The True King

I’ve been thinking about Joffrey Baratheon way too much. He’s universally hated—complete agreement on this—which creates a kind of pull. All that concentrated contempt makes you wonder what’s underneath.

He’s a kid. A spoiled, vicious kid with a crown he can’t control, surrounded by people who profit from his destruction. He lashes out because it’s the only power he has. Then the world kills him and nothing changes. Like it should have. It didn’t.

I’m noticing something in how he’s hated. The complete agreement, the satisfaction in his suffering, the comfort of having a clear villain. It was easier than looking at what made him.

Maybe that’s just how it works. You put a traumatized child on a throne, surround him with people who want him dead, and then hate him for being exactly what that creates. And everyone feels righteous about it. I can’t unsee it now.