Ros’ Game of Thrones death not only satisfied King Joffrey Baratheon’s twisted desires but also helped Petyr “Littlefinger” Balish strike a blow to his enemies — but the main reason it’s remembered is that few GoT deaths are as brutal as when Joffrey killed Ros. Joffrey emerged as a villain during season 1 of the HBO series, but the lingering influence of his parents suppressed his bullying. Joffrey’s antics foreshadowed the threat he would become. Following Robert Baratheon’s death, Joffrey’s rise to power emboldened him, and during subsequent seasons, his cruelty went unchecked. Joffrey’s focus became lashing out at the oppressed and undeserving. Since House of the Dragon has yet to portray a character as horrible as Joffrey, there’s no better time to look back at the king’s exploits.
Indeed, while Game of Thrones’ King Joffrey story is echoed through Rhaenyra Targaryen’s illegitimate children in House of the Dragon, no one in the prequel — not even Matt Smith’s Daemon — has exhibited the level of cruelty that Joffrey showed in Ros’ GoT execution. Out of the Targaryens in recent Westerosi history, only King Aerys II – also known as the Mad King – can hold a candle to Joffrey Baratheon’s bloodlust. This thirst for cruel violence didn’t develop overnight, and there are actually many factors that contributed to King Joffrey’s atrocious actions. Here’s why King Joffrey killed Ros in Game of Thrones, from his motivations to why the brutality of Ros’ GoT death still resonates with audiences years later.
How Joffrey’s Sadism Evolved Throughout Game Of Thrones
Joffrey killed Ros in Game of Thrones season 3, but it wasn’t a moment of sudden insanity — it was a crime Game of Thrones built up to across the first few seasons. During Game of Thrones season 2, as the War of the Five Kings waged on, Joffrey remained safely tucked away in the castle in King’s Landing. The Small Council headed by Tyrion Lannister, who quickly realized Joffrey’s temperament and youth made him a liability, handled the real governing.
After Tyrion (later betrayed by Shae) saved Sansa Stark from a very public display of abuse orchestrated by his nephew, he and Bronn decided that puberty could be the driving force behind Joffrey’s behavior. Tyrion arranged a belated birthday gift for the new king — a night with Ros and another whore from Littlefinger’s brothel. The only pleasure Joffrey derived was ordering Ros to beat her companion and make sure Tyrion saw the result. This was Joffrey’s retaliation for his uncle coming to Sansa’s defense and chastising him in front of the court. Little did Tyrion know that he would be indirectly responsible for an even worse display of cruelty — Ros’ Game of Thrones death.
In Game of Thrones season 3, it became clear Joffrey was a sadist. His sexual desires were satisfied by inflicting pain, and he was using the Ros Game of Thrones arc to fulfill this proclivity, which is what differentiates Joffrey from Westeros’ previous kings and queens. It’s unclear if Joffrey was aroused enough to engage in any actual sex or if he prioritized violence over any intimate gratification. When burgeoning Westerosi Queen-in-waiting Margaery Tyrell showed an interest in Joffrey’s crossbow and questioned if he’d like to see her kill something with it, he admitted he would.
However, it wasn’t Margaery that Joffrey found alluring, but the possibility that she could understand his deviant cruelty. The weapon had become an extension of Joffrey himself at the start of season 3. Joffrey was at his most dangerous when he felt emasculated, and since he possessed no physical strength or prowess, he had to rely on the submissiveness of his victims. In the final moments of season 3’s “The Climb,” Ros’ lifeless body hangs from a bed pierced by several arrows. It could be considered the result of Joffrey climaxing after all those months of merely torturing Ros. Game of Thrones’ worst villain has certainly earned his reputation.
Joffrey Is Misogyny Personified
Even Cersei Lannister, one of the series’ strongest female characters, found herself at the receiving end of Joffrey’s cruelty. She endured it not only because he was the king, but she actually blamed herself for his brutality. She confided in Tyrion that Joffrey’s behavior could be a punishment for her relationship with her brother Jaime. On Game of Thrones, after all, inter-familial relations went hand in hand with madness. Whatever the reason(s) for Joffrey turning out to be a bad seed, the Ros Game of Thrones conclusion was ultimately the tragic outcome of a power struggle between Littlefinger and Varys.
Varys enlisted Ros to assist him in executing his plan to help the Tyrells consolidate power, promising her a partnership and protection in exchange for spying on Littlefinger. Naturally, Varys’ actions conflicted with Littlefinger’s agenda to use Sansa for his gain and a bid for Westeros’ Iron Throne. Realizing Ros had betrayed him, Littlefinger handed her over to Joffrey, who wanted to try “something new,” “something daring.” In one fell swoop, Littlefinger disposed of an enemy and gained favor with Joffrey, who knew nothing of the politics of the situation. The series even foreshadowed Ros’ grim fate during season 2. Ros’ failure to perform her duties led to a conversation with Littlefinger about a previous girl who disappointed him. It transpired that he had sold her to a man who appeared to share Joffrey’s predilection for torturing helpless women.
Joffrey Was So Despicable The Actor Playing Him Received Death Threats
Outside perhaps Ramsay Bolton or the Mad King himself, Joffrey Baratheon was the worst Game of Thrones villain — and Jack Gleeson played the character so well that he got death threats in real life. Since his stint on GoT, Jack Gleeson quit acting for about 6 years, only to return to the stage for To Be a Machine and the TV show Out of Her Mind. He had many reasons behind taking a brief hiatus from his career, and the confrontations he endured for playing Joffrey Baratheon were probably a catalyst for his break.
Actions like Ros’ Game of Thrones execution and his constant abuse of Sansa Stark were played out so well that the actor bore the brunt of these grievous overreactions for years. The role was hard on Gleeson, and his performance as Joffrey ended up overshadowing his work in theater and in other projects. Inspired by history’s real evil kings, Joffrey Baratheon is one of the most hateable characters on Game of Thrones, it doesn’t warrant the reactions that actor Jack Gleeson received for his outstanding performance, and he may well have been glad about the Purple Wedding that ended Joffrey’s hateful reign. It’s likely that no one hates Joffrey more than the actor who portrayed him.
The Ros Actress Praises The Surge In Intimacy Coordinators
The way Joffrey killed Ros in Game of Thrones is forever burned into the audience’s brains as one of the series most viscerally cruel scenes, but it also contributed towards the improvements in how studios handle actor’s and actress’s mental health when filming sexual content, especially scenes depicting sexual violence. Esme Bianco, who played Ros in Game of Thrones, has been quite open about the need for intimacy coordinators, especially during the Game of Thrones Ros death scene and others like it. As Bianco explains (via Page Six):
“I think its very important for them to have somebody who’s looking out specifically for the actors and their safety and their dignity and their sense of comfort with what they’re doing and sometimes it’s hard, like the directors have so much to think about on the day of the shoot, you need somebody who’s specifically looking out for that.”
Though HBO only hired intimacy coordinators in the wake of the #MeToo movement — five years after Ros’ onscreen death — this bodes well for future Game of Thrones projects, which are bound to feature more intimate scenes. Indeed, these scenes can be just as traumatic for the actors involved as they are for those watching, so the surge in intimacy coordinators who can prevent this trauma is definitely a silver lining.
