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I Stand With King Joffrey Baratheon

by Matt Weese
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Game of Thrones fans love to hate King — emphasis on the King — Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson).

Joffrey, or Joff as I like to call him is 15, a product of incest, unpredictable and one of the best villains on television currently.

Gleeson is doing something right when he can enrage millions of fans with one smirk. And oh boy do people love to complain about him. Type “Joffery” in Twitter during an episode of Game of Throne and the moment he steps on screen you will see many creative writing majors putting their degree to use explaining  their dislike.  But, there is a reason behind his smirk and it can easily be overlooked when he’s sadistically making one drink their fill.

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I have to be honest, I like the kid. The more evil he becomes and the less hope those close to him have only makes me like him more.

Also those zingers, whew! The Lannisters know how burn with words. I couldn’t help but sprinkle in some choice Joff zings in this post. They should start calling the show “Game of Owns” any time Joffery is featured.

Seriously though, we want to see order and justice on television. We want it from our news to our basic sitcoms. In Game of Thrones the judge, jury, and executioner is in dirty hands. It’s something we rarely see executed so devilishly well on television.

“Everyone is mine to torment,” — Joffrey Baratheon 

He is the epitome of a spoiled, neglected child.  His father — Robert Baratheon (Mark Addy) — cares little to nothing for Joffrey unless he is fetching him another goblet of wine or stretching his breastplate.

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Joffrey has spent his entire life looking for his affection.This is a common theme with Joffrey. As heir to the throne, Joffrey wants his father to see his strength.

What’s an easy way to communicate power? Fear.

His father never taught him how to rule by example rather than fear. From a young age Joffrey discovers this as a powerful manipulator. The butcher’s boy in Winterfell met Joffrey being Joffrey and that’s when we are introduced to the soon-to-be-king.  He scares the butcher’s kid to death and Joffery only gets more manipulative.

All of Joffrey’s cruel and malicious acts build fear. People are forced to take his actions seriously when he sees no harm in a little bodily dismemberment.

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“Tell me, do you favor your fingers or your tongue?” — Joffrey Baratheon

Joffrey takes solace in dishing out orders for blood instead of reason.

When his mother Cersei Baratheon (Lena Headey) offers strict guidance he threatens to have her killed. If you look at the way Robert treats Cersei it’s no wonder Joffrey sees nothing in his mother claims. Robert ignored her in favor of other female conquests. In Joffrey’s mind, in order to achieve his father’s greatness do as the King does.

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“We’ve had vicious kings, and we’ve had idiot kings…but I don’t know if we’ve ever been cursed with a vicious idiot for a king,” — Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage)

What if Joffrey turned out to be different though? Scary, right? Sometimes I have nightmare about Joffery holding a My Little Pony plushie instead of crossbow. Sorry to put that image into your head but,  I think Joffery would turn out a little like fan favorite, Jon Snow (Kit Harington).  Both characters are bastards except one major thing sets them apart. Jon was raised by a loving father, Eddard Stark (Sean Bean) and you can see a lot of of Eddard in Jon.

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Noble, courageous and a fighter; features that Ned and Jon possess. Jon’s working on the facial hair but I have faith he’ll get to Ned’s beard-status soon. Joffrey on the other hand shows none of his father’s redeemable qualities. Not even Robert’s love of wine. Come on Joff! Meet me half way and develop an appreciation for wine-coolers or light beer at the very least. Your sadistic ego trips would taste so much better with a full goblet in your hand.

Blame it on the incest or blame it on daddy issues but the fact of the matter is, Joffrey is hell-in-a-hand-basket and ain’t no one got time to show that boy any affection. Now all of Westeros is seeing the faults of Robert’s-below-average-parenting after his death.

Jack Gleeson, I might not be first to say this but I’m in the minority; keep doing what you are doing and I promise if I meet you we can hug it out, Entourage style.

I’m not saying you have to like Joffrey, but I am saying he’s a hollow character created to anger the masses and I think he performs that job very well.  If you think he is as bad as they come, you know nothing of Westeros.

