Game of Thrones is known for its prophecies, and Maggy the Frog’s foretelling of Cersei’s future is one that’s been frequently debated by fans. But did it come true?
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the fifth episode of Game of Thrones‘ eighth season.
In the fifth season of Game of Thrones, we learned of a dark and terrifying prophecy about Cersei Lannister.
We’ve detailed the prophecy here, but we’ll offer a quick recap below of what witchy ol’ Maggy the Frog foretold for the sole female Lannister.
- Cersei would marry a king (Fulfilled by Cersei marrying Robert Baratheon)
- Cersei would become queen (Fulfilled again by marriage)
- A “younger and more beautiful” woman would cast Cersei down (Fulfilled by Margaery Tyrell marrying Joffrey and then Tommen, becoming queen)
- Cersei would have three children and “gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds” (Fulfilled)
The final part of Maggy’s prophecy — “When your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you” — is by far the darkest, as it foretells Cersei’s death. It is also the most discussed portion of Maggy’s prophecy specifically because of the word valonqar, which is Valyrian for “little sibling.”
This final portion of the prophecy has had fans guessing at who would be the one to kill Cersei for seasons, and most fans expected that Tyrion or Jaime would do it in the end. Tonight’s episode, however, proved them wrong. Both Tyrion and Jaime actually make the attempt to save Cersei from Daenerys’ wrath — proving that they’re just about the only two people left in Westeros who still care for her.
Arya was also a likely contender for the valonqar prophecy, as she’s the younger Stark sister. Cersei has been on Arya’s list of names since season one, and the little wolf made it all the way to the Red Keep to kill the queen tonight. Luckily, the Hound talked her out of walking to her death in the process. But his doing so also made it clear that Arya wasn’t the valonqar either.
So, did the final part of Cersei’s prophecy actually come true? It’s hard to say.
She definitely wasn’t killed by any of the likely valonqars, but Daenerys is the younger of the two Targaryen siblings who escaped Robert’s rebellion. It’s a stretch to say that having Daenerys drop the Red Keep on the former queen fulfilled the valonqar prophecy, but it’s possible…
It’s also possible that Maggy the Frog was wrong. Prophecies are iffy to begin with, and we know they don’t always come to fruition in Westeros. Ultimately, it will probably be up to the viewers to decide whether Cersei died the way Maggy predicted. It certainly wasn’t the way any of us were expecting…
Game of Thrones final episode airs next Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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