Cersei's "Pregnancy" May Be a Scheme Similar to 'Game of Thrones' Season 1

Game of Thrones ended Season 7 with the reveal that Cersei Lannister was pregnant with Jaime’s baby, but when Season 8 began, it seemed that pregnancy might have failed (or been a lie all along). However, a bit more digging might reveal that Cersei is still carrying her brother’s child, and she has some evil (and familiar) plans for the unborn prince.

Warning: If this theory is right, then everything that follows is a Game of Thrones Season 8 spoiler.

The big clue that most fans (myself included) latched onto was that Cersei drank wine in Game of Thrones Season 8, Episode 1 after refusing a drink from Tyrion at the end of Season 7. But as plenty of people have pointed out, the characters in Game of Thrones probably don’t know about the dangers of fetal alcohol syndrome. So there’s no reason to believe that Cersei still isn’t pregnant with Jaime’s baby.

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What does that mean for Game of Thrones Season 8? Well, for one thing, it suggests that by sleeping with Euron Greyjoy, Cersei could be plotting another evil scheme that’s very reminiscent of her power grab at the end of Season 1. Assuming that enough time passes for the queen to give birth (or even start to show), here’s how the entire situation could play out:

• First, Cersei lies and tells everyone that her baby is Euron’s (maybe they get married, maybe not).

• Next, she has Euron killed (because, Cersei) and then uses her “Greyjoy” baby to maintain command of the Iron Fleet.

• Finally, she uses the fleet to take control of the Iron Islands back from Yara Greyjoy and hides out in Pyke to avoid the White Walkers.

If those first two points sound familiar, it’s because that’s exactly what Cersei did to King Robert Baratheon. She passed off her incest babies as Baratheons, arranged for Robert to die in a hunting accident, and then placed her son Joffrey on the Iron Throne even though everyone secretly knew he wasn’t really a Baratheon.

It worked once, so why not try it again? Of course, it’s unclear whether anyone will believe Cersei this time around. Times have changed, and her reputation has definitely taken a hit. Then again, with the Golden Army behind her, Cersei still has the manpower needed to enforce her will. All she needs now is control of the Iron Fleet.

Game of Thrones Season 8 airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.