25 reasons we love Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones

“Power is power”

In the grand list of great Cersei Lannister quotations, this one has to be near the top. Let’s take it all the way back to season 2, episode 1, where she squares off against Petyr Baelish. We all know Littlefinger has a talent for scheming and ferreting out information.

“Knowledge is power,” he tells Cersei, after alluding to her infamous relationship with her twin brother Jaime. (Is it any surprise he’d say that?)

She does not ask how he knows. She does not tell him not to tell anyone else. No, she takes a step back and commands her soldiers to seize Littlefinger. “Cut his throat,” she says. Just before it’s done, she says to stop. Her soldiers stop, because she’s changed her mind.

They step back and turn around on her command, and you can bet they closed their eyes too when she said so. Unfortunately, showing one of the soldiers closing his eyes would have made “The Rains of Castamere” way less imposing and way more hilarious.

Then, she steps close to Littlefinger and informs him of her own version of power: just straight-up power, including the ability to tell soldiers to do silly things like closing their eyes. As she walks away, he looks absolutely shaken.

Like many of her threats, it’s quite unsubtle, but it does get the job done, doesn’t it?