The King Must Die
 |
| King Joffrey is dead. |
By Catherine
Giordano
The Game of
Thrones on HBO has never shied away from killing off main characters, often
beloved characters.
This week it
was King Joffrey’s turn to die--at his sumptuous wedding feast, no less. He was
definitely not beloved. He was a gratuitously violent cruel psychopath and he
died a befittingly horrible death. The camera comes in close to show us his
death grimace. He apparently died of
poison or perhaps choked on a bite of wedding cake.
What does
his death mean for Margaery Tyrell, his bride?
The marriage ceremony performed, but the marriage not yet consummated. She’s ambitious and schemed and manipulated
to become Joffrey’s betrothed, but all in all, she is one of the nicer characters
on the show.
In season 1,
episode 1, I thought the young Brandon (Bran) Stark had been killed, pushed
from a tower because he witnessed the coupling of Cersei and her twin brother
Jamie. (King Joffrey was the son of their incestuous union which had begun when
they were still children.) But Bran didn’t
die; he was only paralyzed, losing the use of his legs.
Cersei is
Queen of the Seven Kingdoms married to King Robert Baratheon. She arranges to have
the King, her husband have an unfortunate hunting “accident”, gored to death by
a boar. She quickly arranges for Joffrey to become king and as his mother, she
assumes the position of Queen Reagent.
Bran’s
father, Neddard, (Ned) Stark, Lord of Winterfell, is beheaded by Joffrey soon
after he becomes King. Ned Stark had learned the truth about the lineage of
Cersei’s children so Cersei decided that the king must die (as must Ned Stark)
to protect the only people Cersei loves--herself, her children (especially Joffrey)
and her brother and paramour, Jamie. Ned’s death was a shock because he was one
of the rare good ones on this show, a wise ruler, a loving family man, and a
just and loyal person.
The most
shocking death was still in the future. Ned’s
oldest son, Robb goes to war to build his power base in order to ultimately
avenge the death of his father. He is
successful in his battles and assumes the title of “King of the West.”
Robb is
aided by his mother Caitlyn, an able aide and advisor to her son in the matters
of war. In order to strike a much needed alliance with Lord Walder Frey who has
a slew of ugly daughters he needs to marry off, Caitlin agrees that her son
Robb will marry his eldest daughter. However, Robb has fallen in love with
Talisa and he marries her instead. Catelyn offers her brother as a replacement and
Frey accepts this proposal. But not
really.
At the
wedding feast, we learn that Lord Frey had secretly decided that the King of
the West must die for reneging on his promise to marry his daughter. The
wedding fete is the scene of his revenge. He slays Robb and all of the Stark
clan who are in attendance, including the pregnant Talisa and Caitlin. This
scene becomes known as “The Red Wedding” because of all the blood spilled.
Now, people
are killed off left and right in the world of the Seven Kingdoms. We are inured
to death, but it shocks and grieves us when the characters who are the “good
ones” are dispatched. At least on episode #33, one of the "bad guys" got it. Still it shocked because it was so unexpected.
The “king-must-die”
moments of the week keep coming. I’ll
expect there will be several more of these
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George
R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones 5-Book Boxed Set (Song of Ice and Fire
series): A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for
Crows, and A Dance with Dragons
