Warning: spoilers ahead of the Season 7 finale of Game of Thrones, "The Dragon and the Wolf."
Season 7 of Game of Thrones has finally come to an end, and the stakes are higher than ever before for the folks of the Seven Kingdoms. While the biggest plot twists came at the very end of the finale with the definitive reveal of Jon Snow's heritage and the epic fall of the Wall, the action in King's Landing may have revealed an absolutely perfect way for Cersei to die in Season 8. The writing is probably on the wall for her character, and the Season 7 finale set up what could be the best way for her to meet her doom on the series, and it has everything to do with Jaime. Her dear twin brother could be the one to kill her.
For the first 66 episodes of Game of Thrones, Jaime Lannister was probably the one character least likely to end the life of his beloved sister. In fact, Season 7 practically cemented his devotion to her when she revealed that she's pregnant and she fully intended to acknowledge him as the father, meaning that he could actually raise one of his children for the first time. In "The Dragon and the Wolf," however, we saw some pretty big signs that Jaime will no longer be Team Cersei moving forward.
For one thing, Jaime walked out on Cersei in "The Dragon and the Wolf." When she revealed that her claim of alliance with Dany and Jon was a ruse to take them by surprise with thousands of Golden Company mercenaries being ferried to Westeros by Euron Greyjoy, Jaime was aghast that her immediate focus was not on the army of the dead. Her argument that they could wait until the victor of the Great War was determined since the White Walkers would assault the North long before they made their way down to King's Landing didn't sway her brother.
When Jaime indicated that he was willing to join Dany and Jon's fight against the White Walkers, Cersei went so far as to have The Mountain draw his sword on her brother. Jaime was clearly surprised at Cersei's action, but he stated that he didn't believe she'd have him killed for treason and walked out on her. Given that his departure came a short while after her declaration that no one walks away from her, we can bet that neither twin is too happy with the other right about now, and Cersei is already on her way to full Mad Queen status. We all know that Jaime has a history with dispatching mad monarchs.
That said, he's not exactly likely to deliberately and premeditatedly kill his sister when he believes she's pregnant with his child, and "The Dragon and the Wolf" indicated that Cersei really is pregnant and isn't just faking it with Qyburn to keep Jaime loyal. Still, Jaime is quite a strong fighter, even despite the loss of his sword hand. He could conceivably kill her in the heat of a moment, either in self-defense or in trying to restrain her. She's not as young as she was when she had her first three kids, and it's possible that her health will be more delicate with this pregnancy. Perhaps overexertion could be enough to kill her.
Then again, perhaps Jaime will be forced to fight back to prevent Cersei from attempting to circumvent that pesky prophecy from Maggy the Frog. A Song of Ice and Fire book fans will remember the valonqar prophecy from A Feast for Crows, which stated that Cersei would have only three children, be replaced one day by a younger and more beautiful queen, and be killed by her valonqar, a.k.a. younger brother. Many readers have assumed that Tyrion would be the younger brother to kill Cersei, given all the bad blood between them. The events of the Season 7 finale may point toward Jaime in the show being the little brother to end his sister, regardless of what the books may do.
Admittedly, Game of Thrones didn't include the line about the valonqar in Maggy the Frog's prophecy back in Season 5, so it's possible that the show simply won't use one of the Lannister boys to kill Cersei. That said, the Season 7 finale had Dany reveal that Mirri Maz Duur had claimed that Dany couldn't have children, which occurred in one of the books but never happened on screen on Game of Thrones. Season 8 could do the same thing with the Maggy the Frog prophecy and reveal that Maggy did indeed reveal Cersei's doom at the hands of the valonqar; we just never saw it. There's now a precedent.
In "The Dragon and the Wolf," we saw Cersei and Tyrion chat one-on-one for the first time in years. While Tyrion initially acknowledged that they both wanted to kill each other, he quite sincerely expressed his condolences for the deaths of Myrcella and Tommen. He loved his niece and youngest nephew, despite his dislike of their mother. So, Tyrion's realization that Cersei is pregnant with another child may point to his unwillingness to kill her while another niece or nephew is on the way.
If Tyrion resolves not to kill his sister until her child is born, he is out of the running as the valonqar. Maggy's full prophecy says that Cersei will never have more than three children; assuming Maggy's words continue to come true as they have so far, then that fourth child will never be born. Tyrion probably will not be the younger brother to kill Cersei, which leaves Jaime as the only remaining younger brother to fulfill Maggy's prophecy by killing Cersei.
Cersei's actions in "The Dragon and the Wolf" may point to her having Maggy's prophecy on her mind. She revealed to Tyrion that she was thinking of her family rather than her realm when she saw the wight come snapping at her in the Dragonpit, and she has always loved her children. If she's determined to give birth to a living fourth child, she may start taking as many steps as possible to make the rest of the prophecy impossible.
It's too late to stop her first three kids from dying, and the part about the younger queen taking her place came true with Margaery, but it's not too late for her to try and knock off her brothers before one can kill her. She let both Tyrion and Jaime slip away; the same may not be true if she encounters them again when she's further along in her pregnancy. What could be more tragic and twisted than Cersei trying to kill Jaime to protect their child, only to have Jaime kill Cersei? It would make for an amazing twist and an oddly fitting end to Cersei.
Of course, it's technically possible that Cersei will die in childbirth and Jaime will have inadvertently caused her death in the simply act of getting her pregnant. Who knows? Maybe it will still be Tyrion or somebody else entirely. We'll have to wait and see. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in Game of Thrones coverage, and don't forget to check out our fall TV premiere guide.
