Cersei the useless

[Wmarshal]

Oh I do not doubt she will remain regent, I just doubt she has any real power.

[Fire Eater]

Oh I do not doubt she will remain regent, I just doubt she has any real power.

Her only power right now is in being Tommen's mother, the gold of CR, and the armies of the Westerlands which are being spent, especially with her dumb decision to send Loras to take Dragonstone with almost half of the Lannister veterans being killed including the best and the bravest lordlings and knights according to Aurane Waters.

[Wmarshal]

Tommen's power is actually Mace's, as to the gold the way to get to it is current covered with bandits. Cersei fucked herself royal by not looking at what her powerbased actually looked like before pissing away her most powerful ally.

[sapphire_lion]

She has Varys at least until his plans are fulfilled and she has her beauty/sex appeal(this would be a bigger help if she knew how to use it properly).

Varys wants Cersei in power because he knows Cersei will fall flat on her face and make it easy for Aegon to take over. That's not really an asset.

As of ADWD, Cersei is described as having a beer gut, stretch marks, saggy boobs, being saggy all over, and being bald. Even the people of Fleabottom were displeased with her appearance. Her days of seduction/sex appeal seem to be at an end. Or, at the very least, she's not what she used to be. And what did that really get her in the first place?

She will likely make one last grab for power during the confusion following Kevan's death, she may even burn KL to the ground with wild fire, but her days are numbered. Ultimately, things are only going to get worse for Cersei.

BTW, I think things are going to go bad for the Tyrells as well. But that will likely be Varys' doing. They have the upper hand right now but it won't last.

[The Silver King]

Varys wants Cersei in power because he knows Cersei will fall flat on her face and make it easy for Aegon to take over. That's not really an asset.

As of ADWD, Cersei is described as having a beer gut, stretch marks, saggy boobs, being saggy all over, and being bald. Even the people of Fleabottom were displeased with her appearance. Her days of seduction/sex appeal seem to be at an end.

She will likely make one last grab for power during the confusion following Kevan's death, she may even burn KL to the ground with wild fire, but her days are numbered. Ultimately, things are only going to get worse for Cersei.

BTW, I think things are going to go bad for the Tyrells as well. But that will likely be Varys' doing. They have the upper hand right now but it won't last.

True but it still keeps her alive for the time being so he's about the only plus she has right now.

Meh, I chalk that up to the commoners having an unreal perception of her beauty because of her status in the first place. She has three kids, I mean other than the bald head I'm sure she's had those other flaws for a while now. Without being stripped of all her finery I'm sure she will still be able to use seduction as a weapon. I do agree with you on that last point though, she is definitely screwed in the long run.

Agreed, trying to ride that lion to the top will not end well.

[Faint]

I think the most likely scenario is that she flees to Casterly Rock with Myrcella and crowns her queen. Qyburn and Ser Robert Strong will likely come along (in fact, they are probably the means for her escape). I do not foresee any kind of protracted struggle with Mace Tyrell for control of King's Landing. That conflict, when it happens, will be between the Tyrells and the Sand Snakes.

[Jasta11]

Cercei's beauty has never been an asset to her. Who does she seduces? Lancel, who's 16 and probably terrified of her wrath so he won't dare refuse? One Kettleback, who are agents of Littlefinger and have zero loyalty to her? Taena, who might well be faking it all and is not of any special use to her? Aaaand that's it. She tried on Ned who didn't even entertain the thougth for a second, the notoriously promiscuous Oberyn would rather die than bed her, and Tyrion the ultimate lecherous pervert only remarks her beauty once, when she smiles. Which almost never happens. And now she's bald and sagging all over. She barely had any seductive power before, and now she has none. Compared to Arianne Martell, who made an actually honorable member of the Kingsguard forget his vows? Yeah, Cercei's got nothing.

And yeah, Mace's got most of the power now. He has the troops, the food, the popular support. Apart from Robert Strong, Cercei has almost no useful assets remaining. Tommen is already half won to Marge and is a puppet anyway.

[The Silver King]

I kind of disagree. I think those examples just show that she's just as inept with her beauty as she is with power and not that she lacks beauty or sex appeal.

[lifefullofwords]

I kind of disagree. I think those examples just show that she's just as inept with her beauty as she is with power and not that she lacks beauty or sex appeal.

