How to Handle the Lannister's Being Broke...Safe for Unsullied...

[Winnief]

Now that the Lannister gold has dried up was something arguably implied in the books, (or at least there was a suggestion the mines weren't yielding the same returns as they had in the past,) making it so explicit on the show is a big change-and I know some fans are worried about that. Their big concern is that yes, this particular difference does make the break with the Iron Bank more explicable but they don't want it de-emphasized how much Cersei screws up as Regent, and moreover they're worried that while in the Books it was obvious that the Lannister's doomed themselves with their short sighted policies that put them on top but created fundamental weaknesses for the regime, on the show it might play as the Lannister's going belly up simply because of an inevitable lack of resources which would take the blame off their own shoulders.

I happen to disagree with this assessment; I think that while ShowCersei may not be quite as phenomenally stupid as BookCersei, (possibly because the showrunners find that over the top,) I'm quite sure they'll include at least some of her worst mistakes.

As for the other question of whether this relieves the Lannister's, (particularly Tywin) of responsibility for their own downfall, I would argue it doesn't if the show handles it right. While the mines drying up, certainly puts the Lannister’s in a tricky position, I don’t think that *alone* would have doomed them-and I don’t think the show will portray it as such either.

After all, it still would have been possible to move the Westernlands to a different economic model, even if they wouldn’t be so phenomenally rich. (The Starks didn’t have any gold mines or even a fraction of the Lannister’s wealth and yet the Starks have ruled the North for millenia and will do so again.) So thought the mines drying up certainly spelled out the end to Lannister excesses it might not have ended the Lannister’s themselves-IF they didn’t have this incredibly expensive war to fight, and IF LF hadn’t put the Crown in so much debt, and even now the Tyrell alliance could still possibly save them-IF Cersei wasn’t inevitably going to fuck that up, and IF between her and Tywin they hadn’t burned their bridges with every Great House in Westeros AND made themselves as popular with the Smallfolk as a case of the ringworm so that If/When they *did* ever find themselves in trouble, there’d be no one willing to help them back up.In very Stark contrast to the Wolves who because they still command loyalty among the Northerners have a chance at returning to glory even with things as dire as they are now.

Basically the biggest danger for the Lannister’s isn’t that the gold is drying up-its that their gold was the only reason anyone was following them in the first place. They don’t command any intrinsic loyalty like the Starks, or even (some) Targaryens, or Robert Baratheon, or even Stannis with Davos. Nor are they doing anything to earn any newfound allegiance. It’s always just gross bribery, (like with the Bolton’s and the Frey’s) or threats and their ability to continue either approach will soon be severely compromised and now they've made themselves hated by just about everybody and even incurred the enmity of the Faith as well. What will they do *then*?

That’s at least how I’m *hoping* it will play out on the show. Let me know your thoughts.