What Cersei's Pregnancy Means For This Jaime Theory On 'GoT'

The writers of Game of Thrones love to drop unexpected plot twists on fans, and last Sunday's episode "Eastwatch" was no exception. From Drogon recognizing Jon as the Targaryen that he is to Sam straight up ignoring Gilly's important revelation, it felt like the writers were just dropping truth bomb after truth bomb. But perhaps one of the most significant facts revealed during the episode was that Cersei is pregnant with Jaime's child. Not only will this impact the trajectory of the Lannister plot line, but it might debunk one of the most popular fan theories regarding the Kingslayer.

Long ago, Jaime served on the Kingsgaurd to Aerys Targaryen, the Mad King. During the sack on King's Landing, led by Jaime's dad Tywin Lannister, Jaime stabbed the Mad King in the back, tired of standing by while the king committed heinous atrocities against his people. It's this act that earned him the nickname "Kingslayer," and the general ire and distrust of most people in Westeros.

Why does this matter? Because there is a popular fan theory that, much like Jaime was motivated by his morality to kill the Mad King, Jaime will be the one to kill Cersei. There are quite a few reasons why this idea makes a whole lot of sense. First of all, there's the issue of that pesky prophecy that keeps following Cersei around like Tommen following Margaery's every command (too soon?). Maggy the Frog told Cersei a ton of frightening stuff when she was a girl, a lot of which has since come true, like the fact that Cersei would have three children, all of whom would die (R.I.P. Myrcella and Tommen, not so much Joffrey). But perhaps the most important part of the prophecy was featured in the books, but not in the show. Maggy told Cersei that she would be killed by "valonqar," which means "little brother" in High Valyrian. This could mean Tyrion. But, since Jaime was technically born a few minutes after Cersei, it could also mean her twin/lover will kill her.

Then there's the fact that deep down, Jaime wants to be a nice guy, but is motivated by his love for Cersei to do evil things (like push Bran off a tower, etc). Even though he would do just about anything for his sister, his decision to kill the Mad King reveals that Jaime doesn't really want to see the annihilation of the people of the realm. And if Cersei keeps down the malicious path she's going, it's easy to see how Jaime's hand could be forced, and he would kill his sister in order to prevent more death and chaos.

But now that Cersei has announced that she's pregnant, it seems unlikely that any of this will actually come to pass. Jaime is way too nice of a guy to kill a woman pregnant with his child, even if that woman is bent on destroying the realm. In fact, that might have been the queen's motivation all along. Many fans think Cersei is lying about her pregnancy in order to prevent Jaime from potentially turning against her. After all, the shocking reveal was followed by a dire warning from Cersei, who urged her brother to never betray her again, as he had by taking a meeting with Tyrion without telling her. What better way to make sure Jaime follows orders than by pretending to be carrying his child?

That's not to say there's no chance that Jaime is still the one to eliminate Cersei in the end. After all, it would be a fittingly cyclical end to the redemptive plot line we've been following with the Kingslayer from the beginning. Like Tyrion, he's had a tendency in the past to put aside familial alliances in order to do what is right. And, since it's likely that Cersei isn't actually pregnant, or will lose the baby (only three kids in the prophecy, remember?) that frees up Jaime to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the realm.

The Kingslayer could still become a Queenslayer — it's just become way more unlikely.