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| Image Credit: HBO |
The Queen's hatred for the fan-favorite character is almost legendary, but the series didn't delve into it properly. As fans know, the Game of Thrones TV series has done justice to George R.R. Martin's novel series, but only up to a point. Not only because the last seasons have continued without the support of the books, but because here and there they have changed details and characters. Among the differences, the real reason why Cersei Lannister hates her brother Tyrion has also been cut. The resentment is well known: the two have not been seen since the first episode, but what might seem like simple brotherly hatred hides much more.
In the series, in fact, we are only told that Cersei hates Tyrion because his birth caused the death of his mother, and his physical condition is considered a shame for the powerful House of Lannister, but as fans of the novels know, there is also something else behind it. In A Song of Ice and Fire, the real reason for this hatred is due to the prophecy that the diviner Maggy makes to the young Cersei Lannister. This scene is also present in the series, yes, but an important part of it has been cut: it is limited to mentioning the marriage with Robert Baratheon, the issue of the children, and so on, but the sentence with which Maggy the Frog makes Cersei understand that she will be killed by Tyrion is not included.
Specifically, in the book Cersei is told that "when you have drowned in your own tears, the valonqar will close his hands around your white throat and squeeze until death comes". The word Valonqar means younger brother in ancient Valyrian, which has always made Cersei think that she would meet her death at the hands of Tyrion. Readers of the novels expected a resolution like this but also a twist because as is known the prophecies are not very reliable: it has often been hypothesized that it would be Jaimie who would kill her, because he was born a few minutes after her, or that the prophecy referred to a generic younger brother/sister – and in this sense then the hated Daenerys Targaryen also comes into play.
In any case, Game of Thrones decided to omit this whole part, in some ways trivializing the real reason for Cersei's hatred. Of course, Joffrey's death, the suspicions about the dwarf and the subsequent killing of his father did the rest and contributed to making him even stronger, but, curiously, the adaptation wanted to cut the reference to Valonqar.