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Game of Thrones: Cersei & Daenerys, A Tale of Two Mothers

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As the first Game of Thrones season comes to a close, two of its most powerful women, Cersei Lannister and Daenerys Targaryen, are found to be seeking power in their respective roles as queens, in vastly different ways.

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Contributor: stile
stile  

Interesting article, as always. I'm not sure I agree completely with your characterization of Cersei's relationship with Jaime...admittedly, in the show, she hasn't had enough time alone with him for us to see anything but the sexual side of their relationship, but I think there's a lot more to it. Even in their very first scene, at the vigil for Jon Arryn, Cersei showed him more warmth than she's shown any other character, at any point...like Renly and Loras, they have one of the healthier relationships in the entire series, but they also have to keep it a secret because of the taboo. Martin is fond of irony...

It's debatable exactly how healthy their relationship is, of course, but I think she definitely cares about Jaime for much more than his cock, as you put it. In the books at least, both twins comment more than once that the other one is the only person in the world who really understands them.

06/22/2011
Contributor: tryin
tryin  

@ stile

I don't know how far into the books you've read, so SPOILER. I think that Jaime probably legitimately loved Cersei. He claims to have been faithful to her all his life and seems crushed when he sees what she really is in the fourth book. Cersei's attachment to Jaime, on the other hand, seems mostly like an exercise of her own vanity. As soon as he leaves on campaign she takes up with Lancel and whoever else she feels like, and when he returns maimed she loses interest and breaks his heart.

06/22/2011
Contributor: Aubrey Sitterson

Thanks ya'll!

I've actually read all of the published Song of Ice of Fire books, so it's completely possible that I'm reading more (too much?) into some of Cersei's actions, using the motivations laid out much more clearly in the novels.

That said, even separating myself from that extra information (as much as I can at least), I think there's abundant evidence on-screen that Cersei doesn't really care about Jaime as much as stile thinks. Tryin brings up a great point in that as soon as Jaime is gone from King's Landing, his sister takes up with Lancel, her cousin, who is like a bad, lo-fidelity reproduction of Jaime. Again, the book gets more into this, but I think it's fair to see this as evidence that Cersei isn't so much in love with Jaime as she is with herself, as the two are twins. In the books they are said to look EXTREMELY similar, though I guess a lot of that is lost with the casting of the television series.

06/23/2011
Contributor: Aubrey Sitterson

AND, another tangential point:

Cersei's love comes from a place of narcissism, which runs pretty much exactly contrary to the giving, sacrificial nature of motherhood. While Cersei only loves those who are reflections of herself, Dany is willing to do anything to save her husband, takes gruesome vengeance on the woman who killed her man and her son and literally walks through fire to claim and nurse her new surrogate children, the dragons.

06/23/2011

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