Cersei Lannister: Episodes 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7

     Cersei is back home in King's Landing, where she sets the fashions of the day.

     This is the lightest and softest we see Cersei, wearing a color she usually reserves for Jaime.

     This is a very maternal scene for Cersei. Say what you will about the woman, but she does love her kids. In this scene she dresses Joffrey's wounds and gives him some decent advice about being king (although all he takes away from the conversation is "a king can do as he likes"). 

 

     Both her dress and hairstyle are fairly low-key compared to a lot of other stuff she wears. The embroidery on the gown is also much more delicate than her usual brocade. This scene, and this outfit, are about Cersei's role as a loving mother. Also, in this family scene, Cersei wears her Lannister Lion necklace.

"I really hope Joffrey doesn't take 'A king can do whatever he wants' the wrong way."

And now for another edition of...

The Many Faces of Cersei Lannister

Clockwise from top left: Anger; Annoyance; Concern; No Jaime that's a really bad idea for a ballad.

     Cersei panics about the possibility of Bran Stark waking up and telling his father what happened that day in the tower. Jaime is flippant ("I think we can outfox a ten-year-old") but then serious as he assures her that he will kill everyone in the entire world if that's what it takes for them to be together.
     This dress is the same blue-green as the dress she wore when she was mothering Joffrey earlier.  But this dress is a lot more revealing than almost anything else we will ever see Cersei wear. 

     Even though this dress is revealing, we don't think it's about sex. It's about vulnerability. She isn't wearing this dress to seduce Jaime; she's wearing it to yell at him for leaving a chink in their armor. A revealing dress because she's worried that they are about to be revealed, as the murderous, incestuous family that they are.

     This is a public appearance, so once again, Cersei is in full Queen of the Seven Kingdoms regalia. She wears a Baratheon antler crown, but it is overshadowed by the Lannister lions on the front of her cloak. Not much happens with Cersei in this scene, she's mostly just there to create a sort of "still life with perfect royal family" but like we said, the red and gold, and the large, prominent lions make a statement, and a pretty bold one at that. Also, some epic eye-rolling. Liz Lemon would be proud. 

     Cersei Lannister is the Betty Draper of the Westeros. Seriously, think about it: the lacquered hair, the impeccable outfits, the depression, the adulterous husband. But most of all, the outward appearance of perfection. She is what every woman in Westeros aspires to be.

Hi non-terrible children! Hi!

     This dress of Cersei's is about power, and definitely sex. (Which is fitting, because after this conversation, Ned realizes that Cersei's children may not have been by Robert.) The deep red, the Lannister necklace signifying that she is Jaime's woman, the relaxed hair (no braid helmet here; she doesn't feel she needs that particular piece of armor) - she is in control here, and fully confident that she has the upper hand.   

     She's flaunting her power in front of Ned, baiting him, challenging him to challenge her, dropping cryptic hints, and not a bit worried that Ned will rise to the occasion. She's having fun with politics here.

     Before Cersei begins wearing real armor in season two, this is her own version of protective clothing: red and gold, wealth and power, and the juxtaposition of her soft, robe-like dress with the metal at her neck and waist, holding it all together.

Cersei's really enjoying her role as Evil Queen here.

     And here is the most honest conversation Cersei and Robert ever have. They talk about the Targaryans and the Dothraki, they acknowledge that their terrible marriage is the thread holding the kingdom together. They talk about Lyanna. And finally, Cersei asks, almost tenderly, if there was ever a chance for them. Robert says no. And asks how it makes her feel. Mask firmly back in place, she says that it doesn't make her feel anything, and walks away.

     It's interesting that she goes into this scene with Robert wearing the same clothing, though it's an episode later. It draws a connection between Robert and Ned, but maybe Cersei felt she needed this protection, to feel confident going into a conversation that's almost the opposite of the one above. She is honest with Robert for the first and only time, vulnerable and in no way cryptic. But her clothes allow her to retreat quickly into her protective shell when she needs to, when Robert responds to her.

     This is Cersei's "you win or you die" dress. It's red, which is her power color. She wears it here, and later, when Ned stark confronts her. And in both those scenes, she's out to prove that no one puts Cersei Lannister in a corner. And in these two scenes, at least, she is powerful. Neither Robert Baratheon nor Ned Stark ever get the best of her.

