is beginning to realize that he is being moved and toyed with the way Cersei would anyone else. Qyburn is now her right hand, not Jamie.
This distrust comes on the heels of Jamie being told how horrible Cersei is all season.
Olenna called Cersei a disease and said that she would be the death of him. And Bronn, never one to mince words, has made little offhand comments about Cersei.
These seeds of doubt have now been planted in Jamie’s mind. Cersei manipulating him only helps those doubts to grow.
Should Jamie find that Cersei’s lies and manipulation extend to faking a pregnancy, that may be too much for him to forgive.
A thousand tiny cuts to their relationship and a final slash to sever their bond for good. With one real and one golden hand around Cersei’s neck, Jamie would fulfill the valonqar prophecy in a moment of rage.
The Night King should be the final boss in this story, not Cersei.
That means that she is headed for a fall sooner than later. This pregnancy, real or fake, is quite possibly the beginning of that fall.
Game of Thrones airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO.