Stars of “Game of Thrones” reacted to a major plot development involving King Joffrey Baratheon, played by Jack Gleeson, this week. Gleeson apparently photobombed his own character’s death.
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SPOILERS BELOW:
King Joffrey is killed at his own wedding via poison, leading his royal family to suspect that his uncle, Tyrion Lannister, was behind it. Joffrey was fed cake and drank wine before he choked and died. Before that, he pointed his finger at Tyrion, who looked surprised.
Tyrion was being humiliated by Joffrey before the incident.
Lena Headey, who plays Queen Regent Cersei, told Entertainment Weekly: “I love him. It’s been four years and I’ve kind of seen Jack grow up — he’s very smart and he’s very funny and he’s very charming. And he’s great company! You form friendships and that’s been a really special one to me and I literally look into his eyes and I get very upset because I go, ‘No!’ But he’s going and I get it.”
Headey also talked about Cersei’s reaction.
“I think she’s enjoying this moment for as much as she can. Seeing Joffrey as genuinely happy and excited to marry Margaery — it kills her, and also she [expletive] loves him. She holds that boy on a very wobbly pedestal, but she holds him up. And yeah, it’s the beginning of everything falling down for her,” she said.
Natalie Dormer, who plays Margaery Tyrell, said that “we’re all going to miss him — we’re all trying not to think about it that it’s his last day so everyone is a little morose at the idea of actually losing Jack. But once you’re part of the Thrones family, you’re always part of the Thrones family, you’re still part of the clan even after.”
Dormer said that her character won’t be in a good position after her husband’s killing.
“Well, politically, to lose one husband is bad, but to lose two husbands is careless! It’s really bad PR for Margaery. So regardless of what she thought of Joffrey as a human being, it’s not a good place for her to be in. So she’s like, you know, cursed or tainted goods,” she said.
Series creator George R.R. Martin talked about the meaning of the death.
He told Rolling Stone: “In the books — and I make no promises, because I have two more books to write, and I may have more surprises to reveal — the conclusion that the careful reader draws is that Joffrey was killed by the Queen of Thorns, using poison from Sansa’s hair net, so that if anyone actually did think it was poison, then Sansa would be blamed for it. Sansa had certainly good reason for it.”
He added: “The reason I bring this up is because I think that’s an interesting question of redemption. That’s more like killing Hitler. Does the Queen of Thorns need redemption? Did the Queen of Thorns kill Hitler, or did she murder a 13-year-old boy? Or both? She certainly had good reasons to remove Joffrey. Everything she’d heard about him, he was wildly unstable, and he was about to marry her beloved granddaughter. The Queen of Thorns had studied Joffrey well enough that she knew that at some point he would get bored with Margaery, and Margaery would be maltreated, the same way that Sansa had been. Whereas if she removed him then her granddaughter might still get the crown but without all of the danger. So is that a case where the end justifies the means? I don’t know. That’s what I want the reader or viewer to wrestle with, and to debate.”
