HBO’s series Game of Thrones is consistently the most addictive, exciting, and enjoyable show on television, in my and many others’ opinion. The number of shocks and twists the series has already taken have become legendary, and last night’s went near the top of the list right away.
SPOILERS ahead for S4, E2 of GoT.
Also ahead: speculation (but not confirmation) taken from the source material books, A Song of Ice and Fire.
So, ding dong the prick is dead.
Are you happy? Come on, of course you are. Young actor Jack Gleeson, who has sold us so well on his stellar villainy the past four years, sold us again on the pained desperation of his death, forcing us to confront the visceral ugliness of being poisoned. But even as brutal as it was to look at, it was satisfying: arguably the most hateable character in TV history, dead, finally getting what was coming to him.
Which just leaves the question … who killed him?
I’ve read all the books, but surprisingly, that doesn’t put me far ahead of any of you who haven’t. The point-of-view chapters from the books eliminate two suspects who had motive: Tyrion and Sansa. They also give us a couple possible theories, one of which is treated as particularly likely. But interestingly, George R.R. Martin never confirmed that theory, or any other, in his books. Furthermore, he has a history of letting mysteries linger for a long time, with a likely suspect you just accept as guilty, before revealing it to be someone else, books later (e.g., who killed Jon Arryn, or who sent the assassin to kill Bran, both in Book 1).
So let’s look a few likely suspects and decide who probably did it, who probably didn’t, and maybe, who would be the most interesting person to have done it.
Olenna Tyrell
You can maybe stop here, because this is probably the right answer. The show gave us enough lingering looks at her during the wedding to hint heavily at her involvement. In the books, Littlefinger specifically says it was Olenna, the Queen of Thorns, who poisoned Joffrey. The motive was clear: protecting her granddaughter, Margaery, from being married to a new mad king, while timing Joff’s death so as to protect Margaery’s “maiden” status and set her up for a new marriage to the heir and sane child, Tommen. Many fans just accept it was Olenna.
But I could never get past the lack of confirmation over the course of a couple books. Or the fact that, as logical as it all was, the explanation came from Littlefinger, notoriously as untrustworthy as anyone in the entire series. So I always hoped for a surprise twist still to come. But I don’t think the show will drag out the mystery as long, which means TV might confirm it for us before the books. And for all my twist-loving ways, I won’t be disappointed if it is Olenna – not after the master class put on by actress Diana Rigg. The show has built the character up more than the books did, particularly the struggle of wills and power between her and rival schemer Tywin Lannister. Having her get the ultimate one-up on Tywin would be great TV.
Which brings us to …
Tywin Lannister
But isn’t it plausible that Tywin himself could be to blame? He’s usually dismissed as a serious candidate because of a central credo of the Lannister way of life: it’s our family vs. everyone else. No doubt did Tywin recognize what a little shit his grandson was, and how hard he was to control (which would only become worse). But he was still a Lannister, and if that blood was enough to keep Tywin from killing Tyrion (whom he despises), it seems likely it would be enough to keep him from such drastic measures against Joffrey. But as cold and calculating as Tywin is, it’s hard to fully dismiss it.
And speaking of cold and calculating …
Littlefinger
He hasn’t appeared yet this season, but he will soon. Littlefinger wasn’t at the wedding itself, but given how vast his network of spies and agents is, it’s easy to imagine him working through someone – hell, most likely, everyone on this list would have acted through a lesser agent for their own protection. He definitely would have a motive for framing Tyrion, and his endless ambition may have been served by the chaos of a regime change.
Oberyn Martell
The Dornish prince is a favorite of mine, and I believe actor Pedro Pascal will make him the breakout star new character as the season goes on. As we’ve already seen, he has a well-earned hatred of the Lannisters and intended revenge as soon as he stepped into King’s Landing. He also has a frequently noted talent for poison, so I fear he’s almost too obvious. Most likely, his big revenge ploy is the one still to come.
