Even in a show like of Game of Thrones, known for creating polarizing characters, Cersei Lannister was something else. She was at once the most powerful woman in Westeros and the most cunning, yet she could also be colossally short-sighted when it came to her children and her own ambitions. In some important ways, she was her own worst enemy.
However, she also seemed to have an acute understanding of the way that power works among the mighty and, as a result, she has quite a few great speeches about that subject. At the same time, she also has quite a few speeches that just don’t measure up.
10 Best: Her Speech To Ned About The Game Of Thrones
This is perhaps one of the best speeches that any character ever gave in the entire series. While Ned insists on obeying the laws of honor and dignity and responsibility, Cersei reminds him that there is really only one law, and it’s win, or die.
It’s a blunt and brilliant speech, and in many ways it's the thesis statement for the series as a whole (at least until the very end). It also reveals just how much Cersei understands the way that ruling works.
9 Worst: Her Blunt Assessment Of Varys
Though the show, as a whole, has some pretty great dialogue, there are a distressing number of times when one of the characters indulges in rather coarse talk for apparently no other reason to shock the audience.
Such is the case when Cersei indulges in some rather vulgar conversation about the reasons that many people fear Varys, most of which comes down to a certain lack that he has as a result of being a eunuch.
8 Best: Her Speech About Herself And Her Monstrosity
Cersei is one of those characters who remains something of an enigma. While most of the characters seem to delight in telling the audience who they are and what they’re thinking, Cersei usually holds her cards close to her chest.
In this case, however, she shows a remarkable amount of self-knowledge when confronted with Myrcella's death, in that she acknowledges that, in many ways, she’s a monster. At the same time, she also seems to have at least a little bit of regret about this fact (even if she doesn’t do much to change it).
7 Worst: Her Speech About Doing What She Wants Because It Makes Her Feel Good
At the same time, there are also some moments of Cersei’s self-examination that aren’t quite as good, and this speech is one of them. In this instance, she basically admits that she does all of the things that she does simply because it feels good (and this includes murdering her husband Robert). It’s not that the speech is written poorly, necessarily.
However, it does rather reduce this fascinating character to nothing more than one giant id, and Cersei is worth more than that.
6 Best: Her Recognition Of The High Sparrow’s Cunning
There’s no doubt that Cersei seems to take a lot of pleasure in developing hatreds and enmities with almost everyone in Westeros. She’s just one of those people who really does hate almost everyone.
However, even she has to admit that she’s evenly matched with the religious zealot who becomes known as the High Sparrow, and it’s rather refreshing to see her admit that, in some important ways, he’s managed to outwit some of the most powerful people in the Seven Kingdoms.
5 Worst: Her Speech To Joffrey About Enemies
One of Cersei’s most significant, and damaging, blind spots has to do with the way that she decided to raise Joffrey. She was so obsessed with being a mother to him that she sometimes forgot that it’s necessary to discipline one’s child.
In this case, she fed into his own paranoid imagination by reminding him that anyone who wasn’t already a part of House Lannister is an enemy. It’s hardly the best advice to give to someone who is going to have to rule over an entire kingdom.
4 Best: Her Sparring With Margaery
From the very first moment that they meet, it’s clear that Cersei and Margaery are going to be enemies. However, one has to give the latter credit for at least trying to make the appearance of friendship (Margaery always was cunning).
Cersei, however, has none of it, and after telling the young member of House Tyrell of the fate of those who defy the Lannisters, she bluntly informs her that if she calls her sister again, she’ll have her killed in her sleep. It’s pure Cersei, and it’s a speech that’s a true delight to watch.
3 Worst: Her Lacerating Speech To Jaime
If there’s one person that Cersei seems to love almost as much as she loves her children, it’s her brother Jaime. However, this doesn’t mean that she’s averse to criticizing him. In this brief but scathing speech, she basically says it’s his fault that their father (hardly the most loving paternal figure) died, since he was the one who allowed Tyrion out of prison.
Of course, this also highlights the fact that her unreasoning hatred of Tyrion is what set a lot of this in motion to begin with, so it doesn’t exactly paint her in the best light either.
2 Best: Her Speech With Oberyn
Seeing Oberyn Martell and Cersei Lannister speak to one another is one of those golden moments at which the series excels, and Cersei’s speech here is a good example of why she could have made such a good queen.
She’s cunning enough to realize that there is quite a lot that binds the two of them together (despite their vast differences), particularly the fact that neither of them was able to save the one that they loved (he lost his sister and she lost her son). It’s a brilliant moment, and it makes his later death all that much more poignant.
1 Worst: Her Metaphorical Speech About Weeds
If there’s one thing this show loves as much as political intrigue, it’s overusing metaphors. Almost no character is immune from this tendency, and that includes Cersei.
In one of her less inspired speeches, she refers to the many threats that she and the rest of the royal family are facing as a group of weeds that might strangle her in her sleep. It’s a bit of an overdone sort of metaphor, and one could have wished for a better speech for Cersei to give on the subject.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3c2VR9l
0 Comments