I agree, although I think her sex appeal has started to fade at this point. Shaved heads are clearly not considered attractive in Westeros. But at least at the beginning of the series characters constantly commented on her beauty. That means she had more than a decade to use her beauty to consolidate power in KL but there is no indication she did so. She tries, you have to giver her that, but she just has no idea how to use it as an effective tool.

Also, most of the people who don't find her attractive know exactly how shitty her personality is so you really can't blame them.

[Jasta11]

I agree, although I think her sex appeal has started to fade at this point. Shaved heads are clearly not considered attractive in Westeros. But at least at the beginning of the series characters constantly commented on her beauty. That means she had more than a decade to use her beauty to consolidate power in KL but there is no indication she did so. She tries, you have to giver her that, but she just has no idea how to use it as an effective tool.

Also, most of the people who don't find her attractive know exactly how shitty her personality is so you really can't blame them.

Isin't having an attractive personality part of sex appeal? To me it is. You can be the most outwardly beautiful person in the world, if you prove you're a petty, spiteful, uncaring bitch every time you speak, people will be put off regardless. Which, funnily enough, is exactly what happens, even with Jaime.

Cercei may be beautiful, but it's not an asset to her since she has no idea how to use it, and even if she did this isin't a story where all men become unthinking doofuses as soon as a sexy woman shows interest in them (thank the Seven). As Oberyn shows, as attracted as one is to Cercei, her rotten personality is more than enough to nullify all the advantages this brings towards many people.

And of course now it's almost completely gone. It's really hard to use seduction as a technique when all the realm now knows Flea Bottom has laughed its ass off at your naked, sagging body.

[sapphire_lion]

True but it still keeps her alive for the time being so he's about the only plus she has right now.

Meh, I chalk that up to the commoners having an unreal perception of her beauty because of her status in the first place. She has three kids, I mean other than the bald head I'm sure she's had those other flaws for a while now. Without being stripped of all her finery I'm sure she will still be able to use seduction as a weapon. I do agree with you on that last point though, she is definitely screwed in the long run.

Agreed, trying to ride that lion to the top will not end well.

Being kept alive only so you can ruin yourself and your family a bit more before you die is no great benefit.

You can chalk anything up to an unreliable narrator, but GRRM chose to emphasize how Cersei now looks more like the common folk's mothers than their young daughters. I'm not one to ignore the text, so I'm going to take that to mean her looks have faded. Excessive drinking and weight gain will do that to you. Also, all the cachet that being Queen and a Daughter of the Rock once had is now gone. How sexy is it to get with the saggy disgrace that everyone laughed at when she was paraded naked around town? No very. She can still use sex to manipulate a low level thug, the way pretty much any woman can, but sex with Cersei Lannister is no longer the great bargaining chip it once was.

[lifefullofwords]

Isin't having an attractive personality part of sex appeal? To me it is. You can be the most outwardly beautiful person in the world, if you prove you're a petty, spiteful, uncaring bitch every time you speak, people will be put off regardless. Which, funnily enough, is exactly what happens, even with Jaime.

My point was that people used to find her sexy as well as beautiful until they get to know her. Obviously personality is part of sex appeal once you're acquainted with someone but it can't be part of an initial reaction. I guess I should have been clearer. I agree that her personality is so shitty that it makes her unattractive to anyone who knows her regardless of her appearance. She's obviously moved beyond her attractive years at this point anyway though.

[Florina Laufeyson]

I think that was a part of the point of the Walk. To show that Cersei really cant use that weapon anymore. Its been exposed and beaten. Its depressing, yes, but it shows from a narrative standpoint, that she will have to try another means. Im pretty sure Cersei herself is aware of that. Despite everything, she isnt so stupid to think she attempt to use sex as a weapon now. Cersei is going to have to use her head for the upcoming shit storm brewing in her general direction.

It may seem like shes useless, but she still has some cards in her hands. Jaime is a Kingsguard so he is out of the running for the Rock. Tyrion is MIA. This means shes essentially Lady of Casterly Rock on top of being Queen Regent/dowager. If she knows how to bullshit, she wont be so useless. Shes just gotta focus. First target: High Septon.

[The Silver King]

Being kept alive only so you can ruin yourself and your family a bit more before you die is no great benefit.

