Lena Headey was "kind of gutted" with how Cersei died in Game of Thrones

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One death didn’t sit right in Game of Thrones season 8

Game of Thrones
Image credit: HBO

The fallout from Game of Thrones season 8 still hasn’t passed. In fact, one of its most controversial deaths still has certain tongues wagging – including the actress who befell the brick-filled fate. That’s right: Lena Headey has opened up for the first time about Cersei’s demise and, frankly, it’s something she felt could have been handled a little differently.

“I’ve got a few of my own gripes,” Headey candidly reveals to The Guardian. “But I haven’t sat down drunkenly with [showrunners] David [Benioff] and Dan [Weiss] yet.”

So, what would Cersei’s actress be up in arms about over a few glasses of wine? Surely not the lack of elephants?! No, it’s as you might have suspected: Her character’s demise. After all, Cersei bowed out in the most unceremonious of ways. The then-Queen of Westeros doesn’t get a knife to her back, nor is she poisoned by Arya in a crowd-pleasing twist. Instead, she embraces her brother/love of her life Jaime, and they both perish underneath the crumbling ruins of King’s Landing.

After that, it’s no surprise to find out Headey wanted “a better death.” Headey explains her reasoning by saying, “Obviously you dream of your death. You could go in any way on that show. So I was kind of gutted.”

However, Headey isn’t coming out swinging – and even defends the Game of Thrones showrunners: “I just think they couldn’t have pleased everyone. No matter what they did, I think there was going to be some big comedown from the climb.”

So, while Lena Headey doesn’t come down on Game of Thrones season 8 like a tonne of bricks, there are certainly things she maybe would’ve done differently. A different death for one thing – but no word about those elephants.

Bradley Russell
Bradley Russell
Senior Entertainment Writer

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.