     This is the dress she wears for Jaime - it connects her to him, and stresses her allegiance (not to her husband) in this scene. Now she wears it to confront Ned about his fight with Jaime and the fact that Cat took Tyrion captive. ("How dare you lay hands on my blood.") She and Robert and Ned argue until Robert slaps her across the face hard enough to bruise. And that is the exact moment when Cersei decides that Robert is going to die.

      

                                               She wore this dress in family scenes before and, though Jaime and Tyrion aren't present, this scene is about her family. They are her blood and she will protect them. If that means killing her husband and making an enemy of Ned Stark, so be it. 
     This blue-green dress also blends into the color of the room, both tying Cersei into her surroundings (she's decided Robert is going to leave King's Landing - feet first, but she ain't leaving), and diminishing her visually as Robert diminishes her power in front of Ned.
      
     This is another clashing outfits=unhappy marriage scene. Cersei wears a sumptuous dress in a cool blue-green while Robert is wearing a black jerkin that does its best to mimic armor.

     Now it's time for Ned to confront Cersei about her children's true parentage. She's wearing her same scarlet woman dress from her conversation with Ned that laid the groundwork for this one, as well as her conversation with Robert about their failed marriage (which failed more than Robert will ever know, as it didn't provide him with any true heirs).

     Ned has figured her out, but again, Cersei's not scared. She's so confident in her power in this situation that she tells Ned all, admitting her children are Jaime's and laughing at him. She can easily destroy him. She's left behind any remaining feelings for Robert (her cheek is still red and bruised from when he struck her), and has fully accepted her role as enemy of the crown.

     Instead of high braids here, her hair weaves into a single, long thick braid. Cersei's high piles of braids are about the power she believes she has, but thick braids=true power (see also: Dany at the end of seasons one and two). She's running this show even as she's put on Ned's mini-trial, and her hair knows it.

     And as Robert dies (and he sends her away and keeps Ned with him instead, a final token of his complete disregard for her) she's continues in her power, a Lannister through and through, ready to control the throne through her terrible son.

That's why her hair is so big: it's full of secrets.

     See what we mean about the braids getting higher? It's time to put on a show. This scene is all about securing Joffrey's right to the throne, especially in the face of Ned's (entirely accurate) accusations. She's wearing Baratheon colors and a Baratheon crown (with a green Baratheon jewel at the center). Note that she's still wearing her Lannister necklace, and that this gown is more subtly opulent than anything she's yet worn. The strings of beads that hang down the front bespeak riches as well as invoking chains of office. The cape (which still shows her arms - she's still southern fashionable even in a power coup) is imposing, and the hair that cascades from that truly impressive 'do is looser than usual, conveying a sense of ease in her new position. Joffrey may be sitting on the Iron Throne in this scene, but Cersei's the one in charge, the focal point of everyone's attention. She goes straight for Ned's throat in front of the whole court, coolly and calmly ripping apart Robert's will naming Ned as regent and ordering the death of his entire household.

Hey Cersei, you know ripping things apart doesn't make them disappear or prevent their legality right? No? Well, whatever works for you.

     Throughout it all, the mark on her cheek is still clearly visible, a bright red reminder of why this is all happening. Cersei may be awful, but much of this is also Robert's fault, for neglecting his responsibilities as a husband and a king. Winter is coming, but Robert had it coming, too.

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Sansa and Arya Stark: Episode 2

     Let's get back to Ginger and soon-to-be Scary Stark.

     Hello Tiny Adorable Arya, who has yet to become Tiny Adorable Terrifying Child Assassin Arya. Miss Arya is packing to leave for Kings Landing (she, like all the other Starks except Sansa, is ambivalent about the trip). She's wearing the same dress she wore at the beginning of episode 1, a dress which is very (very) similar to the dresses her mother and Sansa wore to the feast in the previous episode. Note the color and also the detailing at the collar. There is, however, much more wear and tear on this dress than there is on her sister's. 

A sword?!

     And, as we said before: lacing on the back and shoulders mimics the lacing on leather armor. Arya is a warrior (with adorable pigtail braids).   

