‘Game of Thrones': The Lannisters Are Back On Top After Just Three Episodes
Daenerys Targaryen showed up in Westeros with dragons, armies and allies — but it’s a mistake to count out the Lannisters even when the odds are stacked against them
(Note: This post contains spoilers for everything through the July 30 episode of “Game of Thrones.”)
Don’t call it a Lannister comeback.
Just three episodes into Season 7, Cersei (Lena Headey) and Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) have managed to turn their extremely losing position to a much stronger one. At the start of Season 7, they faced enemies on all sides: Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) had crossed the Narrow Sea with an army of Unsullied and a Dothraki horde (plus three dragons), and she had allies. The Dornish and the Tyrells had come to her side, surrounding the Lannisters at King’s Landing with enemies.
It looked like there was no way Cersei and Jaime could even put up a decent fight, the deck was so stacked against them. It was almost a bit boring. Daenerys had overwhelming force if the Lannisters met her on the battlefield. But although Cersei has made a few strategic missteps in the past, she and Jaime have played this war perfectly so far, with strategic partnerships and a few extremely deft moves.
The first of those moves was lucky. Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asbæk) showed up with his fleet of a thousand ships and looked to ally with the Lannisters and marry Cersei. Both Cersei and Jaime know he probably plans to marry his way to the Iron Throne and kill them both once he’s in position, but they’ve still managed to use him to their advantage. To show his worth, Euron went out and attacked the Iron Fleet of Yara Greyjoy (Gemma Whalen).
Euron captured Yara and Dany’s Dornish allies, effectively taking Dorne out of the game and wrecking half of Daenerys’ navy. It put a serious dent in the otherwise pretty good plan of Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage): Lay siege to King’s Landing, then attack Casterly Rock.
Even though they’d lost their fleet and their Dornish allies, Dany’s Unsullied were still committed to attacking Casterly Rock, but now with no strategic advantage. The whole point of fielding the Dornish and Tyrell armies at King’s Landing was to tie up the Lannister forces with defending the city. Even though the plan was to avoid killing innocent people by attacking the city outright, Tyrion’s plan would have shaken the image of Cersei’s power in Westeros.
Instead, the Lannisters were free to make strategic moves of their own. When the Unsullied arrived at Casterly Rock, they took it because the Lannisters had mostly abandoned it. Jaime took the army to Highgarden instead and knocked out House Tyrell, destroying another of Dany’s allies and another of her armies. Meanwhile, Euron used his navy to ravage Dany’s remaining ships. So now her forces are stuck moving over land, instead of by sea, which is much faster and likely safer.
All of it is a good demonstration that even without their father, Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), the Lannister kids are still a force to be reckoned with. A big part of that is that Cersei doesn’t have any kids left. Her three children were her driving force in seasons past, and all of her backstabbing, murdering and conspiring was for their benefit. Cersei had one goal, and that was protecting her kids from anyone who might hurt them.
She failed spectacularly at that goal, with all three of her children dying before Season 7. But now, Cersei’s hands aren’t tied anymore. She doesn’t have to worry about how her actions might create blowback that could put her kids in danger. All she has to think about is herself and Jaime, and that seems to be freeing her up for some seriously smart strategy.
Of course, from a storytelling standpoint, we saw a lot of this coming in some respect. There was no way Dany was going to show up in Westeros and march her way to the Iron Throne without some setbacks. But at the same time, we’re finally seeing what Cersei and Jaime are really capable of as leaders. Up until now, they’ve been held back, either by their father or by the constraints other people place on them. Now they’re free to try to annihilate their enemies with no regard for the politics or optics of those situations.
It could be argued that part of the problem for Daenerys is an unwillingness to fight dirty. Tyrion’s whole elaborate plan to take Casterly Rock and lock down King’s Landing was formulated with a specific goal in mind: save lives. Daenerys didn’t want to attack King’s Landing full force because it would have killed thousands of innocent people. This approach was meant to undercut the Lannisters while leaving most people largely safe.
But thanks to unforeseen consequences — namely, Euron’s sneak attack on the Narrow Sea that upended Tyrion’s whole battle plan — that might not be possible anymore. The Lannisters have proven themselves as formidable as ever, knocking out Dany’s allies, capturing strategic partnerships, and setting themselves up with the gold they need to keep fighting. Where it looked like Daenerys was unbeatable just two episodes ago, the Lannisters have more than evened the odds.
