Game of Thrones Season 6 is coming, and we’re here to catch you up on where we left the characters at the end of Season 5, starting with the members of…
House Lannister
When last we saw the denizens of House Lannister, they weren’t exactly resting atop a lofty perch above all the other great houses of Westeros. With the leader of House Lannister—Lord Tywin—dead, a mad scramble for power began. By the end of it, the respect for his house that Tywin had worked so long to restore was all but gone.
Cersei Lannister, the nominal Lannister-in-charge when the year began, watched her grip on the realm loosen, as a new, more beautiful queen took her place in the heart of her only living son, Tommen. Speaking of Tommen, he was wed to Margaery Tyrell, thus uniting two great houses of Westeros. However, thanks to Cersei’s jealousy and backstabbing, that bond isn’t nearly as strong as it could have been.
Thinking to eliminate competitors for the Iron Throne, Cersei turned to religion. She appointed a new High Septon and reestablished an ancient, fanatical religious order called the Faith Militant. In unleashing the new High Septon, called the High Sparrow, on King’s Landing, Cersei inadvertently exposed her own secrets and sins, and ended up imprisoned by the very man she had raised to power.
In Dorne, Myrcella—Cersei’s daughter—discovered love with the handsome Prince Trystane Martell, all while her life hung in the balance. Ellaria Sand, paramour to the late Oberyn Martell, plotted with Oberyn’s bastard daughters to kidnap the princess in order to take revenge against the Lannisters for her lover’s death.
Meanwhile, Jamie and his pal Bronn made their way to Dorne in order to bring Myrcella home, but were captured by Prince Doran Martell’s guards.
Across the Narrow Sea, Tyrion Lannister took Varys up on his offer and began a long trek to meet Daenerys Targaryen, the Mother of Dragons, in Meereen, but thanks to interference from the banished Jorah Mormont, his trip took a sharp right turn. During his travels with Jorah, Tyrion was attacked by Stone Men in the smoking ruins of Old Valyria, captured by a slaver who wanted to sell bits of Tyrion to a cock merchant, nearly had to fight for his life as a gladiator, and was almost slaughtered by the Sons of the Harpy in Daznak’s Pit. In short, Tyrion got to experience the very best of what Essos had to offer.
By the end of Game of Thrones Season 5, the Lannisters were scattered to the four winds, and save for Tyrion—who became the regent-ruler of Meereen in Dany’s absence—none of them were better for it. Here’s where the members of House Lannister stood when last we saw them.
- Tommen went into seclusion, refusing food and water. Apparently he’s going on a hunger strike under his mother and wife are released from prison.
- Myrcella’s plot armor was not sufficient enough to withstand a clumsily delivered poison kiss from Ellaria Sand that killed her while she sailed back to King’s Landing from Dorne.
- Lancel Lannister became a religious fanatic with a proclivity for beating people with clubs.
- Uncle Kevan took control of King’s Landing and began to repair the damage his niece Cersei had wrought.
- For one of the first time since he was caught banging his sister in the old tower in Winterfell, Jaime Lannister actually came close to experiencing a moment of true happiness, as he confessed to Myrcella that he was actually her father as well as her uncle, and found that she accepted him. However, Myrcella’s died of poison almost immediately afterward, and Jaime Lannister’s life was once again turned upside-down, as he held the dead body of his reunited daughter in his arms.
- Cersei spent the back third of Season 5 in a tiny cell, being hit with a spoon by the deranged Septa Unella. Finally, she halfway confessed her sins to the High Septon, and was made to walk naked through the streets of King’s Landing as an act of atonement. Our last look at the shorn lion of House Lannister saw her being carried to safety in the arms of the gigantic new Kingsguard knight, Ser Robert Strong.
- Tyrion’s final scene looked like something off the cover of the saddest ’90s boy band album ever. As he sat on the steps in Dany’s empty throne room with his bros Jorah and Daario, it was decided that he would rule Meereen as regent until Daenerys returned. The last time we saw Tyrion, he and Varys, who popped up to offer his assistance in ruling the city, were watching Daario and Jorah ride off in hopes of finding their queen.
So what can we hope for the lions of Lannister in Game of Thrones Season 6? Well, if events play out like they do in A Dance with Dragons, we may see Uncle Kevan discover that winter has finally arrived in King’s Landing. Lancel, I’m sure, will continue to pummel folks with clubs, and may even be called to fight in a trial by combat, if Cersei opts for one and the Faith choose him as a champion.
The only living child of Jamie and Cersei’s incestous relationship—Tommen—will hopefully decide to quit being so emo and start eating again. And Cersei, having been reunited with her son, will most likely continue her devious political maneuvering…only this time, I’m sure she’ll at least play demure. The people of King’s Landing may have shamed the once proud lioness, but as the song says, a lion still has claws, and her’s are long and sharp.
As far as Tyrion and Jaime are concerned, it appears as if the elder brother will be traveling to the Riverlands after delivering the body of his daughter to King’s Landing. There, he will most likely attempt to lift the siege of Riverrun…and possibly run into a certain Lady with a heart of stone?
Tyrion will get to try his hand at being the boss again. Only this time, the people don’t speak his language, and guys in Mardi Gras masks will most likely be trying to murder him and his men at every turn. Will he live long enough to see his new queen return? Or will Tyrion spend the entirety of Season 6 trying to hold Meereen together without her?
Game of Thrones Season 6 promises to be a jam-packed year full of mystery, action, and intrigue, and hopefully the House of Lannister will have a major role in shaping that story…or not, depending on how you feel about the Lannisters.