Have an opinion on Joffrey? Want to start a Joffrey fan club with me? Perhaps a douchey hunting club? Let us know in the comments below.

Here’s HBO’s character piece on the young King:

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22 comments

miga April 14, 2014 - 7:20 am

too bad..hes dead..

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Angela April 9, 2014 - 10:12 pm

I will gladly join that club! Great article basically composed of everything I agree with!

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:))) March 24, 2014 - 1:24 pm

I’d love to start Joffrey fan club. I’m searching for people who likes him.

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:))) March 24, 2014 - 1:24 pm

I’d love to start Joffrey fan club. I’m searching for people who likes him.

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gojoffreygo June 11, 2013 - 4:34 am

joffrey is the best character on television and no one will convince me otherwise

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Shawn May 28, 2013 - 10:05 am

Mr. Gleeson does an amazing job!! I hate the character of Joffrey. From the moment he was first shown on screen I thought, “That kid needs to be smacked”. But I love watching him on screen. He does a great job with the character. Love to hate him.
I said to friends at one point, As much as I hate Joffrey, I’d much rather see Theon Greyjoy get his.”
Of course, not that TG is getting his I ALMOST feel sorry for him. I just wanted the guy dead, not…well…you know….
Back to hating Joffrey.

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Eleonora Iafano April 11, 2013 - 11:21 am

I think this article is brilliant. Why, you ask? I will tell you: we are all so full of gunpowder and lead (to borrow a title from Miranda Lambert’s song) and we all want to see the bad guys get kicked to the curb, that we don’t try and see things from their p.o.v. Joffrey is a monster, depraved and an all out bully – but look at what he grew up with. Your father could care less about being a parent and your mother is off, having an incestual relationship with her own twin brother. Is it any wonder Joffrey grew up with a violent, sociopath need for extracting violence and terror over people? We get caught up in the hype that “the good guys have to win the battle” – but that is not always the case. Life in Westeros is harsh and unforgiving. Joffrey is a product of his environment and he’s only going to get worse with time. Well done, Ben. Nobody would really tackle writing an article and actually stating that they LIKE a bad guy! Kudos to Jack Gleeson – he plays the role of Joffrey Baratheon flawlessly!

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M.J. Snow April 9, 2013 - 4:27 pm

That was a fun read, Ben! I like someone who can appreciate the villains for what they are. They’re far more interesting to me than the boring, honourable types!

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jmbsix April 9, 2013 - 11:49 am

You’re mixing up Lancel Lannister and Joffrey a bit here

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Jerry L Pugh April 9, 2013 - 10:57 am

Ben, do you ever read you own posts? Amazingly juvenile in context and spelling. However, while Joffrey is an insufferable little twit with macabre authority to be the biggest, lethal douchebag brat in cinematic history, I find it amusing that you can find ANY redeeming qualities in his charactor and/or diseased brain. Yes, by all means .. form your personal “douchey” (douchebag-y) hunting club, perfect! Admittedly, Jack Gleeson definitely knocks this charactor portrayal waaay outta the park though. Accolades to Jack. You don’t write for this series do you Ben? lol

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Cian Gaffney April 9, 2013 - 11:32 am

I agree, Joffrey’s purpose isn’t to be an interesting character. It’s to provide a seemingly immovable object and wildcard for others to react to. There’s no point trying to find redeemable qualities in Joffrey, because it goes against the entire concept of the character!

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Skuilanb April 14, 2014 - 10:30 pm

I disagree with both of you. Joffrey is horrible. He is vile, cruel, monstrous, petty, and a plethora of other unforgivable things HOWEVER he is still only a boy.

On his fathers death bed Joffrey was there, holding his fathers hand, tears streaming down his face and, when the only father he’s ever known tells him to leave there’s more than anger in his eyes. There’s disappointment and a measure of grief. He tried to look strong and his father doesn’t really give a damn. Doesn’t tell him he loves him, or that he believes in him. No words of wisdom nothing.

We also know that the King didn’t really didn’t take an interest in any of his ‘kids’ lives. They weren’t the children he wanted because he didn’t get the woman he wanted, the one he loved. Joffrey was never going to measure up to the kids Robert had imagined in his mind.

