Warning: This article contains major spoilers for Game of Thrones season 7 episode 5 'Eastwatch'.
In this week's Game of Thrones episode, Cersei dropped a happy bombshell on her brother/lover Jaime – that she was expecting once again. And this time, she doesn't intend to hide the fact that the baby will be born out of incest.
But is this necessarily a good thing for Cersei? And is she even telling the truth?
What was the meaning of Maggy's prophecy?
If you've read all the books, then you'll probably know that fans have long suspected that Cersei could be pregnant for a fourth time. That's despite the fact that (in the books and the show) she was once told a certain prophecy from a fortune teller known as Maggy the Frog:
Cersei: "Will the king and I have children?"
Maggy: "Oh, aye. Six-and-ten for him, and three for you. Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds, she said. And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you."
But wait, didn't Cersei already have three kids? Joffrey, Myrcella and Tommen? So, why did book readers think she'll get pregnant again?
In A Feast for Crows, Cersei points out how her clothes had got tighter. It read: "Her wretched washerwomen had shrunk several of her old gowns so they no longer fit. Cersei had ordered the value of the gowns deducted from the women's wages, a more elegant solution."
Some readers had argued over whether that meant Cersei was pregnant, or had just gained weight due to her love of wine. She can't blame the washerwomen forever. However, what's happening in the books doesn't necessarily mean the same is happening in the TV show.
If the Maggy prophecy is to be believed, then chances are Cersei will not be able to carry the child to term. Plus, in the books, there is a passage that foreshadows a huge grief for the Queen:
"To break her fast the queen sent to the kitchens for two boiled eggs, a loaf of bread, and a pot of honey. But when she cracked the first egg and found a bloody half-formed chick inside, her stomach roiled."
Could this break Cersei?
If she is pregnant, and if she suffers a miscarriage, then this could be the catalyst to finally breaking Cersei after the loss of all three of her children.
In the first episode of this season, Jaime attempts to confront her over the death of Tommen and their other children, but she doesn't allow herself to grieve – not yet, at least.
In a behind-the-scenes interview about the episode, DB Weiss said: "All that's ever mattered to Cersei is her children. And, in relatively short order, Cersei has lost all of her children. She now is in a very dark place, and all she really has left is power for the sake of power."
David Benioff added: "What is Cersei without her children? What prevents her from being a monster? The answer is nothing."
If Cersei is on a slow-burning path to pure unhinge-ness, then losing yet another child would be the thing that tips her over the edge. She seemed to soften slightly when talking to Jaime about potentially meeting with Daenerys or Tyrion about the White Walkers, perhaps because she has seen hope for a happy future again. If that hope goes, so does the softness.
Could Cersei be lying?
There's a chance that she is beginning to sense that Jaime is starting to grow wary of her, so what better way to keep him invested in her cause?
Jaime made it clear that he doesn't believe their army can beat Daenerys and her dragons. He also reveals that Tyrion didn't kill Joffrey. This disappoints her, due to him not ruthlessly killing Joffrey's real killer, Olenna, instead offering her suicide by poison. Cersei also knows about Jaime secretly meeting with Tyrion, and how he now seems up for a truce with Daenerys.
Cersei is starting to doubt Jaime and his loyalty. But by telling him he's having another child, he won't feel the need to betray her.
"Whatever stands in our way, we will defeat it," she says. "For ourselves, for our house, for this." It's only then that she gestures toward her belly. It was as if she suddenly came up with the idea on the spot.
And would she really reveal to everyone that she is having a child with her brother? The 'sheep' would definitely not be happy with that, as Jaime himself pointed out.
"Never betray me again," she whispers to Jaime after revealing that he's going to be a father again. She could be saying all this to keep him on her side for as long as possible.
And if she really is pregnant, we wouldn't be surprised if we later found out that Euron has already had his way while Jaime was off fighting for her. She's not exactly been the most faithful of people in the past…
