It’s been four years since Game of Thrones ended, but the HBO fantasy drama lives on in the form of spinoff series House of the Dragon. Many fans didn’t like GOT’s final season, and the HBO series’ finale got some mixed reactions, including from CinemaBlend staff. Even some of the cast didn’t necessarily like how their stories ended, included Lena Headey.
Headey portrayed Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones and was in the main ensemble cast for the entire eight-season run. Cersei became the queen regnant of the Seven Kingdoms after all of her children died. She and twin brother Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) were killed during the Battle of King’s Landing, and Cersei was the last monarch to sit on the Iron Throne.
Now, Lena Headey has opened up about what she really thought of Cersei’s ending, and she told The Hollywood Reporter about wanting more for her character:
I think all of us did, to be honest, because you start trying to write the story yourself. And [Arya Stark actress Maisie Williams] and I would fantasize about a Cersei and Arya showdown; that she would come back as Jaime. That was our dream. But they made different choices.
That ending would have given out so much fan service and more. To see two fan-favorite characters battle it out one more time would have been entertaining. It’s a disappointment that it didn’t happen, but I guess that is what fan fiction is for. Headey coming up with her own ideas for Cersei's ending is a sign of how invested she was in the role.
Ahead of the Game of Thrones finale in 2019, Lena Headey revealed she initially had mixed feelings about Cersei’s Season 8 storylines. The queen was one of the many characters who died during the Battle for King’s Landing, and it was even worse for her since she was mostly off to the side for the beginning of the season. Headey admitted she originally wanted a big action sequence for Cersei’s final sendoff, but also said it was the “perfect end” since Cersei and Jaime were killed off together. To her, it only made sense that they went out together as they came into the world together.
Headey likely isn't the only one who likes to imagine a different ending. Game of Thrones is one of many shows that fell off towards the end, partly because some characters didn’t get the ending they deserved. Even four years later, it’s hard to not think about what could have or should have happened.
It's definitely too late for Cersei to get a different ending, but that's not the case for the characters on House of the Dragon. There is going to be a second season of the prequel series, which was able to film amidst the strikes. Fans will want to sign up for a Max subscription to rewatch Game of Thrones and check out its first spinoff. The ending may not be able to change for GOT, but you can always come up with one yourself.
