First, I should let you all know that this is not a recap of tonight’s episode. If you’re looking for a full recap of the episode, there are several sites out there they can give you the play by play. Instead, this is just to vent my thoughts on one particular scene that took place between Jaime and Cersei that has struck a chord throughout the realm. It’s here that I will warn you, there be spoilers ahead, so consider yourself warned.
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Still with me? Ok good. If you’ve read the books, you know I’m talking about Jaime / Cersei Sept sex scene. In the book, A Storm of Swords, the scene takes place upon Jaime’s return to King’s Landing. It’s the first time he sees Cersei, while she’s keeping vigil over Joffrey’s body in the Sept where he’s laid out. The scene in the book was consensual, even though it ends on a sour note when Cersei sends Jaime away and is disgusted by his maiming. It’s a pinnacle scene for many reasons, namely because this makes Jaime realize that things back home are not the same and he’s not the same man who left King’s Landing.
I was actually looking forward to seeing how this scene would play out and it happened in tonight’s episode. Instead of representing the scene like the book, it played out in the worst possible way. It played out like a rape scene. And that is NOT ok. The second Cersei tells Jaime to stop, the air was sucked out of the room and the scene turned into something ugly. Well…uglier than incest is to begin with that is.
There’s a piece posted by The Daily Beast in which Nicolaj Coster-Waldau explains the motivations behind the scene, but that explanation doesn’t make it any better for me. I’m not the only one either. There have been several postings on Tumblr already that are slamming this scene and all that it represents. While I agree with most, this one stands out because it seems to slam the actor for the choices that the writers made. Which is also not ok.
I think it’s important to remember the actors are doing their job when they film these scenes, AND when they’re giving interviews. The writers undoubtedly knew that this scene was going to create some waves and I don’t think it’s unrealistic to think that actors are prepped for the press when it comes to answering questions about these kinds of things. It’s not Nicolaj Coster-Waldau’s fault this scene was written this way, it’s the writers. That’s who I place 100% of the blame on. I’m curious to know what NCW private thoughts are on this and how different it is compared to the book. Unfortunately that isn’t something we are going to find out any time soon. It makes me sad when I see actors getting blamed for things that the writers do. Unless they’re a producer, they most likely don’t have a lot to say on the matter. I’m wondering what GRRM thinks. He has a hand in the show, so he had to know the whole context of this scene had been changed. Why George? Don’t have a veto you could have used?
The thing that worries me the most is what this means for Jaime’s character going forward. Jaime Lannister was a pompous asshole at the beginning of the series, but has become one of my favorite characters. The transformation he went though on his journey back to King’s Landing was so well written, and so well acted and the bath scene monologue still gives me goosebumps. My heart broke a little tonight because no matter who the character is, rape is not ok. The writers made a grossly bad call by portraying this scene in this way. Shame on you D.B Weiss and David Benioff. Not cool. Not cool at all.
****UPDATED****
Last night I tried to find my copy of A Storm of Swords, but then I remembered I had lent it to a friend. If you’re curious about this scene as it plays IN THE BOOK, you need only check out the photo below, which the Tumblr account Fire and Lunch so graciously posted. If you read it, you’ll also find that Cersei, in fact, encouraged sex with Jaime and at no time did she even hint that she wasn’t a willing participant. What the fuck are the writers of the show thinking? The more I stew on this the angrier I get. The A.V Club posted a great piece about this as well that goes into much more depth about show vs. book and also cites a few other examples as well. It’s worth the read so be sure to check it out.
**** UPDATE 2****
Vulture got in touch with Alex Graves, the director of last night’s episode, and had him run it down for them. In the interview he talks about his take on the scene and why they shot it the way they did. Based on what he says in the interview, I’l have to go back and give the episode a re-watch, which I do every week anyway. I’ll be paying special attention to the specific points he brings up, especially how he says that by the end of the scene, it was consensual because I didn’t see it as being consensual AT ALL. Check out the interview in the link above to read the full interview. Thanks to @KierstenKrum for pointing me to that piece.
George RR Martin even weighed in on the scene. While he doesn’t directly address the choices the writers and director of the episode made, he does offer a little insight.
