Maggy the Frog's Prophecy

[Arya Weinergaryen]

I wondered, if Cersie had been a bit more clever, and probably a lot less duplicitous and conniving, could she have beaten the prophecy? This is sort of a "does free will exist in a Song of Ice and Fire" sort of question. She could have decided to be so kind to her little brother that he'd never want to harm her. Instead she was unceasingly cruel to the one whom she assumed would try to kill her. Maybe fate would have had a way to kill her children, but it seems like there would be other parts that wholly in her hands. She could have been faithful to her lawful husband, despite his philandering, but she wasn't. She could have not murdered her friend, but she did.(didn't not?). She could have withdrawn from queen dim, gracefully, under her own terms. Again, she did not. Ultimately this comes down to her character flaws being her undoing, like many others. But my question is, do you think she could have changed her fate.? And not in the fashion she is currently attempting, as that seems doomed to failure and the prophecy is and has been fulfilled.

[Bryanfury]

Once she heard it? No. Self-fulfilling prophecy. Almost everything Maggy has predicted has come true and was exceedingly accurate (and what's left appears to be on the fast-track to coming true as well). IMO there is nothing Cersei can do to stop it.

[Ygrain]

Once she heard it? No. Self-fulfilling prophecy. Almost everything Maggy has predicted has come true and was exceedingly accurate. IMO there is nothing Cersei can do to stop it.

Certainly not at this point. Whether it will be Tyrion or Jaime who will be the death of her, she has alienated them both.

[*Leah]

No, in my opinion there's nothing she can do to escape her fate. Literature is full of this kind of prophecies and oracles. Laius, in an attempt to prevent his fate, abandoned his child Oedipus: if he had not abandoned him maybe Oedipus wouldn't have killed him, because he would have known Laius was his father, but he didn't know, so the man he killed was a perfect stranger to him. Many Greek tragedies were built on this conflict between Fate and man's attempts to escape it. The tragic thing is the more you do to escape it the more you run into it. Cersei case won't be different.

[Arlan of Pennytree]

Certainly not at this point. Whether it will be Tyrion or Jaime who will be the death of her, she has alienated them both.

I believe it will be Jaime, Ser Ilyn has already suggested it to him. Another point I was just thinking about last night was exactly which 'queen' will fulfill the other part, ". . .until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear."

I, like most (I assume), have always thought Margaery Tyrell was the younger queen fulfilling the prophecy. But in AFfC, close to the end when Cersei finally recalls the specifics of the prophecy, the very next chapter brings us to Jeyne Westerling.

Jaime has sent Jeyne (who still remains defiant) off to the Rock along with Edmure, and winter is coming. . .but so is Daenerys Targaryen, so who knows. But just maybe we haven't seen the last of Queen Jeyne?

[larastone]

I think she could have certainly made it a lot less painful for herself lol if she hadn't suffered through some of the traumas that she did which lead to her mental state deteriorating. The thing about prophecies in ASOIAF is that you should have some caution, but ultimately let the pieces fall where they do and while be careful with making decisions...don't just think of the prophecy as something that's 100% going to happen.

With Cersei and the situations that she finds herself in (especially after Joffrey and Tywin die), that would have very difficult for her to do imo.