10 times Joffrey Baratheon proved he should be the most hated Game Of Thrones character

The Game of Thrones craze was one of the biggest pop culture phenomena of the 2010s, drawing millions of fans worldwide. The record-breaking popularity of the show generated a social media buzz, with brands introducing commodities depicting popular characters and quotes from the show. Popular phrases like “Winter is Coming”, “Dracarys”, and “Valar Morghulis” became mainstream. Names like Arya and Khaleesi became real-life baby names, and the show’s medieval and vintage aesthetic inspired trends.

The HBO show brings forth a complex narrative structure with unimaginable twists and offers a new experience that excites its fans. It follows various houses of Westeros involved in an ugly fight for the Iron Throne. The fans are enjoying the most discussing elaborated theories on Reddit and Twitter on who deserves the final throne. The show deals with themes like betrayal, conflicts, and diplomacy. One of the important characters who helped fuel these themes is Joffrey Baratheon, who is reportedly rated the most hated character ever.

Joffrey Baratheon is a sadist character, a popular antagonist who takes pleasure in hurting others. His actions set off major events that defined the show’s brutal and unpredictable nature. Despite his outward arrogance, he is a coward at heart who hides behind the power of the throne and the guards. In season 2, during the Battle of Blackwater, he escapes from the war field, leaving his men alone to fight. Let's dive deep into ten times in Game of Thrones when Joffrey Baratheon validated the most hated character title per reports.

Disclaimer: The article is entirely based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.

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1. Ordering execution of Ned Stark

In Season 1, when an animal severely injures Robert Baratheon, he makes Joffrey Baratheon his successor, unaware of the truth about his illegitimacy. Afterward, when he tried to reveal the truth, Joffrey claimed to imprison Ned Stark for treason, while Sansa, Ned’s daughter, begged for mercy. Joffrey asserted that if Ned agreed to his crime, he would be spared. Believing this promise, Ned committed the false allegation in front of a huge crowd, but Joffrey broke his words and demanded Ned’s head. This shows his cruelty and thirst for power. This incident further resulted in a chain of events and the ultimate civil war in Westeros- The War of Five Kings.

2. Captivating Sansa, his wife

One of the dialogues by Joffrey says, “Everyone is mine to torment”. Joffrey, initially assumed to be the first son of Robert, is revealed to be an illegitimate child, a result of an incest relationship between Cersei and her twin brother, Jamie Lannister. To unite the houses Baratheon and Stark, he marries Sansa. Initially, they share a loving relationship, but after killing Sansa’s father in front of her eyes, she sees the true nature of the King. Sansa was kept as a prisoner afterward. The moment when he tells her that she will remain his prisoner and that he will force her to bear his children is a chilling example of Joffrey’s sadism and abuse of power.

3. Humiliating Sansa by mocking her family

He regularly humiliated Sansa, sometimes publicly, by mocking her family. After killing his father, he didn’t budge to coerce her to see her father’s head displayed on a spike at the Red Keep. He further tells her that he will similarly kill her brother Robb Stark.

Ahead in the series when Robb wins a major battle against the Lannisters, Joffrey Baratheon takes all her frustration out on Sansa. He orders one of the guards to beat and strip Sansa publicly.

4. Escaping the war field during the Battle of Blackwater

Before the Battle of Blackwater, Joffrey Baratheon shows off his new sword, "Hearteater," which he claims he will use to kill Stannis Baratheon. He forces Sansa to kiss the blade. But this time, Sansa challenges Joffrey’s courage, which makes Joffrey uncomfortable and brings forth his cowardly nature. Further, during the battle, Joffrey ends up abandoning his men and running away from the battlefield.

5. Killing Ser Dontos

The last surviving member of House Hollard, Ser Dontos, arrives drunk and disheveled during a joust, a tournament or combat recurrent in the show. Jousting is usually conducted for entertainment and political display. Because of such an appearance, Joffrey feels insulted and enraged by the act. He orders the execution of Dontos by choking him by force-feeding him wine until he dies. His dialogue says, "A fool deserves a fool’s death”.

6. Cruelty towards Margaery Tyrell

However, Joffrey’s new wife, Margaery, knows how to manipulate Joffrey smartly but still becomes a victim of his sadism and cruelty. In a conversation, he brings up his late husband’s name, who was a homosexual, and says that he should make homosexuality punishable by death. Margaery, rather than reacting to it emotionally, makes him think about something else that he enjoys, like the new custom-made crossbows that Joffrey just got. She pretends to be fascinated by the idea of killing someone. This shows that Joffrey’s character is only interested in sadistic pleasure, which has been a repetitive theme for the character.

7. Ordering the Execution of Robert Baratheon's Bastards

During the event called Massacres in King’s Landing, Joffrey orders to kill around four bastard children of the late Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones, led by commander Janos Slynt. This includes infants and babies as well. His army stormed into the brothel of Robert’s former prostitute and killed baby Barra. Although reasoning is a far-fetched concept for a character like Joffrey, his reckless killings stem from a desperate attempt to eliminate any potential threats to his reign.

8. Mocking and Threatening Tyrion Lannister

In season 1, Tyrion slaps Joffrey Baratheon for being disrespectful towards the Starks, this insult takes a deep shelter into his heart. Tyrion’s ability to always outwit him has embarrassed and frustrated Joffrey for a long.

In season 4, during the “Purple Wedding”, which refers to the wedding of Margaery and Joffrey Baratheon, he takes a chance to get his revenge by becoming more aggressive towards Tyrion during the wedding feast. He eventually accuses him of treason amidst a huge crowd while posing the idea of him getting executed. But before anything could happen, he choked on the poison and died.

9. Humiliating Mycah, a butcher’s boy

Joffrey Baratheon and Sansa are walking near the Trident River when they come across Arya Stark practicing swordplay with Mycah, a butcher’s boy and her friend. Even though they are just playing, he accuses Mycah of assaulting Arya, and he further draws his sword and shows off. He cuts Mycah’s cheek by sliding his sword in style to mock him and have fun.

10. Murdering Ros, a former prostitute of King’s Landing.

Ros is from Winterfell. She comes to King’s Landing, and unlike other prostitutes, she is educated. In Season 1, she can be seen with Tyrion Lannister and further helping her fellow prostitutes learn the art of seduction. She serves various men from the noble houses. In Season 2, Tyrion hires her for Joffrey, presuming that this will help him release some frustration. Instead, Joffrey asks Ros to hit Daisy, the other prostitute, with a belt while he enjoys watching them.

By Season 3, she reveals to Sansa that she works for Littlefinger Finger, but when Joffrey Baratheon gets to know the same, trouble is inevitable. For a long time, Joffrey wanted something “new and daring”, he tied Ros to the bed and launched his crossbows all over her body.

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Joffrey Baratheon was part of the show for just 27 episodes as per IMDb; therefore, her reign was short-lived. The character is meant to annoy the viewers with his stupid and meaningless gore acts. He is shown as a single-brain cell child who has been given huge power, and the only way he knows is fear and control stemming from the anxiety of losing it all at once. He is impulsive and uses his power to fool around, making the lives around him miserable. Indeed, he is the most hated and popular villain of the show.