The second episode of the fourth season of HBO’s flagship
ensemble series, Game of Thrones,
entitled “The Lion and the Rose,” was a classic example of the epic surprise
that the show enjoys pulling on its viewers. The surprises in the previous
seasons, however, almost always came in the ninth episode of the series rather
than the second. This made the (SPOILERS from here on out) death of repugnant,
hated King Joffrey all the more shocking in the context of the show itself.
We, the non-book readers, were expecting some sort of grand
showdown in the latter seasons of the show – whether it be from a Stark
challenger, or Daenerys from across the Narrow Sea. But the showrunners, who
have proven time and time again that they refuse to bend to traditional television
norms, pulled a fast one and knocked off the villain halfway from the show’s
finish line. It’s a bold move, because Joffrey was one of those characters that
viewers loved to hate.
But as much as the character was hated, he was still a
fantastic character – a to-the-bone example of evil, sociopathy, and vanity all
tied together effortlessly by Jack Gleeson. Yes, we all wanted him gone, but
with his removal, a crucial element of the story is now gone. Who is left to
moan about on social media on Sunday nights? The second most worthy character of
hatred is Ramsay Snow, but as much as he has proven to be a complete
psychopath, he isn’t the king, and he doesn’t directly affect the lives of the
characters we love – at least not yet.
I suppose we will just have to wait and see where the show
goes from this point forward.
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