Lena Headey says "Game of Thrones" cut "traumatizing" scene of Cersei’s miscarriage

The scene was filmed for the HBO fantasy series' controversial penultimate episode, "The Bells"

Published June 20, 2019 2:10PM (EDT)

Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister in "Game of Thrones" (Courtesy of HBO)
Lena Headey as Cersei Lannister in "Game of Thrones" (Courtesy of HBO)

This article originally appeared on IndieWire.
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One of the biggest complaints made about the final season of “Game of Thrones” was that the writers completely wasted series MVP Lena Headey. The Emmy nominee appeared only briefly during the six-episode season as her character, Cersei Lannister, was largely sidelined from the main story. According to Headey, she shot more Cersei scenes for “Thrones” that ended up on the cutting room floor. One axed moment depicted Cersei having a miscarriage.

“We shot a scene that never made it into season seven, which was where I lose the baby, and it was a really traumatic, great moment for Cersei,” Headey revealed at a fan convention in Germany (via The Wrap). “It never made it in, and I kind of loved doing that because I thought it would have served her differently.”

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Headey filmed the scene for the show’s controversial penultimate episode, “The Bells,” the same installment that saw Cersei dying alongside her brother Jaime in the cellar of the Red Keep. The scene would have brought closure to the dangling plot thread of Cersei’s unborn child. Cersei told Jaime she was pregnant with his child in Season 7, then spent the final season premiere scheming to ensure the people of King’s Landing would not know the child was conceived from incest. Cersei decided to sleep with Euron Greyjoy and pass the child off and his son. That’s as far as the storyline got during the show’s final run.

A large number of “Thrones” fans were disappointed by the final season, and Headey wasn’t entirely pleased herself. Speaking to The Guardian earlier this month, the actress said she had her “own gripes” with how “Thrones” ended, mainly that it failed to give Cersei a memorable death.

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“I will say I wanted a better death.” Headed said, “Obviously you dream of your death. You could go in any way on that show. So I was kind of gutted.”

Cersei spent her final episode mostly in a staring contest with Emilia Clarke’s Daenerys. Cersei did not take physical action against her adversary, and the two characters didn’t even share a word. Clarke made headlines in May after the series finale for sharing her opinion that Season 8 needed more Cersei- Daenerys moments.

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The final season of “Game of Thrones” is now streaming on HBO Go and HBO Now.


By Zack Sharf

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