The King Is Dead

"War is war, but killing a man at a wedding, horrid. What sort of monster would do such a thing? As if men need more reasons to fear marriage." — Lady Olena, "Game of Thrones"

Last season "Game of Thrones" changed the way people think about weddings with the ninth episode of the third season, "The Rains of Castemere." The episode featured a scene that came to be known as "The Red Wedding." It was a shocking, violent, and game-changing moment.

In the second season of the fourth season, we got another wedding. This one was rife with talk of those bloody nuptials up north, but this was the wedding of King Joffrey. It was in the Capital. It was too close to the other wedding for anything dark to happen.

But it did. By the end of the hour King Joffrey was dead, the recipient of poison wine during his own reception. It left me with a mix of emotions about what happened, how it happened, and where the show goes next.

"The Lion And The Rose" was a difficult hour to watch. It followed the hate-filled exchanges between the Lannisters, as well as the dark tidings that occupy the Bolton clan. In between we got to see the latest human sacrifices made to the Lord of Light in an attempt to get Stannis Baratheon to the Iron Throne. In other words, it was a dark hour. It was full of dark men celebrating and committing their dark deeds.

Then came the wedding.

Joffrey was in rare form. He tooted his own horn. He indulged entertainment that made light of the savage deaths of relatives and friends of those who attended his wedding. Then he turned his vengeful wrath toward his uncle, Tyrion. For his part Tyrion handled it well — especially considering his own heartache over sending Shae packing.

But, ultimately, it was Tyrion who delivered the poison cup to the king. And it was Tyrion who was arrested at the episode's end, despite the fact no rational person would believe he had his nephew killed. So it looks to be Tyrion who will pay the price, which is a shame.

Joffrey was vicious, evil, and entitled. He didn't act or comport himself like a king, but rather like a spoiled bully. It's been that way for more than three seasons. He might be the worst king in the history of TV, and he frequently took credit for the hard work done by others. No one will more King Joffrey — save for his mother and father, Jamie and Cersei Lannister.

But his death wasn't the satisfying sequence most would have expected. And, even in death, Joffrey managed to damage one of the more honorable characters in Westeros. If Tyrion suffers the penalty for Joffrey's death, it would add one more victim to the boy-king's list.

The tagline for this season was "All Men Must Die." I just didn't expect the king to meet his fate so soon. But that's what makes "Game of Thrones" the most compelling show on TV. You never know what to expect, only that no one is safe.