Lena Headey opened up about her “mixed” reaction to Cersei’s fate on Game of Thrones, and we totally get it
Warning: Spoilers ahead for Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 5.
With only one episode left before the series finale of Game of Thrones, the HBO drama is pulling out all the stops. The latest episode, “The Bells,” which aired on May 12th, involved a level of carnage that was shocking even by Westerosi standards. Almost no one in King’s Landing was safe, and, in an emotional moment, Cersei and Jaime Lannister faced their doom together. Now, Lena Headey has shared how she felt about Cersei’s demise.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, published today, May 13th, Headey said that when she first learned how Cersei would die, she had a “mixed” reaction. She explained that she wanted her character “to have some big piece or fight with somebody.” But as she practiced the scene with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, who plays Jaime, her feelings began to change.
"The more we talked about it the more it seemed like the perfect end for her," she told EW. "They came into the world together and now they leave together."
“She starts off in this final season trapped in a web of her own making, as is usual with Cersei,” Headey also said. “She’s desperately unhappy and everything that’s happened becomes more real than it ever has for her. She starts to lose control of the situation. She’s destroyed every good alliance, connection, love in her life—she was always destined to be alone. And until the very, very last minute, she is, as ever, in denial of what’s actually happening.”
Headey added that she felt it was important that Jaime had “a chance at freedom” by being with Brienne and that he “finally liberated himself from Cersei.”
I think the biggest surprise is he came back for her, she said. “Cersei realizes just how she loves him and just how much he loves her. It’s the most authentic connection she’s ever had. Ultimately they belong together.
#GameofThrones star Lena Headey reacts to that King's Landing battle ending https://t.co/UzWYB8wuxJ
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) May 13, 2019
Headey makes a solid point about Cersei and Jaime going out together in the end (even if Cersei’s death defied the most popular fan theories). With the Lannisters out of the picture, we’re on the edge of our seats waiting to see how Game of Thrones will end once and for all…as much as we don’t actually want to say goodbye.
