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One of the most important events in season 5 is definitely

the arrest of Cersei Lannister by the Faith Militant.

The strangest thing for me is that there are no guards protecting Cersei during this episode! What exactly happened to them?

I mean, if you take modern life, no politician of such high rank would visit any place without a serious security detail (even an official meeting in the Church). I guess that maybe she made the guard wait outside the church. But

after she was arrested

what did the guards do? Simply returned to castle without wondering what happened to the queen? This does not seem realistic at all, if you consider modern politics. Does this have any logical explanation at all?

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    Cercei wasn't loved by anyone, she made quite sure of that with her behavior. I didn't see season 5 yet, but in the books she gave the High Septon the right to have armed guards. There were way too many around the sept for the handfull of her guards to overthrow and it would have ended in another riot. So yes, they returned to the keep and told the council which probably was more then happy that they were rid of her.
    – Thomas
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 13:31
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    Well, taking modern politics into account... Dragons.
    – Daft
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 13:48
  • +1 - I was wondering the same thing myself while watching Season 5. Kings and queens have guards and armies protecting them - that's why they're in power. It seemed a little silly how the Sparrows could simply snatch the Queen and Queen Mother and throw them into cells.
    – RobertF
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 14:11
  • Does Cercei even HAVE guards at this point on the show? She's no longer the Queen Regent, and now that Tommen & Margaery are married, Cercei has little to no authority.
    – Omegacron
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 14:56
  • @Omegacron I think she did. In the scene where she tells her guards to kill Littlefinger, I remember her guards wearing Lannister red, not gold cloaks. Much like Ned had his household guard. With Kevan not around she would have been in charge of all Lannister guards in the city
    – Mikey Mouse
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 16:00

2 Answers 2

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In the book "Feast For Crows" (I know you are asking about the TV show canon) the sparrow guards (Poor Fellows) outside the Sept would not allow the queen to enter with her guards. At the time outside of the Sept the sparrows had gathered in large numbers with the bones of all the righteous who had died defending the faith and (sorry I don't have text in front of me) the feeling was that Cersei did not want to repeat the folly of King Joffrey when Mercella was sent to Dorn. She only brought a few guards (Hubris and overconfidence) and was forced to leave them outside. In her mind was also that she had recently caused Osney Kettleblack to confess that he had sex with Queen Margery so she assumed she was completely safe. As to the show, I have not watched it yet (If ever).

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    a gaggle of armed men stepped out to block the doors. They wore mail and boiled leather... Some had spears and some had longswords. More favored axes, and had sewn red stars upon their bleached white surcoats . Two had the insolence to cross their spears and bar her way. “Is this how you receive your queen ?” she demanded of them. “Do you mean to deny me entrance to Baelor’s holy sept?”“Your Grace,” said a greybeard with a stooped shoulder. “You are welcome here, but your men must leave their swordbelts. No weapons are allowed within, by command of the High Septon"...
    – kuhl
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 15:50
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    Think that's what you were looking for. I skipped some of the less useful parts of the passage to get it into a comment
    – kuhl
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 15:51
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    Much obliged. THank you
    – Frank Cedeno
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 16:01
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Cersei usually has guards following her around, like in that scene where she had them "kill" Littlefinger then changed her mind in the last moment.

I'm sure she wishes she had them at her side when the Septas dragged her off, but leaving them outside the church would be expected. She was having an audience with the (equivalent of the) pope who she herself promoted and empowered.

The thought that he might turn on her was ludicrous (thinking like Cersei here). She was going in for a private audience and probably didn't want Lannister guards standing at her shoulder listening in to everything she said.

Remember that she's there to pretend to be shocked and outraged at the treatment of her daughter in law. She doesn't want her personal guards who probably know what she really thinks of Margaery snorting or smiling while she's putting on the show. (Knowing Cersei she probably wants the guards to imagine her demanding things from the High Septon, not asking politely)

As to what the guards do when she didn't come back out. No doubt they spent a long while waiting and considering what to do. Eventually they went back to the red keep to report. They probably reported it to their captains until it got to the small council.

Which at the time would be:

Cersei (not available)

Tommen (not known to attend)

Mace Tyrell (Over in Bravos talking about usury)

Trystane (It was agreed that he would take Oberyn's agreed spot on the council, on his way there)

Maester Pycelle (Present, but from the look he gave her didn't jump up to secure her release)

Qyburne (Who visits her in prison)

The queen and her guards actions make sense to me. You can imagine the queens guards trying to muscle their way in to see her, maybe drawing swords then backing down when the faith militant didn't step aside, like the scene where they arrested Loras.

Edit: Oh and I've tried to keep this only about the TV show (as Frank has covered the book version pretty well), but they get a bit mixed in my head.

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