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One of the most shocking deaths in Game of Thrones, many fans are still wondering why Tommen killed himself. The young Baratheon emerged as the heir to the Iron Throne, but the pressures of his family and the tension among Westerosi powers eventually got the best of him. Tommen Baratheon's death is one of the most tragic ends for a Game of Thrones character given his youth and how he was more innocent than his vicious brother.
Tommen was a more compassionate ruler than Joffrey, even showing admiration for the black sheep of Game of Thrones' House Lannister, his uncle Tyrion. However, Tommen was still a boy who was afraid and unsure, manipulated by anyone who could get their claws into him. This included family members like his mother Cersei, his grandfather Tywin Lannister, his wife Margaery Tyrell, and the High Sparrow. Without any sense to see the threats surrounding him, it's not much of a surprise Tommen's reign as king on Game of Thrones was short-lived — but that didn't make his death any less shocking.
What Happened To Tommen In Game Of Thrones
Tommen Died By Suicide After His Mother Killed Hundreds, Including His Wife
Tommen Baratheon's death was preceded by the character becoming more active in Game of Thrones season 4. Like his siblings, Tommen was secretly the product of an incestuous sexual relationship between Cersei and her twin brother, Jaime Lannister. He was present for the wedding ceremony between Joffrey and Margaery Tyrell, and the subsequent funeral following his older brother's death. Although inexperienced and naive, Tommen was crowned the next Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.
Callum Wharry | Seasons 1 & 2 |
Dean-Charles Chapman | Seasons 4-6 |
After Joffrey's dramatic death, Margaery shifted her focus to Tommen to realign the powerful families. They soon married, but conflict quickly arose when Cersei grew jealous of Margaery's influence on her son and gave the High Sparrow more power. After the Faith Militant arrested Margaery and her brother Loras, Cersei's plan to separate her son from the Tyrells backfired, leading to her capture and walk of atonement.
Tommen became more and more brainwashed by the High Sparrow and his religious sect. Despite abolishing the trial by combat, Cersei was still set to be tried for her crimes. As the trials began, Cersei orchestrated a wildfire explosion at the Great Sept, killing thousands, including Margaery. After witnessing the disastrous event, Tommen took off his crown and killed himself by walking out of his bedroom window. The death of Margaery was a factor in Tommen's suicide, but the actions of his mother were a bigger piece of the puzzle.
How The Lannisters Caused Tommen Baratheon's Suicide
His Entire Family Tried To Manipulate & Control Him
In many ways, Tommen Baratheon's death felt inevitable. Almost everyone who encountered Tommen in Game of Thrones manipulated him in some way. Margaery seduced him when he was in a vulnerable state, while his mother also tried to keep control of him. Even the High Sparrow knew Tommen was a gullible young man who could be used to push the Faith of the Seven. Of course, Margaery's death resulted in an immense amount of grief, but this played second-fiddle to Tommen's trauma of growing up a Lannister.
The fact that his mother knowingly killed thousands of innocent people in King's Landing, including the woman he loved, was unfathomable for Tommen.
Tommen had recently lost his only siblings, and those deaths occurred shortly after the death of his supposed father, Robert Baratheon. The fact that his mother knowingly killed thousands of innocent people in King's Landing, including the woman he loved, was unfathomable for Tommen. With the realization that his newfound faith was a lie and that he had nobody left to turn to, the young king felt like he had no other option but to end his own life. It made for one of the most abrupt deaths throughout Game of Thrones.
Tommen's Death Fulfilled Cersei's Tragic Prophecy In The Show
The Only Thing Cersei Cares About Is Her Children
An ominous prophecy shown in Game of Thrones season 5 was fulfilled by Tommen Baratheon's death. In the premiere episode of season 5, "The Wars to Come," a flashback saw a young Cersei seek out the help of a witch named Maggy the Frog. After demanding that the woman predict her future, the witch winds her a harrowing tale that ends up shaping Cersei's backstory and prophecy.
"You will be queen, for a time. Until there comes another, younger and more beautiful, to cast you down and take all that you hold dear ... The king will have twenty [children], you will have three. Gold will be their crowns, and gold their shrouds."
In life, the only thing that Cersei Lannister really cares about is her children, meaning that they will be what is taken away. Joffrey is killed by poison, Myrcella is also killed by poison out of revenge for Oberyn Martell, and then Tommen kills himself. The deaths of all three of her and Jaime's children ultimately fulfills the prophecy, and their shrouds are, in fact, golden.
In the Game of Thrones books, Maggy the Frog also predicts that Jaime could be the one to kill Cersei in the future, but this never comes to pass. Ultimately, the moment Tommen takes his own life fulfills this prophecy, and in extremely upsetting circumstances befitting the tone of Game of Thrones.
The Cinematography Made Tommen's Death Unforgettable
The Actual Death Scene Was Masterfully Shot
Game of Thrones season 6, episode 10, "The Winds of Winter" was directed by Miguel Sapochnik, who also directed some of the best Game of Thrones episodes, and handles the scene when Tommen dies in an unforgettable way. As Tommen sits in his quarters, he views Cersei's destruction of the Red Keep from afar and is informed of Margaery's death. As an attendant tells him that he's "very sorry, your grace," the shot sees Tommen facing the window, with his back turned to the camera.
It's a gracefully executed scene, one that Game of Thrones fans won't soon forget.
The shot doesn't change as the attendant leaves, and Tommen briefly walks offscreen to remove his crown. He then walks back to the window, which the camera had been focusing on the whole time. Without a word, the young king steps forward, and Tommen dies by calmly walking out the window. It's a gracefully executed scene, one that Game of Thrones fans won't soon forget. The destruction of the Red Keep had happened mere moments before, which in itself was an incredibly bombastic scene that featured a major character's death.
