Lena Headey admits she wanted a better end for Cersei in Game of Thrones

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Even if you're one of those people who have never watched Game of Thrones, you're likely still aware that the final season of the HBO series has come under a great deal of criticism, with fans taking particular issue with rushed pacing and unsatisfying character arcs. It wasn't only fans of the series who walked away with a degree of disappointment when all was said and done, but several of the cast-members have also expressed disappointment with how their characters were handled.

While speaking the The Guardian, Lena Headey discussed how Queen Cersei met her end. As we know, the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones found Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) going dark side and laying waste to King's Landing, killing thousands, which included a few long-running characters. Cersei attempted to escape from the Red Keep long with Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), but they found their passage blocked. With no way out, the siblings/lovers embraced as the Red Keep collapsed around them. Was this the end which Lena Headey wanted for Cersei? Not quite. "I will say I wanted a better death," said Headey. "Obviously you dream of your death. You could go in any way on that show. So I was kind of gutted. But I just think they couldn’t have pleased everyone. No matter what they did, I think there was going to be some big comedown from the climb."

One popular theory making the rounds was that Arya (Maisie Williams) would be the one to take Cersei down, as the Queen had been on Arya's assassination list for many years. This was a confrontation which both Williams and Headey had been looking forward to, and both actresses have previously commented on feeling let down by not getting the chance to share the screen once more. "I just wanted to be on set with Lena again, she’s good fun," Williams explained. "And I wanted Arya to kill Cersei even if it means [Arya] dies too. Even up to the point when Cersei’s with Jaime I thought [while reading the script], ‘He’s going to whip off his face [and reveal its Arya]’ and they’re both going to die. I thought that’s what Arya’s drive has been." Headey added that she lived the fantasy of that Arya/Cersei ending until she read the script. "There were chunky scenes and it was nothing that I had dreamt about," Headey explained. "It was a bit of come down and you have to accept that it wasn’t to be. There is something poetic about the way it all happens in the end with her and Jaime."