Cersei Lannister is someone fans love to hate. Heartless and cruel, she has a sharp tongue and a taste for one too many glasses of wine. She lives up to her last name by being prideful, merciless, cold, and cunning. She's not as clever or politically apt as her father or younger brother but still manages to score significant victories that eventually lead her to sit on the Iron Throne.
Cersei speaks her mind without care or concern for other's feelings. She adopts a direct approach and is not afraid to make a few enemies along the way. And while she's mostly a villainous figure during her tenure in Game of Thrones, there are times when her malice is not only justified, it's actually refreshing.
Westeros Is Pretty Awful
In Westeros, it's kill or be killed, something Cersei knows better than anyone. When Oberyn Martell visits King's Landing during season four, Cersei approaches him to discuss Tyrion's upcoming trial. With her daughter, Myrcella, in Dorne, Cersei laments how she hasn't seen her in a year and says she chooses to believe Oberyn when he says Myrcella is happy.
"We don't hurt little girls in Dorne," he says, proud and certain. Cersei simply stares back at him and, defeatedly, responds: "Everywhere in the world, they hurt little girls." It's a sad truth, one that Oberyn can't deny, and the audience knows to be true.
Loras Is Prettier When He's Silent
During season four, Tywin forces Cersei to marry Loras Tyrell, to cement the Lannister alliance with the House of the rose. Cersei protests, but in the end knows she won't win a fight against her father. Resigned to her fate, she goes along with the charade, plotting under her breath the whole time.
Loras, trying to make things easier, approaches her. "Well, my father once told me..." he begins, but she cuts him off immediately. "Nobody cares what your father once told you." She then leaves, leaving the Knight of the Flowers flabbergasted. Many people wish they could be this direct, but good manners and propriety always win, as they should.
Pycelle, The Creep
Grand Maester Pycelle pretends to be old and sickly to inspire trust and convey vulnerability. In reality, he's cunning, cruel, and capable of a lot more than anyone dares think. Pycelle knows that people often find him repelling, something he uses in his favor to navigate King's Landing.
When Cersei finds him harassing a young girl during Margaery and Joffrey's wedding feast, she intervenes. Sending the girl away, she reminds Pycelle that she is the Queen, and can make life very difficult for him. "I never meant to annoy anyone," Pycelle retorts, but she's had enough of him. "But you are. You're annoying me right now. Every breath you draw in my presence annoys me." Pycelle then leaves, embarrassed and probably furious.
Cersei, President Of The Unhappy Wives Club
While Cersei has a very adversarial relationship with Tyrion, she shares some of her most vulnerable moments with him. On one such occasion, she goes to mock his future wedding to Sansa, but the conversation quickly turns into a confessional.
"An unhappy wife is a wine merchant's best friend," she says as she pours herself a large cup. She advises him to give a child to Sansa so that she'll have "some happiness in her life." He then defies her logic by asking her how happy she is, even after three children. Cersei concedes and admits she's not very happy, but they're still the reason she's alive. It's a real moment of vulnerability and honesty for her, and the audience sure loves hearing about her demons.
Joffrey, The Monster
Just like with Tyrion, Cersei shares a complex relationship with Sansa Stark. Because of the prophecy she received as a child, Cersei mistrusts Sansa, and even enjoys torturing the girl. However, there are times when the two actually bond, realizing just how similar their situations are.
When Sansa and Cersei talk about the prospect of the latter giving Joffrey children, Cersei adopts a softer, even maternal tone as she explains her own experiences with pregnancy. She retells how Jaime was there with her, supporting her every step of the way. "Joffrey will show you no such devotion," she then says, quietly, ashamed even, knowing what kind of man her son is. To hear her admitting this out loud is almost cathartic.
The Nature Of The Gods
While the Baratheon forces, led by Tyrion, defend King's Landing from Stannis' army, Cersei, Sansa, and the rest of the noble ladies and children are locked in Maegor's Holdfast. An increasingly drunk Cersei begins to loosen her tongue with Sansa, telling her some of the harsher truths about what being a Queen truly means.
When Sansa confesses she is praying "for the Gods to have mercy on us all," Cersei mocks her innocence. "The Gods have no mercy, that's why they're Gods." Religion is a big part of people's lives in Westeros, but considering how cruel and merciless their world is, Cersei might actually be up to something.
Putting Tywin In His Place
During Cersei's last confrontation with her father, she tells him she will not marry Loras and will instead stay on King's Landing with Tommen. She says both Tywin and Margaery will rip her son apart, something she won't allow.
When Tywin doesn't yield, Cersei then threatens him, saying she'll reveal the truth about what's really going on between her and her brother. "Everything they say is true, about Jaime and me. Your legacy is a lie." Tywin, one of the smartest characters in the show, of course already knew this. His pride, however, didn't allow him to accept it and instead made him stay in blissful ignorance. To see Cersei actually deal him such a low blow is quite satisfying.
Oh, But It Was
During Cersei's climactic confrontation with Ned Stark in season one, the honorable fool decides to reveal to her that he's aware of the truth that Jon Arryn died for. He even goes so far as to warn her to run away with her children, because Robert's wrath will follow her everywhere.
"And what of my wrath, Lord Stark?" she asks. "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die. There is no middle ground." Of all the characters in the show, Cersei, Sansa, and Arya are perhaps the ones that were underestimated the most, and their enemies paid dearly for it. Here, Ned should've really listened to her, and the audience knows it.
Shame. Shame. Shame.
To atone for her sins, Cersei is forced by the High Sparrow and his fanatics, to do a Walk of Atonement, in which she parades around the streets of King's Landing, naked. Septa Unella walks behind her, ringing a bell and proclaiming "Shame! Shame! Shame!"
The traumatized Queen takes time to recover, before retaliating. She burns the Sept of Baelor, with the Sparrow and all his followers inside. Septa Unella receives an even harsher fate, being tortured by the monstrous Gregor Clegane. As Cersei walks out of the cell, she repeats the words that were said to her: "Shame. Shame. Shame." It's a shocking, even cathartic moment, and despite all her diabolical deeds, it really is something to watch Cersei get her revenge.
Roasting Herself
Cersei is not self-aware. Her foolish pride blinds her to her worst traits, which is why it is so great to hear her admitting her own faults. After her Walk of Atonement, she's confined to the Red Keep and stripped of her power while she awaits trial. Knowing she can't beat the Faith Militant by herself, she asks Olenna Tyrell for help.
"I made a terrible mistake," Cersei admits, eyes watering and voice breaking. "I delivered an army of fanatics into our footstep." While Cersei brought all that upon herself, it's still wonderful to watch her humbled and regretful of her actions, even if just for a fleeting moment. As it turns out, it would be the last one. From then on, Cersei crossed a line from which there was no return, becoming the show's ultimate antagonist.