     Jon Snow presents Arya with a sword of her own, and she jumps up to hug him and it's just really goddamn adorable.

     Lannister cousins, crazy-braiding each others' hair, and (presumably) making bitchy comments about Sansa.

Sweet Sansa dresses impeccably, even just for the purpose of walking around the muddy encampment. 

This dress is notable for a few reasons. For one thing, we think this dress is new. While Sansa, as the daughter of a noble house, would have a larger wardrobe than most women in the seven kingdoms (and therefore some dresses that we, the viewers, have not seen her wear yet) this dress looks new to our eyes. We tend to think that Sansa probably had it made especially for her trip south to King's Landing. Both the cut and color of the dress exist at almost the exact midpoint between northern and southern styles. It's in the sky blue that we are starting to thing of as Sansa's signature color, more Tully than Stark. And while the detailing at the neck harkens back to the dresses she, Cat and Arya wore at Winterfell, it is designed to look like a wreath of flowers. The bell sleeves and full skirt are right out of the Cersei Lannister Southern Fashion playbook. Sansa is already making an effort to dress and act like a proper southern lady, probably hoping to endear herself to Prince Joffrey.

 
She interacts with two unsettling men: Ilyn Payne (I initially typed that as "Ilyn Pain") the mute royal executioner, and The Hound, who serves as Joffrey's personal muscle. The Hound has burn scars and dresses starkly (pun only sort of intended) in a black cloak and armor. But not to worry, because here comes Sansa's handsome prince to send the hound on his way.

Oh Lady,  you're the sweetest direwolf of all time.

     
     Sansa is in light, airy blue and Joffrey in head-to-toe red leather. Joff's outfit is actually oddly similar to something you might expect to see a Targaryen wearing. (Or maybe it's not that odd, considering the similarities between Joffrey and Viserys.) These clashing outfits tell you pretty much everything you need to know about their personalities as well as the future of their relationship.

People give Sansa a lot of shit for liking Joffrey in the first season, but honestly, the kid can be charming when he wants to be.

The lacing on Arya's blue dress is functional as well as fashionable: she removes the sleeves for physical activity on a hot day.

     This is the first appearance of Sansa's butterfly ring (at least we think it's supposed to be a butterfly, though it looks more like a moth) and dragonfly necklace. Also Cersei calls her "little bird." Are we sensing a "delicate winged creatures" motif?

      Joffrey finds Arya and Mycah sparring with sticks and attacks adorable redheaded Mycah with his actual sword. Because he (Joffrey, not Mycah) is the actual worst.

     But Arya is not one to suffer fools: she, with help from her beloved direwolf Nymeria, administers the ass-kicking Joffrey so richly deserves and throws his sword in the river before running off with Nymeria.  

Seriously Arya, just do us all a favor and stab him in his smarmy face.

     Because everyone's being terrible today, Arya is pulled in for questioning all alone in front of the entire court. Ned is understandably upset about this, but not enough to turn around and go home.

 

     It's Sansa's turn next: caught between betraying her sister and mini-treason in the eyes of her future in-laws, Sansa does the only thing she can do, and claims that she doesn't recall.

     Arya does not agree with this tactic, and because she is a little spitfire, ATTACKS. Arya never really trusts Sansa after this - they are rarely dressed alike again, and their state of tension is reflected in their completely opposite types of clothing. But Arya still defends her against Sansa's next punishment, when Cersei decrees that some dog must die for the sins of another, and chooses Sansa's sweet-tempered innocent dog Lady for execution.

 

     So Ned Stark heads off to a remote part of camp to take the life of his daughter's innocent dog. And because poor Ned Stark is too dumb and politically unsavvy to fake Lady's death with one of the literally thousands of wolf pelts hanging everywhere, Sansa loses the last friend she'll have for a very long time.

Cersei Lannister: Episode 2

     Last time on Game of Clothes, Cersei Lannister had her brother/lover Jaime do a bad, bad thing. Let's look at how she's coping through the magic of costume.

