Does Cersei regain her power with Pycelle and Kevan gone?

[Lord_Tyrell]

I know that Kevan's plan was to send Cersei back to the Rock after her trial, but now he and Pycelle have been eliminated. No one else there has any right to be regent, with Jaime the only other candidate being lost in the Riverlands.

After her trial when UnGregor slices his opponent in half, I think Cersei will regain her power pretty instantly, much to the Tyrell's woes. Cersei was at least somewhat restrained before her walk of shame, but now that she's been entirely exposed for who she is, I really don't think she's going to give a fuck about subtlety anymore and simply make ridiculous life and death demands. Cersei's Walk of Shame will do for her as the Defiance at Duskendale did to Aerys. It broke both of their sanity completely.

I know many of you are saying that the Tyrells won't stand for it, but as regent, Cersei will have the sole power over Robert Strong. Anyone who protests her rule, she'll either have UnGregor finish them off quickly with a single swipe of his sword, or the ones she wants to suffer, she'll hand over to Qyburn. Mace won't do anything for fear of UnGregor killing him and his whole family, although I do think he/Olenna will start going behind the scenes in order to get an alliance with Aegon.

Does anyone else think this is plausible?

[Mad Monkey]

I have less faith in Robert Strong than you do. Mace Tyrell still has a rather large army. As far as "right to be regent", you forget that this is not a hereditary or familial title. Robert proposed Ned to be Joffrey's regent even though Ned is not biologically related to Joffrey. There is no reason -- legally, in terms of precedent in Westeros -- where Mace Tyrell cannot be Tommen's regent, especially since he has the same relationship (father of the king's bride) that Ned would have had with Joffrey.

[Light a wight tonight]

I don't think one fighter would be able to subdue a townful of soldiers. One way or another Robert Strong gets destroyed.

[Lord Damian]

Yes, but briefly. The Tyrells may just break ignorant and stop Marg's trial and try to coup it all or something else. This respite from being under control of a more senior male Lannister figure will be Cersei's swansong. The series must move on, the Second dance of dragons is about to begin and it is time for the Lannisters to say goodbye to the Iron Throne.

[complexphoenix]

The Tyrells have a bigger army than the Lannisters, and even if Cersei wins her trial, that isn't going to change the fact that she has been revealed as a moron and a slut. Cersei's power within House Lannister will probably be stripped away by her cousins before long, while the Tyrells move to secure KL. Mace will probably be Tommen's regent with Kevan dead.

[Lord Kevan]

It depends if Cersei call Daven's army from the Riverland to the city. If she did, she could be at the head of things for a moment, but blood will soon be shed.

[Lord_Tyrell]

I really just don't see Cersei giving up the throne. She was docile for a time, but Varys wished to reignite it, and she's going to be worse than she ever was before.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Most likely.

The Mercy chapter strongly hints at Cersei being in charge when the Westerosi left KL - after Kevan's death.

[Fat Trell]

She has no powerbase from which to resume her actions pre-imprisonment. She has some Lannister guardsmen. Mace Tyrell has two armies.

Varys killing Kevan was more about removing him than returning Cersei to power imo.

[Red Wedding Cake]

Cersei will have to make some moves to overtake the Tyrells.

[Sasha Steelsong]

I really just don't see Cersei giving up the throne. She was docile for a time, but Varys wished to reignite it, and she's going to be worse than she ever was before.

While I agree that is how Cersei will act, I don't think she has the power to put herself in control again. Yes she is Lady of Casterly Rock in her own right, but Mace Tyrell is Hand and he won't be giving that up, nor will the Faith (that got all their power from Cersei ironically) put up with her in control of the young king. I think Cersei will definitely try to get back in control, and a giant mess will ensue, just not convinced she'll succeed.

ETA: Given Tommen's age, I suppose it is possible that Margaery could be his regent, after all she is his wife. Just not sure if she is old enough to be considered. Particularly with Mace as hand, it would likely be more of a ceremonial position anyway and the Faith LOVES her.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

She has no powerbase from which to resume her actions pre-imprisonment. She has some Lannister guardsmen. Mace Tyrell has two armies.

