This Was the Most Unnecessary ‘Game of Thrones’ Scene

The Big Picture

• The scene depicting Jaime raping Cersei is the most unnecessary in Game of Thrones, as it serves no purpose in the plot or for the characters.
• The scene includes the issues of rape and incest while occurring in close proximity to their dead son, making it especially uncomfortable to watch.
• With no relevance to the plot and an inexplicable disruption of Jaime’s path to redemption, the scene seems to have been included for shock value.

Throughout its eight seasons, Game of Thrones always had a lot going on. With several ongoing conflicts and characters spread across the world, all competing for the ultimate goal of sitting on the Iron Throne, there was always something to watch. Yet even the massive scale of the story didn’t prevent some wasted time. Several scenes are just not important enough to the overall plot to justify their presence. While some of these unnecessary moments are at least entertaining, like Podrick Payne’s (Daniel Portman) inexplicable talent in the pleasure houses, others don’t even provide a laugh, often leaning into the graphic sex or overwhelming violence that gives the show its reputation. It’s unrealistic to expect every moment to be fully relevant to the overarching plot, but there should be standards. Some scenes are more than irrelevant, going as far as to hurt the show. The worst offender takes place in the Season 4 episode, “The Breaker of Chains,” between Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey).

The scene is a depiction of rape, which instantly makes it hard to watch. But that’s not uncommon for Game of Thrones. In this case, the extenuating circumstances add to the horribleness. When the scene begins, Cersei is grieving for her son, Joffrey (Jack Gleeson). Jaime enters to comfort her, but it devolves into him rapping his sister beside their son’s corpse. Not only is it obviously problematic, but the added issues of Jaime and Cersei’s incest and the proximity to their dead son make this worse than other such scenes. And as if that weren’t enough, it is detrimental to Jaime’s otherwise stellar character arc. This scene is Game of Thrones’ most unnecessary because it serves no purpose in the plot or for the characters except to disrupt Jaime’s path to redemption and degrade Cersei.

This ‘Game of Thrones’ Scene Has Many Uncomfortable Elements

The scene’s biggest and most obvious issue is that it depicts rape. Cersei rejects Jaime’s advances and repeatedly tells him to stop, but to no avail. The lack of consent is disgusting but not an anomaly in the series. Ramsay’s (Iwan Rheon) rape of Sansa (Sophie Turner) and Khal Drogo (Jason Momoa) and Daenerys’ (Emilia Clarke) wedding night are just a few examples of the show’s worst moments. But as horrid as they are, those scenes have some relevance to the story, unlike the scene between Jaime and Cersei. The relationship between the Lannisters, while incestuous, is otherwise always shown as a tight bond both happily participate in, and this moment doesn’t have a lasting impact on their relationship. In fact, after it happens, it’s essentially forgotten.

Of course, other things that make this scene uncomfortable, starting with the major issue concerning this particular pairing. Since they are twins, any Cersei and Jaime sex scene is icky. The incest of it all only compounds the problems with this scene, yet, setting aside that fact, there are still concerns. The most unique issue with this scene is the proximity to their dead son. While Joffrey isn’t exactly a prize, Cersei loves him. Her driving motivation is her children, and the loss of her precious son is an emotional blow. Yet as she mourns him, Jaime rapes her beside the corpse. Though he can not admit it, this is Jaime’s son as well, but instead of mourning, this is what he does. Each of these elements is problematic on its own, but together they do more than enough to make this scene almost unwatchable.

This Scene Doesn’t Fit With Jaime’s Story in the Rest of ‘Game of Thrones’

Over the course of the show, Jaime grows from the infamous Kingslayer to a much more sympathetic man. In the beginning, Jaime isn’t great, as he initiates most of the show’s conflict by pushing Bran Stark (Isaac Hempstead Wright) out a window for catching him and Cersei having sex. Though the show casts a gray light on him as he discusses his reasoning for killing King Aerys, it’s hard to argue that he’s especially noble. Yet after months spent away from his family, Jaime falls into the care of Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie). Though they initially don’t get along, she brings out a new side of Jaime, one who does good things for no benefit of his own. When captured, he deceives their enemies, convincing them Brienne’s father is rich and sparing her from being raped, all while losing his own sword hand in the process. Later, he risks himself rescuing her from the bear that would have killed her. Finally, he brings her to King’s Landing, ensuring her safety despite her connection to the Lannisters’ enemies. His journey with Brienne and the loss of his hand allow for the slow character development that makes him a better person if never truly a good one. Yet this scene with Cersei messes that progression up.

The scene occurs after his return to King’s Landing with Brienne. Though not completely reformed by any means, he’s not the villain he once was, but his actions in the scene do not reflect that. Usually, it’s Cersei’s influence causing Jaime to slip into bad habits, yet this cannot be blamed on her. Most of Jaime’s worst actions take place before he begins to change, but this interrupts the development. Certainly, it’s realistic to fall into old ways occasionally, but this moment doesn’t fit with the story or his character arc, making it worse than pointless.

Why Would ‘Game of Thrones’ Include This Scene?

This unfortunate moment serves no purpose to the plot or Jaime’s character, but it does show Cersei as a victim. Up to this point, there is little reason to feel sorry for Cersei, but this break of trust in a moment where she is already vulnerable would change that if it were not surrounded by her mistreatment of Tyrion (Peter Dinklage). But the show doesn’t do much to focus on that element of the scene, removing any argument for it based on Cersei’s character. Additionally, as the show moves forward, Cersei suffers in other ways that inspire more sympathy for her. So this scene is superfluous in that regard.

The only other reason this scene exists is because it happened in George R. R. Martin‘s book, but that version looks different. In the book, Cersei is worried about getting caught but seemingly gives in to Jaime. Though perhaps that narrative is tainted by Jaime’s perspective, the show portrays the encounter as non-consensual, and Jaime is aware of that fact, making it significantly worse. Game of Thrones had to cut many more important things from the novels, so why keep this supremely unnecessary scene? The lack of relevance makes it seem as if it was included for shock value, which is a poor excuse. Though it is shocking, the scene exists to the detriment of Jaime’s character development and is completely useless to the story.

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