   

     Bran is lying in a coma after witnessing Cersei and Jaime make incest-y love. Things aren't looking good for him, but there's still a chance he could wake up, and maybe start telling people the story of how the Best Climber Ever managed to fall off that tower. Though the embroidery of Cersei's wrap and gown is sumptuous and speaks to her wealth (she is a Lannister queen after all), Cersei's laying low after the incident in an attempt to prevent suspicion from coming her way. Her dress is blue, but it is overshadowed by her wrap, which is the deep forest green associated with the Baratheons. She melds into the decor of the hall and forest-like color scheme of winter browns, dark stones and massive amounts of animal skins. This is the only time she dresses anything like a Northerner, and is a shrewd attempt at camouflage on Cersei's part. Her Crazy Braids are also in hiding, disguising themselves as a normal hairstyle.

Hey look, it's one of Cersei's non-terrible children! Hi Myrcella!

Sweet, unknowing Myrcella is dressed warmly for the climate, but still in a southern red. She has no idea she's wearing a color and hairstyle that calls back to the ultra-literal scarlet woman looks Cersei favors for scenes with or involving Jaime.  Myrcella's clothes reinforce this scene's undertone of scheming about the twins ongoing affair. They also highlight the fact that Myrcella is not a Baratheon, but really, completely a Lannister. Nice girl though. Too bad a lot of her family is terrible.

And now it's time for another edition of...

The Many Faces of Cersei Lannister

Clockwise from top left: Active Listening; Concern; Deep Thought; RESOLVE.

Hey Cat, how you been? Oh, right. Sorry. Please don't take us to see your sister.

Cat's holding vigil over Bran, weaving a talisman to help keep him safe. She's exactly where she's supposed to be, and she looks it. No hint of southern anything in this garb - she's 100% Stark, melding into the shadows of the tower room.

     Cersei tells the story of losing her first child, a boy with black hair, the only child she ever bore Robert Baratheon. It's fitting that she's dressed in forest colors here, referring to her husband as well as drawing a connection between herself and Cat. 

 

Do you think lying on all those wolf pelts makes Summer a tad uncomfortable?

     In this scene, Cersei's vulnerability is on full display. It seems odd, given that she's standing in front of a comatose child who she and her brother chucked out the window, but nonetheless, Cersei has a moment of genuine emotional honesty with Cat in this scene. And when she says she's sorry for Cat's pain, as a mother, we genuinely believe her. (Cersei is very good at compartmentalizing.) The forest green Cersei wears in this scene is a Baratheon color. We don't see her in this color often, so it is usually significant when she does wear it. In this scene, it is about her vulnerablity, and the hopes she once had for her relationship with Robert (children, a happy marriage, etc.). This is one of the few scenes in which we see Cersei speak tenderly and emotionally and honestly about her relationship with Robert. In fact, in this scene we see glimpses of the person Cersei might have been if she and Robert had a more functional marriage, and perhaps a family of their own.

     But when it's time to head back to the capital, Cersei goes right back to her red and gold Lannister Lion power dress. Gone is the Cersei we saw at Winterfell, here is our regular Cersei, proud, cruel, and unwilling to hear a word against her son.

"A dog must die."  

Annnnnd we're back to hating her.

Daenerys Targaryan: Part 1

     And now it's time for our favorite true queen of Westeros: Daenerys Targaryan!

     She may be the dragon's daughter but she doesn't know it yet. Just look at that face! Would you believe we see this exact same expression when she realizes FIRE CANNOT KILL A DRAGON? Let's keep that in mind, shall we?

     In Dany's first appearance, she wears a simple, diaphanous lavender gown with her hair down. She wears no jewelry or adornments or, for that matter, shoes. This particular gown is almost an exact match for the gown that Mhaegen (young prostitute and mother of one of Robert Baratheon's numerous children) wears in her first appearance. Shae and Roz also wear versions of this dress. A notable difference are the bands over her shoulders, symbolic of restraints. Just as the dress Cersei wears at the end of this episode is representative of her sexual power, Dany's dress in this scene is largely about her lack of control over her own fate and even her own body. Both the dress and Dany herself are almost invisible. Lest we forget, this is the scene in which her older brother informs her that he is going to marry her to Khal Drogo, a man she has never met, and instructs her to put on an even more see-through dress while creepily pawing at her body.

