The Film Fatale

Daenerys is strong, sure, and I admire that she embraces her role as Khaleesi and owns it. However I feel like she relies too much on her lineage, touting her succession as a Targaryen as reason enough to ascend to the Iron Throne. Shouldn’t she have to earn it? Being the “mother of dragons” defines her, when she should be defining what a mother of dragons is, if that makes sense. Daenerys reminds me of Padme Amidala from the Star Wars series, someone defined purely by their status or title. If you try to describe Padme without mentioning her title, you don’t really get much of a character. Try to describe Daenerys without associating her with her dragons and what else is there? 

I find Cersei a much more compelling character. I can think of many attributes that have nothing to do with her being the Queen. She’s smart and resourceful (her political maneuverings and idea to use Wildfire to defend King’s Landing are good examples) and fiercely loyal to her family (especially to her children). She’s also, to me, a very sympathetic character, as evidenced by her drunken conversation with Sansa during the Battle of  Blackwater. She often comes off very lonely, isolated, and neglected, but she always manages to put on a strong front for the sake of protecting her family. And yet in the series she is supposed to be a villain, which is a shame, because I find her a much more multifaceted, interesting character than the rest. And this is where I go back to my original point in my other post about how women antiheroes like Cersei are impossible to find on television. They aren’t allowed to be antiheroes; instead they are villains. Honestly I would find Game of Thrones much more interesting if the Lannisters were the heroes of the story, particularly Cersei.