*** SPOILERS AHEAD: DO NOT READ ON UNLESS YOU'VE SEEN SEASON 4, EPISODE 2 OF "GAME OF THRONES" ***
Ding dong, the King is dead. For three seasons, "Game Of Thrones" fans have been waiting for the horrible King Joffrey to get his due, and he finally did -- frothing and convulsing on the floor, poisoned, after his marriage to Margaery Tyrell. After getting over the immense satisfaction of knowing that Joffrey is dead, inquisitive minds want to know: who did the deed? Who killed the loathsome king?
For those of us who haven't read the books, it's a mystery. "Game Of Thrones" features so many potentially culpable characters, it's anyone's guess. I've listed some of the suspects below, and the rationale as to why they could have possibly done it.
Tyrion Lannister
Obviously, it looks like Tyrion did it -- he was the one serving the poisoned wine to Joffrey. But to me, it's clearly a set-up. As Tyrion himself says, he's far too clever to be caught at the scene of the crime. If this was indeed his plan, it would have been executed much more cleanly.
Tywin Lannister
Tywin is a frightening man with a swift hand and no remorse, so it's not too far-fetched to conceive of him killing his own grandson. As much as he never wants to admit it publicly, he's fully aware that Joffrey was borne of incest (between his own children, no less), and he knows just how poisonous Joffrey is to the kingdom. As The Hand, Tywin has access to powerful people and shadowy yes men, and he would much rather rule himself then rely on a twisted, sick boy.
But countering this line of thought is the fact that Tywin is a Lannister, and while yes, Lannisters always repay their debts, to kill another member of your family is extreme, especially for a bunch of paw-licking lions. And Tywin was pretty much in control of the kingdom prior to Joffrey's death, so what does he really gain?
Littlefinger
I include Littlefinger because he's involved in every scheme taking place in King's Landing -- it's hard to fathom that he didn't know anything about this murder. It also seems likely that Littlefinger was in cahoots with Olenna (more on that below). He's been spending most of his time manipulating Sansa to feel guilty about her very existence, so she can easily be used as a puppet by him.
Olenna Tyrell
Olenna seems like the most probable suspect to me. The obvious reasoning as to why she did it is simple: she wants Margaery to be queen without having to suffer under the cruel, sadistic punishment of Joffrey. Throughout Margaery and Joffrey's "courting" -- which was basically just Margaery getting instruction from Olenna on how to dominate Joffrey -- you'll note that Margaery and Olenna never seemed that intimidated or frightened by Joffrey's antics. When Sansa told Margaery about his monstrous ways, she barely batted an eye; this is strange, considering they were about to be wed. Unless, of course, a plan was already in motion. Olenna had things under her control the entire time (probably with the help of Littlefinger).
Margaery Tyrell
I think that Margaery had to know something, but maybe not the entire extent of the plan. At the Purple Wedding dinner, she seemed oddly calm and her eyes were permanently on Joffrey -- and not in a loving way, either. It was as if she was waiting for something to happen. But her fear after Joffrey's death seems genuine, so perhaps she didn't know at all, and Olenna made sure of it to keep her free from accusations.
Stannis Baratheon & Melisandre
This is the biggest stretch, especially since we didn't see any black shadows at the wedding. Stannis has motive in his quest for the throne, but the use of poison doesn't seem like something out of Melisandre's bag of tricks. Too messy.
I'm eager to hear what other viewers thought -- leave your theories in the comments below! But if you've read the books, please do not spoil anything for other readers; we prefer to keep the comments a spoiler-free space.
Ding dong, the King is dead. For three seasons, "Game Of Thrones" fans have been waiting for the horrible King Joffrey to get his due, and he finally did -- frothing and convulsing on the floor, poisoned, after his marriage to Margaery Tyrell. After getting over the immense satisfaction of knowing that Joffrey is dead, inquisitive minds want to know: who did the deed? Who killed the loathsome king?
For those of us who haven't read the books, it's a mystery. "Game Of Thrones" features so many potentially culpable characters, it's anyone's guess. I've listed some of the suspects below, and the rationale as to why they could have possibly done it.
Tyrion Lannister
Obviously, it looks like Tyrion did it -- he was the one serving the poisoned wine to Joffrey. But to me, it's clearly a set-up. As Tyrion himself says, he's far too clever to be caught at the scene of the crime. If this was indeed his plan, it would have been executed much more cleanly.
Tywin Lannister
Tywin is a frightening man with a swift hand and no remorse, so it's not too far-fetched to conceive of him killing his own grandson. As much as he never wants to admit it publicly, he's fully aware that Joffrey was borne of incest (between his own children, no less), and he knows just how poisonous Joffrey is to the kingdom. As The Hand, Tywin has access to powerful people and shadowy yes men, and he would much rather rule himself then rely on a twisted, sick boy.
But countering this line of thought is the fact that Tywin is a Lannister, and while yes, Lannisters always repay their debts, to kill another member of your family is extreme, especially for a bunch of paw-licking lions. And Tywin was pretty much in control of the kingdom prior to Joffrey's death, so what does he really gain?
Littlefinger
I include Littlefinger because he's involved in every scheme taking place in King's Landing -- it's hard to fathom that he didn't know anything about this murder. It also seems likely that Littlefinger was in cahoots with Olenna (more on that below). He's been spending most of his time manipulating Sansa to feel guilty about her very existence, so she can easily be used as a puppet by him.
Olenna Tyrell
Olenna seems like the most probable suspect to me. The obvious reasoning as to why she did it is simple: she wants Margaery to be queen without having to suffer under the cruel, sadistic punishment of Joffrey. Throughout Margaery and Joffrey's "courting" -- which was basically just Margaery getting instruction from Olenna on how to dominate Joffrey -- you'll note that Margaery and Olenna never seemed that intimidated or frightened by Joffrey's antics. When Sansa told Margaery about his monstrous ways, she barely batted an eye; this is strange, considering they were about to be wed. Unless, of course, a plan was already in motion. Olenna had things under her control the entire time (probably with the help of Littlefinger).
Margaery Tyrell
I think that Margaery had to know something, but maybe not the entire extent of the plan. At the Purple Wedding dinner, she seemed oddly calm and her eyes were permanently on Joffrey -- and not in a loving way, either. It was as if she was waiting for something to happen. But her fear after Joffrey's death seems genuine, so perhaps she didn't know at all, and Olenna made sure of it to keep her free from accusations.
Stannis Baratheon & Melisandre
This is the biggest stretch, especially since we didn't see any black shadows at the wedding. Stannis has motive in his quest for the throne, but the use of poison doesn't seem like something out of Melisandre's bag of tricks. Too messy.
I'm eager to hear what other viewers thought -- leave your theories in the comments below! But if you've read the books, please do not spoil anything for other readers; we prefer to keep the comments a spoiler-free space.