Varys killing Kevan was more about removing him than returning Cersei to power imo.

She is King Tommen's mother. If she wants him to rubberstamp something, he'll do. The only way to prevent that would be to imprison her one way or the other. But without Kevan's authority, that would provoke the end of the Lannister-Tyrell alliance. Mance can only do so much with his armies before knocking himself out of the game.

[Stannis Eats No Peaches]

Mace would be stupid if he let that happen, so he probably will.

[Lord_Tyrell]

Most likely.

The Mercy chapter strongly hints at Cersei being in charge when the Westerosi left KL - after Kevan's death.

Which is what led me to make this post

[Sasha Steelsong]

Which is what led me to make this post

Yes but

which queen? There are two to pick from.

[Lord_Tyrell]

Varys killing Kevan was more about removing him than returning Cersei to power imo.

I don't think so. If that were the case, all it would do is solidify the Tyrell power in King's Landing, something Varys doesn't want. His entire purpose of killing Kevan AND Pycelle was to remove all authority figures from Cersei, reignite her insanity to previous unreached levels, and to put her back on power so everyone (including the Tyrells) will flock over to Aegon's side. It was entirely about keeping Cersei in power.

[LadyMary]

I know that Kevan's plan was to send Cersei back to the Rock after her trial, but now he and Pycelle have been eliminated. No one else there has any right to be regent, with Jaime the only other candidate being lost in the Riverlands.

After her trial when UnGregor slices his opponent in half, I think Cersei will regain her power pretty instantly, much to the Tyrell's woes. Cersei was at least somewhat restrained before her walk of shame, but now that she's been entirely exposed for who she is, I really don't think she's going to give a fuck about subtlety anymore and simply make ridiculous life and death demands. Cersei's Walk of Shame will do for her as the Defiance at Duskendale did to Aerys. It broke both of their sanity completely.

I know many of you are saying that the Tyrells won't stand for it, but as regent, Cersei will have the sole power over Robert Strong. Anyone who protests her rule, she'll either have UnGregor finish them off quickly with a single swipe of his sword, or the ones she wants to suffer, she'll hand over to Qyburn. Mace won't do anything for fear of UnGregor killing him and his whole family, although I do think he/Olenna will start going behind the scenes in order to get an alliance with Aegon.

Does anyone else think this is plausible?

As for Cersei's regency, she's been discredited as a leader and humiliated as a woman. She may be able to hold onto her title for a while, but she will have to be able to persuade more than Robert Strong to support her claim and right now, the factions are massing against her because of her heavy-handed plotting that has caused a lot of the post-Tywinian turmoil. In addition to persuading the angry and disgusted Lords and Ladies that she's capable and a better choice than what they would get with a Tyrell coup, she's going to have to neutralize the newly-empowered (by her) High Septon and the Faith Militant, one of whom is her own repentant cousin/former lover who is all too familiar with her duplicity.

Also, I have a feeling that using Robert Strong as a weapon is going to backfire on Cersei spectacularly... or tragically, depending on your point of view. I wouldn't be surprised if Robert Strong ends up killing Tommen either accidentally or because he's a mindless killing machine who kills anything that gets in his/its way.

[Sasha Steelsong]

I don't think so. If that were the case, all it would do is solidify the Tyrell power in King's Landing, something Varys doesn't want. His entire purpose of killing Kevan AND Pycelle was to remove all authority figures from Cersei, reignite her insanity to previous unreached levels, and to put her back on power so everyone (including the Tyrells) will flock over to Aegon's side. It was entirely about keeping Cersei in power.

No his entire purpose was to start the Lannisters and Tyrells fighting so there would be no stability in the realm. Varys just wants chaos for Aegon to fix.

[Lord_Tyrell]

No his entire purpose was to start the Lannisters and Tyrells fighting so there would be no stability in the realm. Varys just wants chaos for Aegon to fix.

