It’s Game on in Cersei’s battle for the Throne
Over at series 7 of Game Of Thrones, Cersei Lannister was busy summing up the current state of play. Sounding very much like the little voice Theresa May must have inside her head during every cabinet meeting, Cersei (Lena Headey) identified her main problems: “Enemies everywhere. Surrounded by traitors.”
I’d put Cersei’s chances of holding on to power in Westeros at about the same as the PM’s hopes of clinging on to the top job in Westminster.
As this low-key series opener made clear, there are some formidable opponents lining up to take her down.
To the North, despite some early sibling power play, Jon Snow (Kit Harington) and his half-sister Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) appear to be getting the old gang back together, while Arya Stark (Maisie Williams) has graduated from the Faceless Men’s charm school and has a one-on-one meeting with Cersei in her sights. The biggest threat, though, will surely come from Dragonstone where Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) has landed with her navy and her three dragons.
In the gripping climax to the episode, we saw her silently run the rule over the deserted and dusty family home. However, when she finally spoke, I’m fairly sure her three words “Shall we begin?” had nothing to do with giving the old place a Changing Rooms-style makeover.
Having said that, Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen would fit right in on this show. He’d certainly look less out of place than Ed Sheeran, who popped up leading fellow soldiers in a sing-song.
It was a bizarre cameo, but it didn’t spoil the episode. I do worry where such things might lead, though.
I fear we may be mere weeks away from Jon Snow sending a raven to David Hasselhoff, inviting him to sing Looking For Freedom astride the wall.