Game of Thrones: Did the Witch's Prophecy to Cersei Just Come True?
We’ve been waiting three seasons now to see if Cersei Lannister’s fate on Game of Thrones was preordained from the start — and now we have our answer.
To referesh your memory: Season 5’s premiere began with a flashback to a young Cersei demanding that a witch in the woods named Maggy tell her her future. Maggy warned that she might not like what she hears, but after tasting a few drops of Cersei’s blood, agreed to answer three questions. Cersei asked when she would marry the prince that she was betrothed to, and Maggy told her she wouldn’t marry the prince, but instead “the king.” We know Cersei grew up to marry King Robert Baratheon, so that’s one down.
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Let’s skip to the third question next: Cersei asked if she and the king would have children, and Maggy said the king would have 20 children, but Cersei would only have three. Those three children would find great success (“Gold will be their crowns…”), but also die prematurely (“… gold, their shrouds”). Yes, Cersei had three children — Joffrey, Tommen and Myrcella — and all have died, so that’s another checkmark in Maggy’s favor. (Although Cersei did also have a son with King Robert who died of a fever, so maybe we should deduct a half-point?)
As for the last prediction to be confirmed: Cersei asked if she’d be queen one day, and Maggy confirmed she would… “for a time.” But eventually, she’d be replaced by “another… younger, more beautiful” who would “cast you down and take all you hold dear.” When Tommen became king and married Margaery Tyrell, Cersei fretted that Margaery would be the one to replace her. But she killed Margaery herself at the Great Sept of Baelor — an act that led to Tommen taking his own life, by the way — so we know she wasn’t “another.”
But now, we know the “younger, more beautiful” woman that Maggy was referring to was actually Daenerys Targaryen, who set King’s Landing on fire, destroyed Cersei’s forces and eventually killed Cersei, her twin brother/lover Jaime and their unborn child when the Red Keep collapsed on top of them during the Dragon Queen’s siege of the city.
Watch Maggy’s original prophecy to Cersei here, and then hit the comments below to share your thoughts on the final reveal:
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