The 3-minute Game of Thrones scene completely changed the books and made Cersei Lannister much better

One of the best scenes of Game of Thrones – especially in season 1 – is a conversation between Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) and Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) that expands on the books in a brilliant, emotional way. A lot has been said about the failures of Game of Thrones‘ Ending and how it got to this point, with the crucial moment when it overtook George RR Martin A Song of Ice and Fire Books (mostly from season 6, although season 5 started the adaptation struggles).

with The winds of winter Delay, losing the plan that had guided the first few seasons was a big blow. However, even so far as Game of Thrones In season 1, David Benioff and DB Weiss showed that they can do more than just adapt the books, but also add to them. The conversation between Robert and Cersei in episode 5, “The Wolf and the Lion”, where they reflect on their marriage, is a long-standing favorite of mine, and shows not only how the writers can invent things, but one element that is Missing when it took over the books.

Robert & Cersei’s wedding talk is a perfect Game of Thrones scene

The conversation wasn’t in Martin’s first A Song of Ice and Fire book

Game of Thrones Season 1 is largely a faithful adaptation of Martin’s first book, A game of thronesAnd hit the necessary key beats (the White Walkers in the cold open; Ned Stark’s shocking death in episode 9; Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons born in episode 10, etc). There are, inevitably, some changes and omissions, such as:

• The Game of Thrones The timeline was changed by around three years, allowing the younger characters to age.

• Ross was introduced for the show’s infamous “sexposition” scenes.

• Robert Arryn’s name was changed to Robin, avoiding confusion with Robert Baratheon.

• Bran Stark sees a three-eyed Robb instead of a three-eyed crow.

It’s by no means exhaustive, and each change has its own impact, but it’s the addition of Robert and Cersei’s wedding speech that I always love to revisit. This is one of the few things the show does that I really wish was in the booksBecause it is so good. Game of Thrones is a family drama at its heart, amidst all the politics, fighting and dragons, and it’s essentially a marriage story that somehow manages to capture 17 years of hate, grief and sorrow in just a few minutes.

CERSEI: I felt something for you once, you know?

ROBERT: I know.

CERSEI: Even after we lost our first boy—for quite a while, actually. Is it ever possible for us? Was there ever a time, ever a…moment?

King Robert: No. Does this make you feel better or worse?

CERSEI: It doesn’t make me feel anything.

This scene is as real as the show gets. It strips away any sense of pomp, there’s no epic scale, just two people talking about their feelings in a brutally honest, raw way. Although it is short, it achieves several things:

1. It adds some extra backstory about the characters, such as their lost child and Robert’s enduring love for Lyanna Stark. Each line has years of history and weight behind it.

2. It reveals the truth of Robert’s love for Lyanna – that he loved the idea of ​​her more than anything: “I can’t even remember what she looked like. I just know she was the one thing I ever wanted.”

3. This adds to the world-building and lore of Lyanna’s own story with Rhaegar Targaryen, playing into the truth of Jon Snow’s parentage.

4. It perfectly establishes the lack of feeling between the twoWhich is why it was so easy for Cersei to have Robert killed.

All of these things add a lot to the show as a whole, even just from one scene. But they are pretty extras, and fundamental, It’s a brilliantly written, superbly acted bit of drama that’s incredibly human, and that’s when Thrones was at its best.

Why Game of Thrones Season 1 needs to be a Robert & Cersei scene

Game Of Thrones has to add more depth and humanity to both characters

One reason so many Game of Thrones‘ Cast of characters are so well-developed because the books are told from different points-of-view, putting the readers in their heads. In translating that to the screen, even though it doesn’t quite do the same narrative approach, it means there’s already a lot of detail, not only in terms of what they’re doing, but Why They do it. however, Robert wasn’t a POV character in the only book he appeared in, and Cersei didn’t become one until A feast for crows (Martin’s fourth book in the series).

Adding to this scene is, essentially, Game of Thrones Inventing its own point-of-view perspective for both of the characters it didn’t have from the source material. It adds so much depth to both of them: it’s one of the times we actually see the softer, less boisterous side of Robert, making him more than just the drunken king and a much more tragic figure, burdened by the weight of The crown. And devastated by the death of the woman he loved but never really had.

even more important, This is one of the most sympathetic and believable scenes Cersei has. She goes on to become one of the show’s most fascinating and complex characters, with more depth and humanity than in the books. She may be a villain, but a lot of the understanding of her character can be traced back to this episode and how it lays the foundation for the truth of her character, a tone that Headey played wonderfully.

The scene of Robert & Cersei is what later the Game of Thrones seasons lost

The show needs more of these smaller moments

Although I like the show all the way – even Game of Thrones season 8 – It is undeniable that the writing has lost a little something in the later years. So often, this is attributed to the lack of books, and that’s absolutely valid, but it’s also a choice to avoid moments like the one between Robert and Cersei in season 1. It’s not from Martin, so there’s theoretically no reason for this. A kind of writing to disappear only because the books were not written, and yet there is not so much of it later.

Season 8, episode 2, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” is the one that comes closest to feeling like the old Game of ThronesBecause it puts the focus on the character interactions. But there could have been more throughout the season: an extra scene with Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth, for example; Or, rather than cutting away from Tyrion Lannister wanting to hear Bran Stark’s story, actually showing it.

The smaller moments, the details, became elevated Game of Thrones To true greatness. The Robert and Cersei scene is a perfect example of how it was done, and what was lost later as it prioritized epic spectacle instead.