Tuesday, June 9, 2015

On Cersei

Spoilers for the book and speculation regarding (as yet unbroadcast) Season 5 Episode 10 follow.  Also note that while I will discuss both versions of Cersei (as she appears in the books and the show), I am primarily focused on show-Cersei.

So, is everyone pretty much creaming themselves for the Cersei's upcoming Walk of Atonement or what?  Those of us who read the books have known it was coming, the conclusion to one of the oddest and most cartoonish character arcs in the story: Cersei's transformation into a pyromaniac lesbian with penis envy and a side of paranoid schizophrenia.  The show has treated her more humanely--in fact, it always has.  Cersei is the one character who is more real and given more depth and motivation in the show than in the book: one of Season 1's great scenes was a wholly invented conversation between Robert and Cersei.  I wonder if this is due to the actress: Lena Headey is undeniably charismatic, and her portrayal goes a long way towards humanizing the character.  The screenwriters know they are creating scenes for her, specifically, to perform and I wonder if this has influenced how they write for her.  Whatever the reason, she is more in the show than the reductive dumb psycho bitch she is in the books.

Not that that's stopped us from enjoying seeing her locked in a cell, beaten with a ladle, and forced to lick muddy water from the floor.  Not that that's stopped us from positively salivating at the upcoming naked march through the city.  Time to see the slutbag get what's coming to her, right?

Well, no.