The real question is how Daenerys is going to respond in her quest for the Iron Throne. She’s acutely aware of how people remember her father, Aerys Targaryen — “The Mad King,” who burned his enemies alive, both real and perceived. Dany is desperate not to turn into that kind of queen.
But it’s possible the Lannisters won’t leave her a choice. She still has her dragons and her Dothraki horde, but we know Cersei is working on a way to defeat the former. Is it possible for Daenerys to win the Iron Throne and unite the Seven Kingdoms without also turning herself into a monster? We don’t know yet for sure, but the Lannisters certainly aren’t making it easy.
Wondering where the Lannisters stack up against the other characters of “Game of Thrones?” Check out our gallery ranking every major character below.
All 49 'Game of Thrones' Main Characters, Ranked Worst to Best (Photos)
"Game of Thrones" has a lot of characters, and too many to rank. So we're just going to focus on the 49 characters who are or were the most important, in our humble opinion. If you don't like our list, Littlefinger will poison your wedding cake. (Many spoilers, obviously.)
49. Viserys Targaryan
A total jackass, Viserys had maybe the best death in the whole series: having molten gold dumped on his head.
48. Rickon
Who? (I feel bad for this joke after season 6, but I'm going to leave it)
47. Robb Stark
The Red Wedding was a coming of age for viewers of the show. Rewatching those early seasons knowing that's gonna happen exposes Robb for the lame dude he really is.
46. Stannis
Basically a stodgy, moralistic Southern Baptist minister. I'm from Alabama, so I was pulling for him.
45. Bran Stark
Needs to work on his pouty face and grow out his hair if he wants to be the new Jon Snow.
44. Roose Bolton
He's like the Count Dooku of this show, acting like he's working for himself though he's really just a pawn who probably will get his head cut off by young Darth Vader.
43. Daario
Was a hot blond dude, but now (after a casting change) is just a regularly attractive brown-haired dude who was banished from Dany's bed because who cares about love anyway?
42. Ned Stark
The Mark Twain of the show, giving his kids a bunch of advice that wasn't actually useful before he got murdered. Wait, how did Mark Twain die? This analogy may not track all the way but whatever.
41. Joffrey
Oh man. Remember that time the cake was too dry and it made his eyes bug out and his face turn purple and he spit foamy red drool everywhere? Hilarious.
40. Shae
Did what she needed to survive, until it turned out doing what she needed to do to survive (hooking up with Tywin Lannister) got her killed.
39. Tommen
Not the most decisive king, either before or after he had sex. But he's better than Joffrey, I guess.
38. Khal Drogo
Got fridged for the sake of Daenerys' character arc. Beautiful.
37. Gendry
Melisandre put a leech on his penis one time. It feels like that's all I should put here.
36. Theon
I'm still pulling for his post-castration power play. Or for him to just get killed already.
35. Jorah Mormont
Really sad because he still can't afford to buy Khaleesi's love.
34. King Robert
Probably the most chill and carefree character on the show, drunk most of the time, yelling a lot even though he really didn't have any problems. Well, until that time he drank too much and got killed by a boar.
33. Ramsey Bolton
Is Ramsey the most demented dude on this show? Well, he's definitely the funniest demented dude, which isn't actually funny at all when you think about it.
32. Catelyn Stark
Loses to the Lannisters both in the Game of Thrones and the Game of Angsty Overprotective Moms.
31. Talisa Stark
Every joke that comes to mind is far too reprehensible even for a "Game of Thrones" list, so I'm not going to put one here.
30. Sam
A huge nerd who predictably finds love in a house of somebody else's daughter-wives.
29. Lord Commander Mormont
Died because Sam found love in a house of somebody else's daughter-wives.
28. Ygritte
A marksman with a bow, loved Jon Snow, killed by a child. She was basically an audience surrogate.
27. Gilly
Doesn't know anything except for all the stuff Sam doesn't know how to do. Which is most things.
26. The High Sparrow
He tried pulling a huge awesome gambit, but ultimately he was not prepared for the Game as well as he thought, judging by how hard Cersei outplayed him.
