Euron Greyjoy: What does his allegiance mean for Cersei and how bad is he in the books?
Game of Thrones has produced some very messed up characters. At first, we didn’t think anyone could get more sadistic than Joffrey... then Ramsay came along with his fondness for castration, flaying men alive and long dog walks. With those two out of the picture, Euron Greyjoy (Pilou Asb?k) has swaggered into the Iron Throne room ready to take the crown of most barbarous nobleman.
As far as malevolent qualifications go, we’ve already seen Euron kill his brother, Balon, and disinherit his niece and nephew, Yara and Theon. Within his marriage proposal to Cersei Lannister in season seven, he even managed to sneak in the suggestion that she murder brother/lover Jaime. And in Stormborn, the following week's episode, he switched into full-on "mad pirate mode", dispatching two of the supposedly deadly Sand Snakes, ransacking Theon and Yara's fleet, and capturing the latter.
Now that Euron has managed to worm his way into the queen's bed by bringing her an army — although she may never forgive him for the lack of elephants — he's got even more power to wield and even more opportunities for carnage.
Worryingly, Euron’s actions in George RR Martin's books really give us an insight into his depravity and hint that, as far as this new villain is concerned, we ain't see nothing yet. Here's a quick round-up of what might be to come in Game of Thronesseason 8:
He's good at cutting back on workplace gossip
The best start to finding out about Cersei’s newest suitor would be to ask the crew of his ship, the Silence. You won’t get much of an answer though, because Euron had their tongues ripped out.
He's got blue lips
Euron's appearance is also a little more terrifying in the books. He wears an eyepatch to conceal the fact that one of his eyes is black in sharp contrast to his blue “smiling eye”. Just to keep everything co-ordinated, his lips are also blue due to a fondness for drinking shade of the evening (a brew of special leaves, which some believe will give the drinker magical powers).
He's not really a family man
Euron is loyal to no-one — not even his brothers. Shortly after the Greyjoy rebellion, he was banished from the Iron Islands for having sex with brother Victarion’s "salt wife" (the name given to a woman captured by one of the ironborn during a raid and forced into being a sort of unofficial spouse). We don’t know if the encounter was consensual.
He was not supposed to return for as long as Lord Balon was alive (which to be fair, he kind of didn't in that he killed Balon within minutes of landing back on Pyke). Victarion would have killed Euron for the huge betrayal, if it wasn't for the taboo against kinslaying. Instead, Victarion beat his salt wife to death.
It later transpires in the books that Balon wasn’t the only brother Euron killed. As a boy, he also killed his younger brothers Harlon and Robin.
He's well-travelled
After his banishment, Euron sailed all over the world, raping and pillaging wherever he pleased with the Silence and its mute crew. On his travels he went to dangerous places such as the ruins of Valyria, and supposedly seized a dragon horn from the warlocks of Qarth. That last bit could prove quite important, as it can control dragons and might make a lovely engagement gift for Cersei.
When he returned to take the Seastone Chair, one of the lords of Pyke, Lord Sawane Botley objected to Euron’s claim. Not wanting to get into a debate, Euron had him drowned in a cask of seawater.
His relationship history is a little worrying
After Euron conquered the Shield islands (which are in the Reach area of Westeros), he held a feast in the Oakenshield Castle. While there, he tied and gagged Lord Humfrey Hewett and makes Hewett’s daughters and granddaughters serve him naked. Euron also took Hewett’s bastard daughter Falia Flowers as his lover.
Things don’t work out well for Falia, however. According to a preview chapter from Martin's forthcoming The Winds of Winter, she is later lashed to the prow of the Silence. Pregnant and with her tongue cut out.
You’ve been warned, Cersei.
What can we expect from Euron Greyjoy in season 8?
At some point, death. Euron is filled to the brim with the kind of reckless depravity that always meets its comeuppance in Westeros and, with his proposal to Cersei in the balance, its unlikely we'll end the series watching the panned pair get hitched.
Having finally been ditched by her lover/twin brother Jaime, there would actually be some poetic justice in the Mad Queen losing all suitors/alliances when they matter most.
Although he (unfortunately) didn't die during the trip to Essos to fetch the Golden Company - a troop of mercenary sellswords - for Cersei, hopefully he will continue to fall down his self-perpetuated rabbit hole. Or, perhaps now that Theon has rescued Yara, we can expect to see some very satisfying familial justice.
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