Whodunnit? Let's Play CSI GoT

With the violent passing of King Joffrey on Game of Thrones, one has to wonder, whodunnit? I speculated in my recap of The Lion and the Rose that it was Ser Dontos, the court fool. But what if it's not him? Or what if it was him but he didn't act alone? It's time for some wild speculation.

Note: I haven't read any of the books so I truly have no idea who killed Joffrey. If you've read the books and know, I'd ask you not to spoil any of that here. If you did, I'd hate to have to go all Sheldon Cooper on you and find something beloved of yours and destroy it. 


The Scene

Let's examine the moments leading up to Joffrey's death.

Joffrey demanded that Tyrion be his new cupbearer. After he dropped the goblet and kicked it under the table, Lady Sansa retrieved it, and Tyrion finally poured the wine from a carafe that was in front of Cersei and Tywin Lannister.

Then Margaery diffused the tension by announcing the pie. Joffrey took a sip and nothing happened. Margaery then took the goblet from Joffrey and placed it in on their table near her grandmother, Lady Olenna.

After she fed Joffrey, he once again demanded his cupbearer. Tyrion retrieved the goblet from the royal table with Lady Olenna looking on and handed it to Joffrey. He finally drank up and you know the rest.

Some things to consider:

What if Joffrey wasn't the intended target. What if the poison in the wine carafe on the Lannister table was meant for Tywin or Cersei? Was the poison Essence of Nightshade? In small doses it has a calming effect, but too much and you're kaput.

The Suspects

Tyrion Lannister - While Tyrion is certainly not fond of Joffrey, it's kind of out of his character to plot his death. And even if Tyrion were to plan to kill Joffrey, he's smart enough to do it way more discreetly and much less incriminatory. So let's cross Tyrion off.

Tywin Lannister - Or any Lannister for that matter. Tywin has proven in the past that even his imp son is worth saving simply because of the Lannister name. Nobody messes with a Lannister, and there is absolutely no reason for Tywin to murder his own grandson. Plus Tywin's a man who's studied and knows that man is mortal so he clearly would have put the poison as far from himself as possible. Tywin killing his grandson is inconceivable!

Margaery Tyrell - She's the person closest to Joffrey when he started choking. She fed him the pie and gave him his goblet so she certainly had the opportunity. But there's no motive. Sure she has to put up with this sadistic kid for the rest of her life, but she gets to be the Queen! The Most powerful woman in Westeros! This is a lose-lose situation if Joffrey dies.

Lady Olenna - Again, like Margaery, she had the opportunity as the goblet was closest to her, but I just don't see the motivation as her family was becoming part of the Royal Family. But that whole opportunity thing bugs me. That initial sip by Joffrey didn't do anything, but it finally kills him when he finishes the goblet. Olenna had the chance, and maybe saving her granddaughter from a life of hell was better than the throne.

Loras Tyrell - Loras does have the motivation to off Joffrey since he keeps speaking ill of Renly. He even left in a huff during the War of the Five Kings dwarf show.

Varys - He was visibly disgusted with the wedding entertainment, and he's shown to be pretty vindictive and holds grudges, and he has the network to do something like this, but again, why?

Brienne - She's put herself in jeopardy with Cersei by revealing her feelings for Jaime. But poison? Brienne has too much honor to kill someone that way. She would find it cowardly.

Sansa - Sure she wants to put Joffrey's head on a pike. And she may not be naive anymore but she's too goodhearted to have pulled something like this off.

Oberyn Martel - Not much is known about Oberyn except that he really, really hates Lannisters. And being Dornish royalty, he has the means to orchestrate something like this. There's no indication of whether he's honorable or underhanded so I would consider him a strong suspect. He could have been trying to assassinate the entire Lannister family after all.

Maester Pycelle - If poison is your need, a Maester will help you indeed. And Pycelle certainly knows his liquids from simple laxatives to Essence of Nightshade. And remember, he was accused by Tyrion of poisoning Jon Arryn, the previous Hand of the King. And now, Pycelle is in the doghouse with Cersei. We know he's faking his feebleness, so he could have been spry enough to squeeze a few drops of poison into the Lannister wine. Plus, he was sent to the kitchen by Cersei, so he had opportunity to poison Joffrey's pie. Pycelle is a strong suspect.

Stannis and Melisandre - Sure they're not at the wedding, but Melisandre has her magical ways. Remember when they had Gendry tied up and Mel applied leeches to him and then Stannis threw those leeches into the fire reciting the names of usurpers to the throne? Could the poison be the work of the Lord of Light or some other kind of shadow demon? Even I'll admit, this is a big stretch.

Ser Dontos - The drunk knight. His random appearance in the previous episode and his impersonation of John Connor to get Sansa away from the wedding reception implicates him. Why would he do this unless he knew something was up? Dontos has to be involved. Maybe not the mastermind, but definitely an accomplice.

Tommen Baratheon - So much to gain, he is after all the new King. He hasn't exhibited any of the sadistic qualities of Joffrey, (except for laughing at the War of the Five Kings show) but he is a Lannister so maybe that evil side is just coming out now?









So what do you think? Am I over-analyzing the situation? Am I missing any potential suspects? Am I missing any clues? Who's your strongest suspect?