August 24th, 3:17am August 24th, 3:17am Abhinav Pathak22, Game of Thrones geek, Passionate Fiction Writer and the author of ‘Gopalkant’s Wife’.
In our last post, we discussed the much-hyped Cleganebowl Theory and its possibility in the final season of Game of Thrones. The same is the case with the Valonqar Prophecy which foreshadows Cersei Lannister’s death at the hands of the Valonqar, which in High Valyrian translates to ‘little brother’. Read on as we explore the possibilities of it happening in the final season and who will possibly play the part.
The Prophecy:
#Maggy’s prophecy in the TV series:
The opening scene for the Fifth Season follows a younger Cersei and her friend Melara paying a visit to a woods witch in Lannisport. She wakes up the witch – Maggy the Frog and asks her about her fortune. Maggy asks for a taste of Cersei’s blood and allows her to ask three questions.
“I’ve been promised to the prince (Rhaegar Targaryen). When will we marry?”
“You’ll never wed the prince. You will wed the king (Robert Baratheon),” replies Maggy.
“But, I will be queen.”
“Oh yes. You’ll be Queen for a time…then, comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear.”
“Will the king and I have children?”
“No. The king will have twenty children and you will have three…”
“That doesn’t make sense…”
“Gold shall be their crowns and gold their shrouds,” ends Maggy with an evil laughter.
The woods witch clearly answers all the questions Cersei asks her by saying she’ll never marry Rhaegar Targaryen but the King – Robert Baratheon. She’ll be the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms for a time until she is usurped by a younger and more beautiful one. Cersei believes them to be either Sansa Stark or Margaery Tyrell. She also gets a clear view of the only three children she’ll have (except for the one yet to come) and their fates. But, the show missed out an important part of the prophecy described in the books, perhaps deliberately.
#Maggy’s prophecy in the books:
In the books, Cersei enters Maggy’s tent with two of her friends – Melara Hetherspoon and Jeyne Farman. Maggy allows her to ask the three questions to which she replies in a similar except she gives her the Valonqar prophecy. She ends by saying:
“And when your tears have drowned you, the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.”
Cersei’s friend – Melara too, in desperation, asks her if she’ll marry Jaime Lannister. To this, Maggy replies:
“Not Jaime, nor any other man, Worms will have your maidenhead. Your death is here tonight, little one. Can you smell her breath? She is very close.”
It is believed by some fans that Cersei likely killed Melara after finding out that she loved her brother Jaime. So, far in the TV series, we’ve seen that most of Maggy’s prophecies for Cersei have come true. All her children are dead too.
Who is the Valonqar?
“Valonqar” in High Valyrian means little brother. But, can it be a genderless noun in the language just like the noun for the prince/princess in the Azor Ahai prophecy, pointed out by Missandei in the episode ‘Stormborn’? Let’s have a look at Maggy’s words once again.
“…the valonqar shall wrap his hands about your pale white throat and choke the life from you.”
The prophecy clearly says that Cersei‘s death is destined at the hands of the Valonqar, who is definitely a male – ‘his’ clearly hints at this. In the books, Cersei believes that the Valonqar in the prophecy refers to her brother Tyrion and hates him for that. The same can be said for the TV series as well.
But, could the Valonqar refer to someone else. We’ve got a few others, who can have a hand in orchestrating Cersei’s death in the final season:
#Jaime Lannister:
There was a time when Jaime could do anything for his sister – we’ve seen that in the ending scene of the pilot episode. But, over the years he has gained some honor. Though he blindly supported his sister in the first half of the last season, he abandoned her to honor the pledge he made to Daenerys and Jon Snow. We also know why he killed the Mad King and gained the infamous title of Kingslayer? And, since Cersei has lately turned into the Mad Queen herself, it can be assumed that Jaime will be the one put an end to her tyranny.
#Euron Greyjoy:
Euron Greyjoy met Cersei for a potential alliance with House Lannister in the first episode of Season Seven. He offered her his entire naval army only in exchange for an alliance of marriage which Cersei hasn’t approved of yet. But, the way he proposed to her can be a possible hint towards him being the potential Valonqar. He said:
“Ever since I was a little boy I wanted to grow up and marry the most beautiful woman in the world. So, here I am with a thousand ship and two good hands.”
Euron has done evil deeds in the past. He killed his own brother – Balon Greyjoy, and it is entirely possible for him to do the same with Cersei using his ‘two good hands.’
#Cersei’s unborn child:
Cersei has gone too far in the power game that even Jaime doesn’t matter to her anymore. She was ready to have him killed by the Mountain; despite he was the one she had got by her side. She told him “There’s one more yet to come.” But, who knows maybe, Cersei will die because of a miscarriage and the unborn one would be the ultimate demise of her. S/he may be the one fulfilling the Valonqar prophecy as s/he is the youngest of all of Cersei’s children.
#Arya Stark:
Arya Stark’s name may sound irrelevant in this list but, we all know that she’s a trained faceless assassin, who can take on anyone’s face and identity. We all saw how she took on the face of Walder Frey in the opening scene of the seventh season and wiped out the entire House Frey. Besides, Cersei Lannister is one of the last persons present on her kill-list. It is highly possible that Arya would wear a face and assassinate Cersei finally taking her off her list and ultimately fulfilling the Valonqar prophecy and her story arc.
Is the Valonqar prophecy still relevant?
Seeing the current events and the upcoming Great War, the Valonqar prophecy for the demise of Cersei may seem a bit vague and a smaller concern. The war between the Living and the Dead holds the uttermost importance. Game of Thrones has walked past the political drama over the years but, yet it is based upon the play of power and authority. And, Cersei is the ultimate human-antagonist after the Night King and the only war that would have mattered in the first place was for the Iron Throne. Maybe, Cersei won’t die at the hands of the Valonqar but, yet her demise is inevitable.
So, who do you think is the Valonqar? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
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