Yeah, but if Cersei doesn't have any power, what does that do?

[tze]

After her trial when UnGregor slices his opponent in half, I think Cersei will regain her power pretty instantly, much to the Tyrell's woes.

You mean the trial where the "does everything by sevens" High Septon calls for a Trial of Seven? And Cersei's vileness prevents her from finding six additional champions, thus forcing her to automatically forfeit without Ser Robert Strong even getting the chance to fight anyone? :)

Cersei's power has always been reliant on illusions to a far larger degree than she ever realized, and the situation she's currently in magnifies that weakness a thousandfold. Her reputation is shattered. The nobles and people of King's Landing have lost all fear and respect for her, and in that situation there's no logical way she can start issuing orders and have anyone feel compelled to obey them. The whole point of the Walk of Shame was to break Cersei's power by breaking down the illusions that propped up that power, and Kevan's death doesn't magically re-institute those illusions.

She became Regent because she had the backing of her powerful relatives and of the Small Council. Kevan took the Regency from her because the majority of the Small Council sided with him rather than her. Even if she wins her trial (which is far from certain), her former power isn't automatically "transferred" back to her. The Tyrell-controlled Small Council will never support her as Regent. If she gets Tommen alone and gets him to sign a paper naming her Regent, she'll just find herself in Ned Stark's position: watching helplessly as the King's decree is torn up by the people with actual military backing. Her powerful relatives are either dead or vanished, so the Tyrells can move against her with impunity. She has no access to any army (Lannister army or gold cloaks) to enforce her wishes. Ser Robert Strong is one "person", and we have no idea whether he'll listen to Cersei's commands or will only listen to commands relayed by Qyburn.

Most likely.

The Mercy chapter strongly hints at Cersei being in charge when the Westerosi left KL - after Kevan's death.

I think

people are reading way too much into that. Either that's an editing error from the many re-writes, or the whole point is that Raff and this Lannister guard don't actually understand who is in power in King's Landing.

For that matter, "the queen" the guardsman refers to might very well be Margaery. Given the Lannister/Tyrell strife, and given her previous "difficulties", i can see Marg becoming rather more ruthless should she survive, particularly toward Lannister men.

Moreover, note the potential discrepancy here:

“If he goes back without the gold the queen will have his head.

So maybe he figures the last place his sister would ever look for him would be in some mummer show, making fun of himself.

The latter is clearly a reference to Cersei, but the former might very well not be. And the fact that the old man refers to "the queen" while Raff feels comfortable calling Cersei "[Tyrion's] sister", but does not refer to her as "the queen", could be relevant.

I know many of you are saying that the Tyrells won't stand for it, but as regent, Cersei will have the sole power over Robert Strong. Anyone who protests her rule, she'll either have UnGregor finish them off quickly with a single swipe of his sword, or the ones she wants to suffer, she'll hand over to Qyburn.

Hand over how? With her great personal physical strength? :) What you're really saying is that Cersei will order people sent to UnGregor or Qyburn, and that circles back to the idea that anyone will feel compelled to obey orders given from someone in Cersei's position.

I don't think so. If that were the case, all it would do is solidify the Tyrell power in King's Landing, something Varys doesn't want. His entire purpose of killing Kevan AND Pycelle was to remove all authority figures from Cersei, reignite her insanity to previous unreached levels, and to put her back on power so everyone (including the Tyrells) will flock over to Aegon's side. It was entirely about keeping Cersei in power.

No, it was about keeping Kevan from fixing Cersei's mistakes. Varys doesn't need Cersei in power to have an incompetent person running the show in King's Landing (hello, Mace Tyrell!). In fact, it's entirely to Varys's benefit that Cersei loses her trial, as it's entirely to Aegon's benefit that Tommen be declared a bastard with no right whatsoever to the Iron Throne. (Varys's ability to influence this trial is admittedly unknown, but the fact that he has no reason to want Tommen's claim to the throne upheld really can't be ignored.)