As a general rule, most people are not vindictive by nature and would not wish harm on others, but sometimes, just sometimes, our baser nature takes over and we just want to see some people get what they deserve. As you go through the 7 seasons of Game of Thrones, there are some characters that you couldn’t help wonder: “When are they going to get what’s coming to them?” In this segment of ‘Game of Thrones’ Valar Morghulis, we will examine the deaths of those “who just deserved to die.”
Joffrey Baratheon: Crimes Committed on his Command – The Beheading of Lord Eddard Stark, the Riding down and killing of the Butcher’s Boy, the abuse of his bethrothed Sansa Stark, the abuse of a prostitute, the murder of a prostitute.
Joffrey is for all extents and purpose, a sadist who disguises his cruelty under a veil of boyish charm (probably inherited from his actual father Jaimie Lannister). The one thing that separates him from most sadists is he prefers for others to do his torture for him. This is best epitomized by his reaction when his (then) betrothed Sansa Stark offended him: Joffrey pronounces that his mother had taught him never to strike a woman, and so commissions a knight of his Kingsguard (Meryn Trant, we’ll get to him) to hit her instead. He enjoys forcing OTHER people to fight to the death, and enforcing cruel punishments for lesser crimes. He picked a fight with Arya’s friend, a lowly Butcher’s son and Arya’s wolf attacked him in response to him turning on her. Later, he lied about what transpired and had the Butcher’s Boy chased down and killed by the “Hound” Sandor Clegane.
Joffrey likes to talk big and brag about what he is going to do to people, like when he says that when he faces his Uncle Stanis Baratheon, he will give him a “smile from ear to ear” with his sword. Needless to say THAT never happened. That would require him to actually take an action. He has no sense of personal responsibility, and will blame his failures on others. He lacks self-control (he is a child after all) and often insults his allies and family members. Joffrey is one of the story’s few characters ( see Ramsay Bolton)to display no redeeming qualities whatsoever. His need to inflict punishment was in full display when he was “gifted” two prostitutes by his Uncle Tyrion. His response to this was for him to have one of them beat the other with first a stick and then a club. Nice Kid.
Eventually, such cruelty and torture comes back to bite you in the arse. When you spit enough bile and poison, and you get it back, in spades. In this case, it came by the way of a “Queen of Thorns.”
Meryl Trant: Crimes committed – Beating young girls, The Murder of Syrio Forel, Hitting Sansa Stark and almost disrobing her.
Meryn Trant is pompous, vindictive and known for being a casually cruel man who follows any orders from the king no matter what they are. The fact that they disavow all the oaths he supposedly took as a knight, matters not to him. This includes beating Sansa at the order of Joffrey, in plain view of the court to the disapproval of Tyrion, Bronn, and the Hound. Trant is also a sycophant, blatantly praising Joffrey as a loved person and showing exaggerated ‘loyalty’ to Joffrey when Tyrion mocks the boy. The reason for this is clear, Joffrey enables Trant to behave how he wants to without fear of reprisal from the normal constraints that the Kingsguard would normally provide. The only requirement he has is the person he is abusing or attacking is at an extreme disadvantage. That is why he prefers to attack women or small girls or perhaps, a Bravosi sword master with only a wooden sword while he is in full armor and has a metal sword. This was his one big mistake as he invoked the wrath of a little girl who COULD fight back:
Lord Walder Frey: Crimes Committed – The Betrayal of House Stark, The Murder of Robb Stark. Catelyn Stark, Talisa Stark, the Murder of the Entire Stark Host, and just being a Lecherous Old Geezer.