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The scene where Tommen kills himself is a quiet installment meant to juxtapose the previous one and complement a quiet death with a dramatic one. Despite its subdued nature, showing Tommen's suicide still shocked Game of Thrones audiences to the core. As the last of Cersei's children die, she is pronounced Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, but this isn't why Tommen's suicide still lingers as a memory — it's the masterful way this moment was delivered to audiences by Sapochniik.
What Tommen Baratheon Actor Dean-Charles Chapman Thinks Of The Death Scene
The Actor Was Surprised At Cersei's Reaction
Game of Thrones actor Dean-Charles Chapman has his own thoughts on his character's passing. Looking back on Tommen's demise (via Cosmopolitan), Chapman described how there were many takes of the now-famous fall from a variety of angles, and he admits that "I took a lot of face-plants." Though it likely wasn't the most enjoyable scene to perform multiple times, the take they chose was an ideal one as it is an almost emotionless final act from the young king.
In terms, of the reactions to Tommen's death, Chapman was particularly surprised by how Cersei took the news. After her emotional breakdown at having lost Joffrey and Myrcella, Chapman jokes that he was a little offended that Cersei seemed uncaring about the death of her remaining son and simply pushed past it on her way to the throne.
While it is easy to dismiss Cersei as cold-hearted at this moment, it suggests Tommen's death hit her harder than the other children as she had no more grief to give and even signals a more ruthless change in her. It also suggests that, given that her actions led to Tommen killing herself, she couldn't admit to herself that she was devastated.
Looking at the legacy Tommen left behind, Chapman's main concern was for Ser Pounce, Tommen's beloved pet cat. Though Ser Pounce is never seen again in the series following Tommen's death, Chapman hopes the cat was able to live happily in the Red Keep and find another cat to have kittens with. While it is a nice thought, hopefully Ser Pounce left King's Landing before Daenerys arrived in Game of Thrones season 8.
Kings Dying Early Is A Common Trend In Westeros
It Happened About As Far Back As The Targaryen Dynasty Goes
Tommen Baratheon's death seemed to mark a very short reign, but Game of Thrones highlighted that sitting on the Iron Throne was not likely to lead to a long life. Indeed, Joffrey Baratheon's reign wasn't much longer than his younger brother's as he took power at the end of season 1 and died a young man at the beginning of season 4.
Even those who simply held the title of king were not long for the world as the War of the Five Kings ignited following the death of Robert Baratheon and all five of those kings were dead by season 6. Even Daenerys Targaryen, the person most fans wanted to see take the Iron Throne, only held it for less than a day before she was assassinated by Jon Snow. At the end of Game of Thrones, Bran Stark is named king, seeming to step into the role at a more peaceful time, which could ensure a longer reign.
Indeed, in House of the Dragon, King Viserys managed to reign for 26 years of prosperity before his death ignited a violent era. The Westerosi king who held the longest reign was Jaehaerys I Targaryen, who was on the throne for 55 years, putting Tommen and other Game of Thrones kings to shame.
Tommen's On-Screen Death Is Similar To A House Of The Dragon Character
Heleana Had Similar Experiences Leading To Her Suicide In The Books
Tommen Baratheon's passing was very similar to the Helaena death in House of the Dragon. The first episode of season 2 ended with Jaehaerys Targaryen's tragic death. This happened because Helaena had to give the choice of pointing out who the "correct" child was to Blood and Cheese. The scene replayed one of the cruelest moments in George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood book.
Much like Tommen, Heleana had to make decisions she was not ready for. She was manipulated and treated in a way where she felt she had no choice left and thus gave up on her power and took her own life. In the books, she becomes extremely depressed after Jaehaerys' death, just as Tommen was with Margaery's. As a result, Heleana jumped from her window to her death in Maegor's Holdfast, mirroring the exact death of Tommen in Game of Thrones.
Tommen Is One Of Game Of Thrones' Most Tragic Characters
Tommen Was Killed For A Throne He Did Not Want
Game of Thrones is a show that is known for denying its characters happy endings, but the death of Tommen solidifies him as one of the most tragic characters. In a story about all the people who are willing to do anything to take the ultimate seat of power in the land, Tommen is awarded the Iron Throne without ever really wanting it. He is a boy who seems to have grown up happy with the fact that his older brother would be king and the burden wouldn't fall on him.
Following Joffrey's death on Game of Thrones, that reality changes for Tommen, and the crown truly does become a burden. Dean-Charles Chapman's first major scene in the role of Tommen comes in season 4 as Tywin quizzes him on his plans of becoming king as Joffrey lies dead in front of them. It is a perfect moment to encapsulate the situation that Tommen is entering into. He is surrounded by people who don't care about his well-being so long as they hold onto their power.
Cersei Lannister is someone who claims to care about her children more than anything, but even she lets Tommen down. She doesn't have respect for him as a king and instead sees him as someone she needs to manipulate in order to do what she wants. She is so preoccupied with being the only one who can control him that she blinds herself to the damage she is doing to him.
This is further cemented in "The Winds of Winter", in which she gets her victory. Though she spares Tommen from being killed in the explosion, she fails to consider the pain it will cause him. Tommen was not a big character on Game of Thrones and that was sort of the point. He was overlooked by everyone around him, which makes his death all the more tragic as it feels as though he had no one to turn to.
Based on George R.R. Martin's novels, this fantasy series follows the power struggles among noble families as they vie for control of the Iron Throne in the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. The series is known for its complex characters, political intrigue, and unexpected plot twists.
Release Date April 17, 2011
Seasons 8
Showrunner David Benioff , D.B. Weiss
English (US) ·