Huge spoilers ahead for those who haven’t yet witnessed the glorious Purple Wedding, but you guys knew that.
Ding dang dong, the king is dead! TV fans have rarely been so openly joyous about the death of a television character, but Game of Thrones’ Purple Wedding featured one of the most highly anticipated offings in small screen history. And though the scene in question is quite the serious affair, that doesn’t mean everyone involved is hanging their head low about it.
As seen in the picture above, even King Joffrey himself (actor Jack Gleeson) can smile about this petulant shitstain finally getting his just desserts. Well actually, the pie with the live doves in it seems like it would have served as a fine “ew gross” just dessert, but of course Joffrey liked that too much.
No, the kind of death fit for this king is one in which poison turns the face of its victim into a bloated, bleeding sack of veins. It was one of the most starkly (no pun intended) disturbing images the series has delivered yet, and Gleeson is cool with just standing there in the Instagram photo above, via EW, pointing at his character’s face and rolling his eyes back, as if to say, “This guy, amirite?” You can’t see the 21-year-old’s right hand, but I’m betting he’s drinking a beer out of a mug shaped like Tyrion Lannister’s decapitated head.
Of course, maybe Gleeson’s eyes are rolled back in faux death, as the end of King Joffrey’s reign is also the end of Gleeson’s acting career, at least for the foreseeable future. The actor is taking a step back from performing to focus more on education and finding his way in life offscreen, which means he won’t be appearing for any 1-2 episode stints on any other series, allowing viewers to wish him dead once more.
This second episode of Season 4 was one of Game of Thrones’ most watched episodes, and broke records for illegally pirated downloads, beating out the post-Red Wedding Season 3 finale. The world needed to see this leader fall, and so they did. And I’m assuming just as many will tune in next week to watch his funeral and to see where the less heinous Game of Thrones characters will end up following this controversial assassination.
Check out the preview for next week’s “Breaker of Chains” below.
