To spare any stragglers being spoiled who have yet to see last night’s episode of GAME OF THRONES (and why the heck haven’t you watched it yet?) I will restrict all comments on my favorite scene of the second episode of this season, The Lion And The Rose, for after the jump.

He’s dead!!! Joffrey’s dead!!!! Finally, Joffrey is dead!!! Whoo-hoo!!!!
Ahem…if you haven’t noticed by now my favorite scene of this past week’s GAME OF THRONES is the long awaited murder of Joffrey Baratheon by poisoning of some sort. Was it the wine? was it the pie? Maybe it was the cup? And who is the fine upstanding human being who did it? Come forward and take a bow, you magnificent bastard! OK let me calm down and start behaviing like an adult with some sense.

The wedding of Joffrey and Maergery finally arrived and the actual ceremony went off without a hitch. No Rains of Castamere playing in the background, no assassinations occurring before the cake was cut. Nope, Joff and Maergery got married and went to their reception where Joffrey began to act like the sociopathic asshat we all know and loathe. He couldn’t just enjoy the fact that he was king, all but won the war and was now married to a hot tomato like Maergery. Instead Joffrey decided that his wedding reception would be a great opportunity to spread some of his sadistic charm around to his new favorite object of torture, Tyrion.

Joffrey had a troupe of dwarves re-enact the War of the Five Kings in the most tasteless way possible rubbing it in Sansa’s face that her brother was murdered while doing the same to the assembled Tyrell’s by making a mockery of Renly (complete with Dwarf Renly riding the back of a doll that looked suspiciously like Loras)…the kid just showed zero class. And then he turned to Tyrion. Joffrey just kept poking and poking his uncle. He wanted Tyrion to join the dwarf actors in acting out The Battle of Blackwater, he poured wine on his head, he made Tyrion into his own personal cup bearer and demanded he bow before him. Things were getting quite tense and being that they were in public there was no way to stop Joffrey without openly undermining the throne. Luckily the wedding pie arrived and Joffrey started scarfing a piece down while chugging some wine when the most wondrous thing happened. The little bastard began to choke, then he started turning blue and blood began streaming out of his orifices and he proceeded to die in a particularly gruesome fashion but still a death that was far too good for him.

Now Joffrey kicking the bucket was the highlight of the Purple Wedding but there was a lot of other great stuff going on at the festivities. Cersei once again showed that her son came by his psychotic tendencies honestly by gleefully enjoying her son’s horrific floor show and traipsing around the party raining on everyone’s parade including letting her jealousy shine through in an encounter with Brienne. The object of said jealousy, Jamie, also showed a bit of his own pettiness in a brief little verbal joust with Loras that the Flower Knight won handily. And best of all Oberyn continued his wonderful knack for insulting and threatening Lannister family members to their faces using some of the most subtext filled pleasantries this side of Varys.

So now that Joffrey is dead we have a ton of new plots opening up: Tyrion has been accused of murdering Joffrey by Cersei; Dontos the Not Quite a Fool secreted off with Sansa after Joffrey’s murder which opens up a ton of questions about his role in Joff’s murder; and who will ascend to the throne now? And will Joffrey’s death embolden Stannis and Melisandra? It is beginning to look like the Lord of Light is coming through for them by offing all of the “pretenders” to the throne. So much intrigue and so many unanswered questions…but regardless of what happens next Joffrey is still dead!!!! Yippee!!!