10 Shocking Deaths That Changed Game Of Thrones

4. Joffrey Baratheon

HBO

I hated Joffrey. You hated Joffrey. Everyone in Westeros, including his own family, hated Joffrey. His was a death we longed for, but thought we'd never actually get. And if we did, surely it'd be episode 9 stuff, right? Then, in only the 2nd episode of Season 4, after his own wedding no less, Joffrey - in the midst of being his spoilt, brattish self - began to choke, turning a particularly putrid shade of purple, and finally the sadistic King was a dead King.

Because he was such a major character, and the death was brutal, it's an extremely memorable moment. His death arguably didn't alter much where the Iron Throne was concerned, if anything it made it easier, with Tommen installed as the new leader and a much saner presence for Tywin and Cersei to control.

However, it did mean that Tyrion - up until that point hated by his family, but not actually persecuted by them - was blamed for the death, leading to the trial by combat and the tragic, head-popping murder of Prince Oberyn. It also put Sansa Stark into the arms of Littlefinger, which was a slight improvement on Joffrey, and then eventually Ramsay Bolton, which definitely wasn't, and begun her transformation into a true player of the game.

Contributor
Contributor

NCTJ-qualified journalist. Most definitely not a racing driver. Drink too much tea; eat too much peanut butter; watch too much TV. Sadly only the latter paying off so far. A mix of wise-old man in a young man's body with a child-like wonder about him and a great otherworldly sensibility.