Cersei Lannister’s most chilling Game of Thrones quote arrived early in the HBO series, and it predicted the show’s ending eight years in advance. That makes sense, as it perfectly captured the story’s perspective on power. Cersei may not have been the wisest Game of Thrones character to grace the screen, but she was savvy enough to secure the Iron Throne — and in many ways, she embodied the series-wide struggle for it best. She understood what it took to claim and hold onto the crown, and she leaned into that unapologetically.

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