You can chalk anything up to an unreliable narrator, but GRRM chose to emphasize how Cersei now looks more like the common folk's mothers than their young daughters. I'm not one to ignore the text, so I'm going to take that to mean her looks have faded. Excessive drinking and weight gain will do that to you. Also, all the cachet that being Queen and a Daughter of the Rock once had is now gone. How sexy is it to get with the saggy disgrace that everyone laughed at when she was paraded naked around town? No very. She can still use sex to manipulate a low level thug, the way pretty much any woman can, but sex with Cersei Lannister is no longer the great bargaining chip it once was.

Better than a chest full of quarrels from a bunch of "little birds."

I get where your coming from, I really do but just because her looks are fading doesn't mean they have completely left her. I concede that it's not what it once was but it's still the only weapon she has in her arsenal at this point, although admittedlyi its not much. All I will say is her downfall is fast approaching but I wouldn't count her out of the game just yet.

[Eyron Stark]

Oh trust me, I've criticized her plenty for the sexism. She's one of the most hateable characters to me. Just because she thinks the men in her family are dopes doesn't make men be an inferior gender.

I think in the time period she's in, her behavior makes sense. Men being the sole power gender and all. But she is still a huge cunt, and a wise man once said "There's no cure for bein' a cunt"

[Fire Eater]

Tommen's power is actually Mace's, as to the gold the way to get to it is current covered with bandits. Cersei fucked herself royal by not looking at what her powerbased actually looked like before pissing away her most powerful ally.

I don't hear of any bandits plaguing Westeros, except outlaws in the riverlands. Mace has the military muscle, and Cersei fails to see if she weakens Mace she ends up weakening Tommen as well.

[Wmarshal]

I think you mean riverlands, and that is how stuff travels from West to KL.

[sapphire_lion]

Better than a chest full of quarrels from a bunch of "little birds."

A chest full of quarrels from a bunch of "little birds" is just what she'll be getting from Varys all the same. He's not keeping her around for too long.

I get where your coming from, I really do but just because her looks are fading doesn't mean they have completely left her. I concede that it's not what it once was but it's still the only weapon she has in her arsenal at this point, although admittedlyi its not much. All I will say is her downfall is fast approaching but I wouldn't count her out of the game just yet.

She’s hairless, saggy, and rubbing her skin until it’s pink. Sorry, but I keep picturing a baby rat. I don’t think of Cersei as hot anymore (and neither do the people who saw her naked). Looks like the narrative and the Walk of Shame have done their job.

But don’t get me wrong, I think there is still one last hurrah in the Mad Queen (and it's going to be spectacular). After that, it’s curtains.

It may seem like shes useless, but she still has some cards in her hands. Jaime is a Kingsguard so he is out of the running for the Rock. Tyrion is MIA. This means shes essentially Lady of Casterly Rock on top of being Queen Regent/dowager. If she knows how to bullshit, she wont be so useless. Shes just gotta focus. First target: High Septon.

If I hailed from the Westerlands, I would be freaking embarrassed to have Cersei as my overlord. I would be trying to distance myself from that particular train wreck as much as possible. Cersei is tainted now. No one is going to be loyal to her. No one is going to want to fight for her. If her own family wouldn’t lift a finger to help her, why should the Westerlands? Winter is coming, and ain’t nobody got time for that.

As I see it, the few cards Cersei has at her disposal include Qyburn’s unholy creation, the promise of Lannister gold, and perhaps caches of wildfire if she ever finds them. I'm sure she’ll do some fine damage before she goes out like the raving lunatic that she is.

[JonCon's Red Beard]

I kind of disagree. I think those examples just show that she's just as inept with her beauty as she is with power and not that she lacks beauty or sex appeal.

Her sex appeal might be something impressive at first sight, but strong men in places of power won't fall for that as easily as Lancel or the Kettleblacks because they know that her beauty is just a deceit and bedding her might bring political implications. Not even Aurane Waters, who could have benefit very well from becoming the Queen's lover, tried that. He outsmarted her and that's all. And she trusted him because she was sure Waters wanted her as a woman, which apparently was the less thing he wanted.

That's Cersei's delusion, she thinks everybody loves her because she's a golden Queen, and everybody desires her. She was but she's not any more. The people in KL saw her naked and she heard their comments: that she's ageing and losing her beauty.

[Fire Eater]

I think you mean riverlands, and that is how stuff travels from West to KL.

Still, men know Cersie can make good on her promises of gold as she has the coin. I think UnCat is going to be more occupied with Jaime's army in the riverlands.