Frey is many things. He is arrogant, domineering, sarcastic, and lecherous in the nth degree. He is also a bitter, tyrannical man who possesses no shame. The plus side he is aware of all of these faults and he does not care. He willingly admits that he thinks very little of the oaths he swears to other houses due to his strategic position in the kingdom. He uses that position to extort huge tolls in exchange for his supposed allegiance, and shows more than a willingness to switch sides if he thinks it will benefit him more. Walder cares for his family, but only for the ways it increases the survival of the house. For that end, Walder has a large number of children, trueborn and baseborn alike, but cares very little what their names are or how they are actually related to him. It is the one thing that Frey has in common with Tywin Lannister, he is more concerned by an insult to his house than any supposed slight to his children. It was this supposed slight to his house that cause him to align himself with the Lannisters and the Bolton’s and gave him “justification” for him to ignore the tradition of “house rights” and kill people he swore his protection to. It comes as no surprise then that it was this crime that brought him face to face with a form of “faceless” justice:
Ramsay Bolton: Crimes Committed – The Torture and mutilation of Theon Greyjoy, The Death of Roose Bolton, The Death of Lady Walda Bolton and Baby, The Rape and Abuse of Sansa Stark/Bolton, The death of Rickon Stark.
Ramsay is a genuine sociopath and that may be his most redeeming quality. He is the personification of pure evil and he seems to revel in that aspect of his personality. He can be dishonorable, manipulative, and ruthless. As well as extremely sadistic, sexually depraved, wild. He can, without any thought, be capable of committing unspeakable atrocities without remorse, simply for pure amusement. In other words, he could be Joffrey except he does his OWN dirty work. Ramsay fully admits that he tortures and kills innocent people for no reason whatsoever and does so with a maniacal gleam in his eye. The idea they did not deserve what he did to them is simply just another good reason to do it. He simply enjoys inflicting horrific torture on people. One need only ask Theon Greyjoy about that. Another of the ways he likes to proceed is to starve his hunting dogs so they will be just as rabid and ferocious as he is when he sets them upon their intended victim, such as in the case of his Step-Mother Walder Bolton and his newly born brother. It goes without saying that someone who has inflicted that much pain and suffering will at some point get it revisited upon him. In this case by on one of the people who he enjoyed torturing the most. He soon found out that hungry dogs don’t care WHO they eat:
Lord Petyr Baelish: Crimes Committed – Responsible for Deaths of Jon Arryn, Lysa Tully Arryn Baelish, Joffrey Baratheon, Betrayals of Eddard Stark, Sansa Stark, and whoever he needs to betray to benefit Petyr Baelish.
Petyr Baelish is cunning, Machiavellian, unpredictable, and a ruthless manipulator of people and the established norms. While that can make him a valuable member of the small council when he uses those skills to the crowns advantage, he is above all else going to use them for his own ends. He is a master of putting on a seemingly friendly face with a friendly smile – but NEVER underestimate what his real intentions might be. It is that difficulty for others to read the exact inner motivations that drive Baelish that make him as dangerous as someone who faces you down with a sword. He has proven to have no real loyalty or genuine affection for anyone despite what he might tell you to your face. He is a great dichotomy, showing you a smile and forced mild manners, while hiding his shrewdness and calculating methods. He is more than willing to casually dispose of people who trusted him, like a man replacing a suit of clothes he no longer needs. He has proven time and time again his extreme intelligence with a genius at financial matters (hence his position as “Master of Coin”). He is even better however at controlling those around him. He used all these skills to arrange the deaths of Jon Arryn, Joffrey Baratheon, Eddard Stark, Lysa Arryn, and more than likely countless others we do not know of. All the while not lifting his “little” finger to accomplish it. So what was HIS downfall? He imparted his wisdom to a girl he thought would never grasp the lesson. But she did learn…she was slow to learn, as she herself admitted, but she learned. Oh, and she happened to have a sister who had become a master assassin:
So there we are: Five characters that basically reaped what they sowed. It is not without some irony that all of these deaths were brought about not by some strong imposing man, but instead by three strong, badass women who watched the men around them and learned that when you want something done..do it yourself.
So do you know of anyone else who got what they deserved? Share you ideas of justice with us at GVNation. Next up: The people who faced death on their own terms. Going out YOUR way.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