25. Red Viper
His irascible lust distracted him from delivering the killing blow against the Mountain. He would be much, much higher on this list were it not for that glaring oversight.
24. The Hound
Killed the butcher's boy, then spent several seasons saying lots of mean things before being left to die on a rock. If his redemption arc goes well he might get a bump.
23. Jaime Lannister
Can I make a joke about masturbating with your off hand? There's nothing in our style guide about that. Anyway, where's the scene where Jaime learned how to do that?
22. Jaqen H'ghar
Speaks in riddles, has many faces (and many bodies), and set Arya on the path to losing her eyesight even though he would have been burned alive if she hadn't saved him. What a clown.
21. Tywin Lannister
Was killed by his hated dwarf son. Exactly what he deserved, though I secretly hoped he would at some point just be nice to his kids.
20. Ellaria Sand
Committed one of the greatest and most upsetting murders on the whole show.
19. Tormund Giantsbane
Has a great name, murder in his heart and a huge beautiful red beard. Also he was in "Fate of the Furious," the latest movie in my favorite film franchise. What's not to like?
18. Jon Snow
Well, he's dead. King of the dead ones. Definitely not coming back ever. No longer dead. Murdered a particularly irritating character. Could stand to be less nice, though.
17. Euron Greyjoy
We can't help but appreciate the (no pun intended) joy with which Euron enacts his villainy. "I AM THE STORM!" Hahaha.
16. Hodor
Shoulda been named "Meme." (Another joke I feel about bad about after season 6. I moved him way up in compensation.)
15. Margaery Tyrell
Delightfully passive-aggressive toward Cersei all the time. Sure, she was killed horribly by Cersei because she made a classic "Game of Thrones" miscalculation -- and I really should bump her down for that -- but, nah, she was too much fun.
14. Brienne
Tall, kills a lot of men, is single and celibate, takes no crap from anyone and doesn't play the game. A perfect counter to basically everything else on "Game of Thrones."
13. Tyrion Lannister
Thinks with his penis. Which is okay because his penis is so smart.
12. Varys
Slightly smarter than Tyrion because he doesn't have a penis.
11. Melisandre
Lots of people think of Melisandre as the "sexy" main character, but she's actually the "terrifying" main character. Remember that time she burned a child alive? That sucked. Now she suffers for it, finally, but she'll probably be back to do something amazing. Still waiting, though.
10. Missandei
"All men must die. But we are not men." Any questions?
9. Davos Seaworth
Easily the MVP of season 7.
8. Littlefinger
Probably the smartest character on the show, but uses all that brainpower for evil. So he's great, is what I'm saying.
7. Daenerys
Commits most of the best murders on the show, thanks to those dragons and her invulnerability to fire. and they're usually justified. Big bonus points for that.
6. Arya Stark
Never underestimate this faceless woman.
5. Olenna Tyrell
Makes a great joke about useless genitals, and constantly talks smack about everyone. And she got the absolute last word in her death scene. My dream woman.
4. Sansa Stark
A lot of viewers still underestimate here even now in season 7, thinking she's playing right into Littlefinger's hand rather than having her own plan for dealing with his machinations. Ludicrous.
3. Bronn
Enters the show in the most "Game of Thrones" way possible: by stepping out of the background of a scene to kill a guy for Tyrion.
2. Grey Worm
Just the best. Sad because his life sucks. Badass who kills a lot of his problems. Communicates a lot without saying much. Grey Worm seems like the kind of tragic "Game of Thrones" character who is going to have a brief moment of triumph before getting slaughtered. I hope that triumph is really good.
1. Cersei
Yeah, she's a terrible person, but she's the product of a terrible father and terrible environment. Through season 7, though, she's been better than everyone else at playing the game, even though every move she's made has had some kind of awful unintentional consequence for people she cares about. We'll see if she can maintain this spot as the endgame approaches, however.
1 of 50
We judge all the characters who matter (or mattered)
"Game of Thrones" has a lot of characters, and too many to rank. So we're just going to focus on the 49 characters who are or were the most important, in our humble opinion. If you don't like our list, Littlefinger will poison your wedding cake. (Many spoilers, obviously.)
