‘Game Of Thrones’: [SPOILER]’s Killer Revealed — Huge Book Spoilers
The shocking death on the April 13 episode of ‘Game Of Thrones’ may have been satisfying, but who was the killer? If you’re a fan of the HBO series and can’t wait for the answer to unfold on your TV screen, read on to find out who REALLY killed [SPOILER]!
On the night that “The Lion And The Rose” aired, we wrote a story about all the most popular theories for who killed [SPOILER]. While the answers lie within the Song Of Ice And Fire series of novels on which the Game Of Thrones series is based, we didn’t want to spoil it for GoT devotees who haven’t gotten around to reading the series yet! But if you reaaaally want to know who is behind the shocking — but gratifying — death on the April 13 episode, read on! But, again, we don’t know how to be more clear: SPOILERS are below! If you want theories, go HERE, but read on if you want to be spoiled!
‘Game Of Thrones’: Olenna Tyrell And Petyr Baelish Killed Joffrey Baratheon
So, let’s get down to business: it was Lady Olenna Tyrell (née Redwyne) and Petyr Baelish (Aiden Gillen) who killed Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) — though they certainly weren’t the only ones with motive.
While the culprit was obviously poison, it was more specifically something called the Strangler — a rare poison known only to the alchemists of Lys, the Faceless Men of Braavos (Jaqen H’ghar was one), and the Maesters of the Citadel. The plant is found on islands in the Jade Sea, and the leaves are soaked in a concoction which eventually crystallizes, the leaves are discarded, and the poison is born.
‘Game Of Thrones’ Recap: [SPOILER] Killed At The Royal Wedding
In the books, on the day of the Purple Wedding, Sansa (Sophie Turner) wore a hairnet with what looked like amethysts covering it; really, the amethysts were Strangler crystals. The hairnet was given to Sansa by Ser Dontos (the knight whom she saved from certain death by Joffrey’s hands), who in turn received it from Petyr Baelish. (In the show, she was wearing the blue crystal necklace that Ser Dontos gifted her in the premiere — we can probably assume that everything remains the same in the show, but with a necklace swapped out for a hairnet.)
Lady Olenna, while giving Sansa her condolences about the death of her brother Robb (and also saying “War is war, but killing a man at a wedding? Horrid. What sort of monster would do such a thing?”), was near enough to Sansa to pluck the poison from her hairnet (necklace in the TV series) and drop it into Joffrey’s goblet.
Petyr had a bit of an obsession with Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley), and the desire to protect — to extreme costs — extended to her daughter, Sansa. During the chaos at the Purple Wedding, Sansa was spirited away by Ser Dontos (Tony Way) and taken to the Vale to live (relatively) safely in disguise with her aunt, Lysa.
‘Game Of Thrones’ Shocking Death: Who Killed [SPOILER]?
Not only did Petyr conspire the poisoning and her escape, but he also arranged for the show that Joffrey put on at the wedding — the dwarves performing the War Of The Five Kings. Petyr knew that it would upset Tyrion (Peter Dinklage), that it would create a scene, and that Tyrion would then be implicated in Joffrey’s death.
‘Game Of Thrones’: Joffrey Baratheon Was Murdered By Margaery Tyrell’s Grandmother
And what was Lady Olenna’s motivation? Well, Joffrey was a vicious lunatic married to her granddaughter, of course. Remember when Olenna (Diana Rigg) questioned Sansa about Joffrey’s cruel ways? She was not wrong to question his sanity, but it was Petyr who planted those ideas in Olenna’s head.
‘Game Of Thrones’: Why [SPOILER] Deserved To Die
Furthermore, Olenna’s son and Margaery’s father, Mace Tyrell, always dreamed of his daughter being a queen, but they did not need Joffrey to do it — no, she could always marry Tommen Baratheon, next in line after Joffrey.
With Joffrey dead, really, everybody wins — except for Cersei (Lena Headey). Even Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance) are not overly upset by the loss of Joffrey, who was proving himself a maniac of Targaryen scale.
And that’s it! Mystery solved.
HollywoodLifers, if you’re a viewer of the TV show and just couldn’t resist being spoiled, was your money on Olenna? Could you have imagined that Petyr was in on the plot as well? For fans of the series of books, did you always suspect Olenna? (Personally speaking, my money was on Margaery before the truth was revealed in the books.) Let us know!
— Amanda Michelle Steiner
Follow @AmandaMichl
More ‘Game Of Thrones’:
- ‘Game Of Thrones’ Recap: [SPOILER] Killed At The Royal Wedding
- ‘Game Of Thrones’ Shocking Death: Who Killed [SPOILER]?
- ‘Game Of Thrones’: Why [SPOILER] Deserved To Die