Joffrey Baratheon is a fictional character from George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, and from the HBO adaptation, Game of Thrones. Officially, he is the eldest son of King Robert Baratheon and the queen, Cersei Lannister.
However, it is actually the result of the incestuous relationship between Cersei and her twin brother, Ser Jamie Lannister. Her two brothers are Tommen and Myrcella. In both the play and the series, Joffrey is described as a rebellious, impetuous young man, volatile, cruel and with a notable penchant for sadism.
Hence, he has no respect or consideration for the lives of others. Likewise, he also used their kindness, politeness and courtesy only in order to manipulate others. It is said that deep down the character only wanted his father's approval, so he tried to get his attention without much success.
History
According to the work, the birth of Joffrey happened almost in secret until the moment of his presentation, when he is declared as heir to the Iron Throne.
As time went on, and due to the lack of supervision and control by his parents, Joffrey began to develop a volatile, cruel and sadistic character.
Although Robert Baratheon did not question his paternity, it was not long before he demonstrated his disapproval and dislike of his son. Because of this, it is presumed that Joffrey made efforts to gain his father's trust and attention.
In Game of Thrones
Some important events of this character during the series can be highlighted:
-He appears for the first time when traveling with his family to Winterfell to form an alliance with House Stark. On the one hand, Robert appoints Eddard Stark, while Joffrey is presented as Sansa Stark's promised potential.
-He was kind and polite to Sansa at first, but after Bran Stark's near fatal fall he truly showed his nature by making a cruel comment towards the boy and the family. This earned him the punishment that his uncle, Tyrion Lannister, did.
-He came to hear from his father that the best the family could do was sacrifice him, so he employed an assassin to execute the plan.
-However, the assassination attempt failed and Tyrion Lannister was accused of being the author of the plan. This was enough to cause tension between House Lannister and House Stark.
-When returning to King's Landing, Sansa and Joffrey try to get to know each other little by little. Then, Joffrey discovers that Arya is practicing swords with the servant, Mycah. He tries to intervene in the scene aggressively when he is bitten by Arya's direwolf, Nymeria.
-Thanks to this he accused Mycah and Nymeria of the attack, which caused the death of the servant and Lady, Sansa's wolf.
-When working as Hand of the King, Eddard Stark discovered that both Jofrrey and his brothers are children of Cersei and Jamie, who committed incest. This was enough to charge Eddard with treason and also to stage the murder of Robert Baratheon.
Ascent to the throne
Since the rise to power, it didn't take Joffrey too long to prove his personality through cruel and ruthless actions:
-Eddard Stark is imprisoned and put in a public execution, where he had to admit to a betrayal he had not committed to protect his family. Sansa and Arya witness this very dramatic scene. To make matters worse, Joffrey forces Sansa to look at Eddard's head, which was placed on a pike as a trophy and warning to traitors.
-Sansa becomes a kind of prisoner and is constantly abused by Joffrey, who continually humiliates her.
-He becomes unpredictable, even for his mother Cersei. Similarly, unpopularity is earned by failing to distribute food to the people living in King's Landing.
-He does not participate in the Battle of Blackwater, which implies the flight of several soldiers and almost makes them lose the battle. Thanks to Tyrion's use of Valyrian fire and Tywin's intervention with the Tyrell army, control of the city was maintained.
-Humiliates Tyrion, especially by inferring that he was the person who orchestrated the assassination attempt on Bran Stark.
-Later, he breaks the engagement with Sansa to marry Margaery Tyrell and thus strengthen the alliance and the dominance of the Lannister in King's Landing.
- During the celebration of the wedding with Margaery - where he carried out a series of humiliations and despicable acts - he drank a glass of wine. After consuming it, she began to choke and vomit. Cersei and Jamie go to him to help him; Joffrey bled from her eyes and nose, and her face turned purple. Minutes later he died of suffocation.
-Joffrey's death triggered several events: the rise of his brother Tommen to the Iron Throne, the accusation of Tyrion as guilty of his death and the escape of Sansa Stark.
-During the seventh season of the series, Olenna Tyrell - the only living member of this house - confessed to Jamie Lannister that she was the person who had poisoned Joffrey.
Actor
This character was played by Irish actor Jack Gleeson, who also received acclaim for his role during the production.
Gleeson has not appeared more in other productions because he is dedicated to studies, at the same time that he is focused on a career in theater; He founded his own company called Collapsing Horse Theater Company, which is based in Dublin.
Curiosities
-Thanks to Gleeson's impeccable performance as King Joffrey, this character is recognized as one of the most hated in all of television.
-According to the physical description in the book, Joffrey has blonde hair, green eyes, and full lips.
-In the works of George RR Martin, the character is known from the perspective of other characters such as Sansa and Tyrion, since his role is rather secondary.
-In some statements, Gleeson even said that he was inspired by the performance of Joaquin Phoenix as the Emperor Comfortable in the 2000 film, Gladiator.
-In the list made by Rolling Stones magazine in 2016, this character is in fourth place among the 40 great villains on television.
Quotes
- “I want you to attend court this afternoon. Take a shower and dress accordingly to my fiancée. If you don't get up and get dressed, my Dog will dress you by force ”.
- “What you did is punishable by death. You will never do this. Never".
- "Killing you would send a message to your brother."
- "A king can do whatever he wants!"
- “They all belong to me to torment them! You should remember, little monster. "
References
- "Game of Thrones": we remember the evils of King Joffrey. (2014). On trade. Retrieved: May 1, 2018. In El Comercio de elcomercio.pe.
- Jack Gleeson. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: May 1, 2018. In Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org.
- Joffrey Baratheon. (sf). On a Wiki of Ice and Fire. Retrieved: May 1, 2018. On Ice and Fire Wiki by ice and fire.wikia.com.
- Joffrey Baratheon. (sf). On Game of Thrones Wiki. Retrieved: May 1, 2018. On Game of Thrones Wiki at gameofthrones.wikia.com.
- Joffrey Baratheon. (sf) On Wikipedia. Retrieved: May 1, 2018. In Wikipedia at en.wikipedia.org.
- Joffrey Baratheon. (sf). On Wikipedia. Retrieved: May 1, 2018. In Wikipedia at es.wikipedia.org.