Even though he mostly kept mum, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau did drop a few bits and pieces about the upcoming season of Game of Thrones.
Warning: Although there are no spoilers in the interview, we will be referring to spoilers for Game of Thrones season 7 below.
Image via HBO/Helen Sloan
One wonders how difficult it must be to be a cast member on Game of Thrones. How often do you think they practice their answers for interviews in a mirror, since the questions are practically inevitable? Clearly, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau was prepared, although this interview with The Daily Beast was ostensibly about his film Small Crimes.
However, we suspect he may not have prepared enough. Let’s break down the interesting parts here, starting with his take on Jaime Lannister’s relationship to Cersei, specifically in reference to where they’re going after season 6 ended with her on the throne:
"“He has to accommodate [Cersei]. He’s done that his whole life, and he’s reached a moment now where he suddenly has to address it.”"
We’ll take the last it up there to refer back to accommodating Cersei. What does that mean? Well, in terms of spoilers, there’s said to be a battle for Highgarden and an ensuing ambush by Daenerys Targaryen’s troops to attack the Lannisters. Tie that back into the part in the interview where Coster-Waldau casually mentions that Jaime “has to step up and take his father’s place.” With both those things in mind, it seems logical to conclude that he’ll be back on the battlefield again, commanding the troops like Tywin did.
But “ his father’s place” could mean a lot of different things, couldn’t it? Cersei may be the eldest and thus has Casterly Rock, but if nothing else, Tywin Lannister could (sort of) control his daughter and block her from doing absolutely everything she wanted. Might Jaime step into that sort of role?
Alternatively, here’s the full context of that quote, again in the context of Jaime and Cersei’s relationship:
"“Plus, there are no other suitors. Well, that’s not true… but he has to step up and take his father’s place. Wow, I was about to reveal something from Season 7…”"
A spoiler aficionado’s mind may leap quite quickly to Euron Greyjoy when it comes to a suitor for Cersei. Euron may want to conquer Westeros, but isn’t conquering by marriage perhaps still more satisfying? Additionally, we do know that Euron will pay King’s Landing a visit. Jaime may very well oppose the match for any number of reasons, not the least of which is his love for Cersei.
Remember, Tywin did try and set up a match for Cersei after Robert Baratheon’s death. She didn’t like it much then. We suspect she’ll like it even less if it comes from Jaime this time, especially now that she’s Queen of the Seven Kingdoms (at least until someone overthrows her, which probably won’t take long).
Finally, Marlow Stern, the interviewer, shared his theory about how Cersei may die: at Jaime’s hand, protecting Brienne of Tarth. Coster-Waldau’s response?
"“[Grins] That’s a great theory.”"
That almost sounds like someone may have just gotten very close to calling something in the season ahead. That prompts a few questions, though, with the biggest being this: How would Brienne get involved enough to have Cersei presumably want her dead enough to actively try and kill her, perhaps even in Jaime’s presence? That really seems to be the only way that Jaime would protect her over his sister.
The last time we saw Brienne, she and Jaime were clashing over access to Brynden Tully at Riverrun. She’s still on Team Stark/Snow, so presumably she’ll return north. However, we know that Daenerys and Jon Snow will meet, so maybe Brienne’s part of his delegation, and in turn, they go parley with Cersei? It’s unclear at this point.
Next: Lena Headey Drops Double-0-Hints
What do you think Coster-Waldau was referring to when he said he’d nearly let a season 7 plot point slip? Let us know in the comments below.