Then there’s the HUGE possibility that Joffrey is, in fact, clinically insane. He is a product of incest from a family that had practiced incest before (though not NEARLY as often as the Targaryans). Plus, I mean, have you seen his mom?

She may love her children, she may do her best but she is determined that her children be HERS and hers alone. She tells Joffrey straight up “Everyone but you and I are the enemies.”. (I’m guessing she was a BIT more lenient on her other two children and the fact they didn’t have the crazy probably helped.)

I’m not saying he didn’t deserve to die because he did and I loved watching it but he was still just a kid and, if he’d been given some other example of how one should be instead of his mothers twisted views, he might have turned out to be a formidable and cunning King. Maybe even a decent one. I mean even the Mad King had a couple of good years before the crazy took him.

Joffrey’s character has a depth and meaning beyond just being a wildcard. He represents the cruelty in all of us. He is what we could have been and still could be. Without compassion, alone, greedy, cruel, incapable of feeling any form of happiness save for what hurting others can bring.

It’s a miserable existence and I can only imagine that, when he was alone in his room with the shadows growing and nightmare monsters hiding in the darkness, that he was very much afraid and, maybe, even a little sad. Things that, in the harsh light of day, would make him feel small and unimportant. Something a King would never tolerate.

He might be evil but he was always a little sad.

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Amelia Sivadon April 9, 2013 - 10:47 am

I think Jack Gleeson does a great job in his role as King Joff. He certainly has come a long way from his role in Batman. I certainly have to admit that I love to hate him; both in the books and on TV.

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sylvia April 9, 2013 - 10:37 am

it’s very inspiring
Actually I like those characters with no good traits, yet i cannot find any adore with this young child
I can’t say that I hate him, but I find no charm in this young king, No, not even the charm of villains

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Akimi April 9, 2013 - 10:37 am

Jack portrays Joffrey so well, he has really gotten into the depth of his character. I don’t like Joffrey as a person (or Cersei, she’s poisonous and vain) but the characters which are ‘not very nice’ are just as deep and interesting as everyone else. They make a good story, even though you may wish for their death every time they step on screen. Just as a truly great actor can make you love a character, it takes a great actor to make you *really* really hate them to death. It is known.

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Amy F April 9, 2013 - 10:33 am

is there no way you could have had someone proof-read this article before submitting it…?

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Jacob Klein April 9, 2013 - 10:42 am

Eek sorry I forgot to update with my revisions. Should be better now.

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Sheena April 9, 2013 - 10:22 am

You should probably say something about no spoilers, because there are bound to be many from those like myself who have read the books. I HOLD THE POWER!

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ally April 9, 2013 - 10:10 am

I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say a bad word about Jack Gleeson and his portrayal of Joffery, obviously everyone hates the little twunt he is playing but Jack has had a lot of love.
Takes some major skill to play someone so lacking in any redeemable features at all.
From what I’ve heard he doesn’t plan to continue with acting, although that might just be an internet rumour.
Would be a crying shame though.

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Cian Gaffney April 9, 2013 - 10:23 am

It’s true. He’s studying in Trinity College here in Dublin and he is one of the most down to earth, genuine people you could ever meet. The fame hasn’t got to his head; he’s a normal young man pursuing his dream through academia. This is also why interviews with him are so rare/non-existent. One of my friends knows him very well due to both of them being selected as Trinity scholars, and he can’t give him enough praise. All hail Jack Gleeson. But screw Joffrey. He is one dimensional and that’s exactly his purpose. Joffrey haters are in for a shock though, just when they thought they had met the most despicable character…

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ally April 9, 2013 - 10:28 am

Oh I don’t think Joffrey is one dimensional, he has many facets to his personality, he is cruel, a bit stupid, very cowardly etc. I could go on but you get my point. ;)
I think I know who you are talking about with your comments about a more hateful character (don’t worry, no spoilers from me) but it’s an ongoing competition as to who is going to come out on top as person you would most like to burn alive.

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Jacob Klein April 9, 2013 - 10:08 am

What an awesome little guy! I stand with His Grace as well.

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