Lena Headey Was "Gutted" Over How Game of Thrones Killed Cersei Lannister

The Emmy nominee says she wanted a better death

By Chris Harnick Jun 17, 2019 2:36 PMTags
Game of Thrones, Season 8, Episode 5HBO

Lena Headey knows your thoughts on what happened to Cersei Lannister on Game of Thrones, because she has some of the same ones.

In an interview with The Guardian, Headey touched on the criticism the final season of Game of Thrones received.

"I invested as a viewer and I have my favorite characters. And I've got a few of my own gripes. But I haven't sat down drunkly with David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] yet," she said about the series co-creators.

And Headey, who has been nominated for an Emmy for the role in the past, said she too wanted a better send off than Cersei got. Spoiler alert: She died under a pile of rocks with her brother/lover Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau).

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"I will say I wanted a better death," she said when asked what she'll address with Benioff and Weiss. "Obviously you dream of your death. You could go in any way on that show. So I was kind of gutted. But I just think they couldn't have pleased everyone. No matter what they did, I think there was going to be some big comedown from the climb."

Many viewers were hoping for a showdown between Headey's Cersei Lannister and Emilia Clarke's Daenerys Targaryen, or for Maisie Williams' Arya Stark to make good on crossing Cersei off her kill list. Instead, Cersei sought to escape the destruction of the Red Keep, and made her way underground, only to seemingly get trapped…Although her brother, Tyrion, had no problem navigating the catacombs and finding her body, there was plenty of space for him to move around in, why didn't she and Jaime just move?

Anyway…yeah, Headey wants to have that drunk talk.

After her death scene aired, Headey took to Instagram to say farewell.

"There she goes. It's been fun, and bonkers. I loved her. I am grateful for the opportunity. Massively thankful for your encouraging and supportive love along the way. And now her watch is ended (I know she'd never make it; Night's Watch wouldn't have her...but still…)," Headey posted along with several heart emojis.