The HBO epic fantasy drama Game of Thrones recently aired a rape scene involving stars Lena Headey and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, which has caused some controversy, and now Headey has commented that “it felt great.”
For those uninitiated in the lore and dealings of the Game of Thrones fantasy realms of Westeros and Essos, Headey and Coster-Waldau portray the aristocratic and incestuous twins Cersei and Jaime Lannister. The oldest of their inbred children grows to become an evil king named Joffrey, who is poisoned during his wedding reception, an event casually referred to by fans as “The Purple Wedding.”
Cersei later displays a softer side to her trademark vitriol by while excessively mourning over her dead son, but then twin Jamie enters the chamber and rapes her in front of Joffrey’s corpse. George R. R. Martin’s series of fantasy novels, A Song of Fire and Ice, depicts the event differently, but show producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss decided to adjust the tone of the scene in their adaptation.
Fan reaction has been a mix of sympathy for the Cersei character, confusion over the Jamie character, who had been reforming himself a bit after losing his right hand, and a bit of outrage over the scene in general, which is significant for a show known for pushing the envelope of bad taste.
Cersei, Jaime and brother Tyrion:
In a move likely to court further controversy, Headey explains her take on the rape scene. “She’s staring at the body of her dead son… she’s joined by her brother who’s also her lover, so, you know we’ve got bigger problems than the one everyone is talking about.”
There’s lust and desperation… there was this need,” Headey says, describing Cersei’s motivations. “It wasn’t right and yet it felt great and it played out the way it did. And I was really happy with it.”
Here is some fan commentary via Twitter:
Lena Headey on the GOT rape scene: http://t.co/uD4S8ywrvh I think the scene got mangled in the edit, at this point.
— Devin Faraci (@devincf) April 29, 2014
Can't blame Lena Headey for playing her response so carefully – probably says a lot about her position as a woman in the industry #GoT
— will brooker (@willbrooker) April 29, 2014
However you feel about the handling of this storyline, Lena Headey is acting the hell out of it. #GameOfThrones
— Alyssa Rosenberg (@AlyssaRosenberg) April 28, 2014
look at lena headey's face!!!!! look at it!!!! pic.twitter.com/3H0GmkwQ6A
— nadya (@blackswind) April 25, 2014
In related news, Headey reportedly purchased a new fixer-upper house in Sherman Oaks, California.
Image via Wikimedia Commons