Seriously, Viserys, have you never heard of lining?

Ohhh, we are gonna enjoy it when that smile gets burned off his face.

     In the next scene, Dany puts on the dress Viserys instructed her to wear. She is exposed, literally and figuratively to a group of strangers. Her creepy brother is using her body as a bargaining chip in his gambit to reclaim the Iron Throne. It is, however, worth noting that even though this lavender dress is even more invisible than the last one, Dany herself is brighter and more vivid in this scene. Also important: the two dragon pins on her shoulders (Viserys only has one) and the two small braids in her hair. We cannot stress this enough: braids are important.

     And now it's time for the big wedding! Doesn't Dany look excited and happy to be there?

     Dany's hair is still loose and flowing here, but this is the first hint of intricacy in the styling of her braids - note the metal clips that call to the armored aspects of her attire.

Hey look, Dragon Eggs! I wonder if those will be important later.

     The halter is a woven metallic, contrasting with her wedding dress, another pale and floaty dress that makes her recede into the background, even as she's the center of the celebrations. She is wearing her Targaryan pendent in her bodice, and her armbands finish the illusion of armament. She is in a princess fantasy version of armor, even as Daenerys (a true princess) sits through her less-than-fairytale wedding. She is wearing a ring in this scene that we don't see again. It could be a Targaryan relic, or even just a reference to a more western type of marriage. The halter and armbands continue the motif of restraints in her early clothing.

 

     She's so young and obviously terrified, but her bravery is evident even now as she walks toward her new husband's gift to her,  a white horse (continuing this theme of the wrong type of Disney wedding). Oh Dany, we can't wait until you realize your power and we can worry about you less than we do right now.

     Take a good look at this dress you guys. Not only is it a beautiful dress and interesting within its current scene, just you wait. There's more in store for this particular gown.

     

     This scene was a lot less problematic in the books. There was hair braiding. It was nice. (And then the writing staff of Game of Thrones decided to change it to a rape scene because... why?)

     And here Dany is a while later, depressed and back in her first dress, fading into the background:

    Dany may have married a Khal, but she's a Khaleesi in name only. She has not yet realized her power.

     This is Dany's first real scene as a member of the Khalasar. This is the most covered up we've seen her thus far. She doesn't fade into the background here; instead she melds with the trappings of her adopted culture, dressed in the earth tones of a Dothraki woman. The cut and style of the dress in halfway between the drapey gowns she's been wearing thus far and the more functional clothes of a Khaleesi. (We also think it is slightly reminiscent of Jedi robes.)

 

     It is in this dress that we see Dany initiate her first loving, consensual sexual encounter with Drogo. And even though it's a sex scene, this is still the most covered-up we've seen Dany thus far.

Well someone's started taking control of her life and is looking more at home.

 

     By episode three, Dany has truly started to come into her own as a Khaleesi. She wears a functional outfit; halter top, trousers, boots, split skirt and riding gloves in deep earth tones. She looks at home in the saddle and in the Khalasar. (Especially in comparison to her brother, who clings to his Westerosi clothes almost as hard as he clings to his delusions of grandeur.) Her braids are also more numerous, and thicker than they have ever been. The only remnant of her Westerosi clothing and heritage is the dragon pin she wears on the front of her shirt.

Not a Queen. A Khaleesi.

"Yeah, Viserys, turns out I'm in charge here. We're gonna get back on our horses, and you can walk."

     However, her transition to powerful Khaleesi is not totally complete. This outfit exposes some of her stomach, which makes her look somewhat younger than she might otherwise. And while we are completely in favor of awesome warrior women with bare midriffs (we grew up in the nineties, can you tell?) we do believe that the style reads as somewhat young/adolescent.

Boob what?

     Dany is wearing this outfit, and having her hair braided when Irri tells her that she is pregnant. This pregnancy secures her position within the Dothraki, the mother of the Stallion who will Mount the World. News of her pregnancy also makes her a threat in the eyes of Robert Baratheon's council. A plot to poison her is afoot, and while we're on Team Khaleesi, Ned Stark was wrong: they should've taken her out at this point: it was their only chance, and now she's a comin'.