At this point in the show, not much can shock Game of Thrones fans, especially those who have also read the books. An episode without nudity (typically female) and violence is rare. But it is not really the nudity or increasingly creative and disturbing ways to kill off characters that shocks us. After 40 episodes, we are, for better or worse, becoming immune to it. Even Oberyn’s head exploding in the Mountain’s hands, incest, and unfortunately the repeated instances of rape that occur on or off screen aren’t what is the most shocking.
What’s most horrifying about season four is how the show’s creators reacted to what is now an infamous rape scene between Jamie and Cersei Lannister. It may have seemed cut and dry to the show’s fan base, but the show apparently doesn’t understand the meaning of the word “no.”
Over the course of four seasons, we’ve watched Cersie slowly lose control of her life and the enormous power she once wielded. Even though Cersie is one of the worst Queens in fiction, the way the men in her life treat her is at least equally appalling. If we put this in terms of Chess, with Tywin manning the board, Cersie would be a pawn he can sacrifice to further his own game.
Upon Tywin’s arrival to Kings Landing he almost immediately forces her to agree to another unwanted marriage this time to a mere knight, showing how little control she actually has over her own life when a male relative is present.
Her son pushes her aside as soon as he is crowned King and makes it very clear that even though she is his mother, he will no longer tolerate her advice. Even the love of her life, Jamie takes advantage of her.
What Do You Mean it’s Not Rape?
In the show, after the death of Joffrey at his own wedding (there is a scene where Jamie and Cersie are standing next to the body of their first born son and Jamie then proceeds to force himself on Cersie despite the fact that she repeatedly tells him “no,” and “it’s not right.”
Martin isn’t afraid to write a rape scene, but in this case we cannot lay the blame at his door. This time, the scene Martin wrote was of consensual sex between the twins, perhaps comforting each other over the loss of their son. Some people have argued that it can’t really be rape because she stops fighting him towards the end and maybe wants it more. In fact that is the Director’s opinion as well.
My question to those people and to Graves, is this: Did the word ‘No’ come out of her mouth? Did Jamie ignore her and do what he wanted? Yes?
So, he had sex with her when she didn’t want to have sex. There is literally no clearer way to describe rape. The word “no” only has one meaning so it cannot be twisted into something else. If she said “no,” she did not want to have sex with him. That he did what he wanted anyways makes it rape. There is no getting around that and yet Graves tries, which sends a pretty awful message to their female viewers. They’re telling us that our voices have no real power and because of this, women still don’t have any true power outside that which men allow them. This is exactly the kind of attitudes that we are trying to move away from.
My next question is why did the producers feel the need to make this a rape scene? Their claim that it isn’t is completely invalid and it changes the dynamic between the twins.
In the books, the twins are portrayed on equal footing, neither really having more power over the other. With the scene being changed to rape however, the situation has changed, giving Jamie more power and once again proving how little Cersie actually has. With the return of her father and brother, the title of Queen Regent becomes just that, a title, nothing more. It no longer holds the power it once had and the people now look to Tywin as being ultimately in control of the country, and Jamie as the man who will help protect it despite his missing hand. That Cersie no longer has the ability to say no to her own brother, someone who should be her equal, just drives that point home all the more.
Is There any Hope for the Women of Westeros?
If the Queen Regent of the Seven Kingdoms has so little control over her own life, what does that say for the rest of the women in the country? With the possible exception of Dany the women in Game of Thrones are just pawns, playthings to be used and abused by the men around them.
So what does this mean for us women living in the real world? It means that no matter how much progress we’ve made, there is still a long way to go. It means that misconceptions and excuses are still very widespread and need to be addressed. And that, most importantly, we need to pay attention to those misconceptions and work to correct them.
Basically, this scene and it’s reaction tell us we have a lot of work yet to do.
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