Game Of Thrones Season 7: Why Cersei's Secret Is So Huge
What does it all mean for Maggy's prophecy?
Though it was notably lacking the stunning battle-field action of "The Spoils Of War" before it, "Eastwatch" was another great episode in this brilliant season of Game Of Thrones. It was the fastest paced yet (hence all travelling around Westeros taking about 14 seconds), with huge revelations, a major character return and a super-team-up that makes the Avengers look like a mothers' meeting over tea and cake.
There were a lot of big things in there to discuss, from Jon's meeting with Drogon to the announcement of Rhaegar Targaryen's marriage annulment and Arya's discovery of Sansa's apparent betrayal of her father, but one of the most significant was the reveal that Cersei Lannister is expecting another incestuous bastard by her brother Jaime.
All of that unlawful boinking had to lead somewhere, didn't it?
The ramifications of this news cannot be over-stated. This could be the information that will embolden Cersei to believe that she is invincible and will come out of the War as the victor, or it could be far more catastrophic for her than her joy suggested. Assuming she's actually pregnant, anyway.
There are two schools of thought here: either her pregnancy breaks the ominous prophecy laid out in her youth by Maggy The Frog, or it potentially confirms it.
How It Breaks The Prophecy
The death of Tommen basically looked like the final nail in Cersei's coffin, as all but the final, catastrophic part of the prophecy had been confirmed. She had wed the king by marrying Robert Baratheon, she was cast down and robbed of all that she held dear by Margaery Tyrell (and Dany, to be honest), the prophecy about her three children (and the king's bastards) obviously came true and so did that of their deaths.
All that was left was for the valonqar to choke her to death, regardless of who that actually turned out to be.
Now though, the pieces of the jigsaw are re-scattered. She has dealt with Margaery (even though she lost a lot in the process) and a child would break the definition of "all that she holds dear", and she would no longer have three children, so perhaps the final, fatal element won't be possible after all.
All of that is precisely why she's so confident in her intent to inform everyone that Jaime is her child's father: she feels untouchable, having effectively vanquished an unmalleable prophecy.
But that might not be the whole story, as it assumes the child survives...
How It Could Confirm The Prophecy
There is one element of the prophecy that could still fit with this situation, as long as Cersei loses the child. The final line reads:
And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.
There's no saying that the tears mentioned are related to the deaths of her previous children, and in fact, Cersei's self-consciously cold reaction to Tommen's death contradicted that relationship. She didn't allow herself to be drowned in tears - probably because of the ghost of the prophecy, so you could choose to accept that this part hasn't yet come true.
What if the tears that will drown her are to come after the death of her unborn child? What if the friction that was blossoming healthily between Cersei and Jaime causes an emotional reaction that leads to her losing the child and her grip on reality, in turn fulfilling the prophecy and also ushering her transformation into the Mad Queen at once?
Either way, that child is hugely important for the future of the Lannisters and Westeros.