Stannis Baratheon and/or Lady Melisandre
Stannis has been willing to use less than honorable means before to take out a “pretender” to his throne, and Melisandre certainly has some dark powers at her disposal. There’s never been any indication that either had the opportunity or even discussed such means. But, you can bet that Melisandre will tell us that it was all the Lord of Light’s will regardless.
Daenerys Targaryen or servants
Dany is so focused – too focused, some might argue – on her freeing-the-slaves tour that she wouldn’t have given any thought yet to arranging the current king’s death. So if there was any involvement from across the sea, it would have had to come from one of her servants taking the prerogative. Daario Naharis certainly is that type, but you would think he would have bragged about it immediately afterward to impress Dany.
The Iron Bank of Braavos
Unlikely, but an interesting sleeper. Westeros, and therefore Joffrey, is massively in debt to the Iron Bank, which is every bit as fierce about collecting its debts as the Lannisters are about paying theirs. Olenna and Tywin had a brief conversation about the bank, getting them into our conscious again, and they’ll surely play some role down the line. However, it seems like they don’t get impatient until later; killing Joffrey would seem like an extreme first step. But, Braavos does also house the best assassins in this fictional world.
Now let’s take a quicker look at some lesser suspects.
(Ser) Dontos
The former knight, turned fool, almost definitely played some role. But he’s too much of a drunken idiot to have been the mastermind.
Tyrion, Sansa
Both will be suspected, and both are happy Joffrey is dead. But neither was bold enough to do it themselves.
Arya
Obviously, she’s off with the Hound many miles away and couldn’t have had any part. But I always wished she’d gotten the chance to kill Joffrey herself. Maybe her nightly prayers really work.
Margaery Tyrell, Loras Tyrell, Mace Tyrell
It’s logical that any of them also may have had a role, but if so, it was surely still the real head of the family, Olenna, who masterminded it.
Cersei Lannister
As she loves to remind everyone, she’s as cunning and scheming as anyone else in Westeros. But while she recognized the threat her son posed, she was still fiercely loyal to her offspring. One of my first thoughts had been that she tried to poison Margaery and missed, but Cersei’s point-of-view chapters never supported that.
Jaime Lannister
He’s trying to be honorable these days, and regardless, showed no inclination to murder his own son (despite experience in mad king killing).
Brienne of Tarth
Like everyone else, she has reason to hate Joffrey, but she’s way, way, way too honorable to poison him.
Maester Pycell
Cersei certainly gave him cause to be pissed off in this episode, but he doesn’t have the old-man-balls to kill his king, I would think. Possible that he had a role on someone else’s orders (Tywin’s?).
Bronn
Unlikely, but if the price was right …
The Boltons
They’re a pretty shitty group of people, but Roose Bolton is too calculating to risk hurting his new allies, the Lannsiters, after they gave him the North. Ramsay Snow wouldn’t care about such strategy, but he’s too wrapped up in his own games to have cared about Joffrey.
The Freys
Likewise, a shitty family who has no obvious motive now, unless you count Walder’s general love of watching people die at weddings.
Shae
This could be a sleeper. Tyrion has now given her reason to turn on him, so framing him for regicide would make some sense. That seems to make more sense for the show than the book, though, which never treated Shae with the same level of dignity, finding another way for her to come back instead. But I’m keeping an eye on this; having her involved could go hand in hand with Tywin, who wanted to see her before the wedding.
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And finally, here’s perhaps my hope:
Varys
He seems to rarely be discussed as a serious candidate, though he still will play a key role in other events this season. In general, though, think about what we know of Varys. He knows just about everyone and everything in the kingdom. In a series full of schemers, he might subtly be the best of all. He has a dark side to him, as the man who once gelded him can now attest. And most importantly, everything he does is to serve the realm, as he told Ned Stark way back in Season 1. Varys sincerely wants peace. And Varys is also brilliant, though it hardly takes much intelligence to realize what he surely does: that no peace can ever last with Joffrey as king. With a mad king ruling, there will only be more death and destruction, even if Joffrey has to go looking for it. I think if we were going to be surprised, this would be a worthwhile pick who would make a lot of sense and be satisfying.