Joffrey Baratheon



Joffrey Baratheon is the primary antagonist of Game of Thrones. He is the eldest son and heir of King Robert Baratheon and Queen Cersei Lannister r. However, his real father is Jaime Lannister, the queen's brother. He is 12 years old at the beginning of the series and later becomes the second House Baratheon king to sit on the Iron Throne.

Character and Appearance
Joffrey was strong-willed as a child and has an uncontrollable temper not unlike his mother's and an unchecked sadistic streak. He has little sense of right or wrong, which often leads him to trouble, especially when he loses his temper and when things go wrong, he always blames the problems on others. Despite being willfull he is reckless, cruel and prone to irrational and bad judgement calls. Joffrey is unbelievably sadistic and has been since he was a child, stating "Everyone is mine to torment." He appears to be asexual, never sleeping with his girlfriend or wife but frequently beating them for his own amusement. With all these traits it would be accurate to describe him as a sociopath however unlike most clinically diagnosed sociopaths, he is quite dim-witted and a coward, breaking down in tears whenever faced with violence, despite frequently inflicting it on others. Nevertheless, despite his cowardice, lack of fighting skills or indeed intellect, Joffrey is consumed with megalomaniacal delusions of grandeur, believing that he is a mighty warrior, despite being beaten in a fight by a young girl and tearfully begging for his life, that is the greatest king Westeros has ever seen, despite having plunged his kingdom into a war after executing a political prisoner on a whim, despite his advisors warnings, and that his people love him when in fact he is universally hated by his people for his appalling treatment of them.

Joffrey has the Lannister look of his parents, he is tall for a boy his age, with blond curly hair and handsome. He has bright green eyes, pouty lips and an evil sneer. He always wears the finest clothing and accents, as befits the royal heir and king.

History
Joffrey was born of incest to Queen Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime. However, the truth of his birth has been kept a secret and he was presented to the world as the son of King Robert Baratheon and heir to the Iron Throne. He grew up as a spoiled and indulgent child with a cruel streak within him. Robert never questioned the boy's parentage, but it is made clear throughout the books that he was deeply disappointed with his 'son' and felt little affection for Joffrey. By contrast, it is also implied in the book that Joffrey craved Robert's respect and approval, and many of his acts were done in an effort to live up to his 'father's' standards.

Once after learning a kitchen cat was pregnant, Joffrey killed the animal and cut open its belly to see the kittens inside. He showed one of the unborn kittens to his "father". Robert was so shocked and angry he hit the boy so hard it knocked out two of his baby teeth. It is also implied Joffrey bullied his younger brother Tommen.

A Game of Thrones
Joffrey along with the rest of the royal family made the trip to Winterfell after Jon Arryn's death. There he began to court the pretty Sansa Stark, Eddard's daughter, to whom he was betrothed. He sparred with Robb Stark in the yard and insulted Robb.

While at Winterfell, Joffrey hired an underling to murder the critically injured Bran Stark after hearing Robert drunkenly mention that the boy should be mercifully killed. The attempt failed, and was later blamed on Tyrion Lannister, which furthered the growing enmity between House Stark and Lannister.

On the way from Winterfell to King's Landing, Joffrey spends a day riding with Sansa, she enjoys it greatly whilst he drinks summerwine. They come upon Arya Stark and her friend Mycah, the butcher's boy, practicing sword fighting. Joffrey was drunk and commands Mycah to spar with him; Mycah doesn't take up the challenge, and Joffrey pricks him with his sword, ignoring pleads to leave him alone. Arya then smacks him with the stick allowing Mycah to escape, enraged Joffrey slashes at Arya and is injured when Nymeria protected her. Joffrey later claimed before Robert's court that he had been attacked by Mycah and Nymeria. This resulted in the deaths of Mycah and Lady and earned Joffrey Arya's hatred. It was at this time that Joffrey lost Lion's Tooth, when Arya took it from him and sent it hurling towards the Trident, an incident that humiliated Joffrey, particularly when his uncle Renly openly laughed at his nephew for being beaten and disarmed by a girl younger than him.

Acting as the new Hand of the King, Eddard Stark discovered that Joffrey, along with his siblings, were actually bastards born of incest between Cersei and Jaime. Cersei protected her children's secret by arranging for King Robert's death. Following Robert death, Joffery summons the council and commands that they make arrangements for his coronation. When Ned produce Roberts will, declaring him regent and his true son heir to the Iron Throne, Cersei tears it down and advises Ned to swear fealty to her son. Ned in turn reveals that her Joffrey has no claim to the throne and is born of incest, but he is quickly arrested for treason.

After taking the Throne as Robert's heir, Joffrey started his first court session by naming Tywin Lannister as the new Hand of the King, appointing his mother to small council and Jaime Lannister as lord commander of the Kingsguard, dismissing the legendary knight Barristan Selmy from his service, against all traditions; when Selmy stormed out in disgust, making a remark about the ease with which Stannis Baratheon would take the throne from him, Joffrey ordered Selmy seized and questioned, though the old knight escaped. When Sansa kneels and begs for him to spare her father's life and ask that Joffrey to do this for love of her, and finally Joffrey promises Sansa that he would be merciful, but after Eddard Stark confessed of his "crimes" and declares that Joffrey Baratheon is the true heir to the Iron Throne, his mercy turned out to be Eddard Stark's quick public beheading before Sansa's own eyes. This rash act was against his family's wishes to minimize further bloodshed and restore the King's Peace and led to the intensification of hostilities as his son Robb Stark declared himself the King in the North and vowed to kill Joffrey in retaliation, plunged Westeros into devastating civil war.

Joffrey continued to mistreat and abuse Sansa Stark, a penalty for each of Robb's victories. Forcing her to look at her father's severed head was the start of a string of beatings he commands his Kingsguard to abuse her. He threatened to force her to look on her brother's head when he kills him, as he boasts, in single combat. He often ordered his Kingsguard to beat her for disobedience.

A Clash of Kings
Joffrey ruled with whim and caprice, proving difficult for even his mother to control. Sansa became imprisoned to his will, and he frequently had his guards beat her for his amusement. When he tried to have her stripped, his uncle Tyrion stopped him, and he never tried it again, although he was determined to eventually have Sansa in his bed whether he married her or not. His cruelty and the decreased quality of life at King's Landing due to food shortages and other hardships made him an unpopular king, and he was nearly killed in a riot sparked by his temper. Acting as his temporary Hand, only Tyrion stood up to Joffrey's authority, and Joffrey developed a special hatred for his uncle; Tyrion, in return, held his nephew in contempt, viewing him as a 'monster'.