New Game Of Thrones Show Just Found Its Joffrey Baratheon Replacement

Every series in the Game of Thrones franchise needs a Joffrey Baratheon, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just revealed which character fills that mold. Back when HBO's hit fantasy series began, audiences immediately identified who they would love to hate. Joffrey was a brat from the start, and his spoiled, child-like cruelty only got worse when he became king. Naturally, these details made Joffrey's death at the Purple Wedding one of the highlights of Game of Thrones.

Now, it's A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' turn to continue the on-screen story. The new spinoff is set about 90 years before the events of Game of Thrones, but it's clear that some things in Westeros never change. During Dunk and Egg's adventures, the Targaryens still rule the Seven Kingdoms. Still, whether Baratheon or Targaryen, there's always that occasional royal who turns out not quite right.

Aerion Targaryen Is Very Similar To Game Of Thrones' Joffrey Baratheon

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 2 introduced a new batch of Targaryens, one of them being Aerion. It's pretty clear from his first introduction that the Princeling is of a similar mold as Joffrey. He's entitled and demanding, completely different from his uncle Baelor or younger brother, Egg. Then, in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 3, we see that Aerion enjoys cruelty just as much as Game of Thrones' little tyrant.

Between purposely stabbing a horse through the neck and breaking Tanselle's fingers, Aerion Targaryen's status as a despicable human being is solidified. Of course, we know from Game of Thrones that this type of personality tends to pop up from time to time in the Targaryen line thanks to centuries of incest. Aerion's own parents weren't siblings, but it's still in his blood. Interestingly, incest is also assumed to be a major factor in Joffrey's monsterous behavior.

Aerion Suffers An Even Worse Fate Than Joffrey

Warning! This section contains spoilers for A Song of Ice and Fire book lore that directly relates to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.Aerion and Joffrey share more than cruelty and incest in common. It really seems as if A Song of Ice and Fire author George R.R. Martin created some very intentional literary parallels between these two characters. Joffrey famously died at the Purple Wedding after he unwittingly drank from a poisoned cup. Though Arion's death isn't mentioned in The Tales of Dunk and Egg, the terrible way he meets his end is discussed twice in Martin's central book series.

Aerion's death goes down in Westerosi history as an example of Targaryen madness and is mentioned by both Jeor Mormont and Stannis Baratheon in the Song of Ice and Fire books. The prince came to believe that if he drank a goblet of wildfire, he would turn into a dragon. Naturally, he instead died screaming in terrible agony.

Aerion was heir to the throne when he died, so his oldest son should have been next in the succession. However, given the prince's obvious insanity, it was decided that, like with Joffrey, Aerion's younger brother would become king following his death. Aerion's violent end doesn't happen until a few decades after the events of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, so it may not play out on screen. Still, just knowing that this prince faces a similar end as Game of Thrones' Joffrey is satisfying enough.

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  Game Of Thrones

  

  10/10

  Release Date 2011 - 2019-00-00

  Showrunner David Benioff, D.B. Weiss

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    Isaac Hempstead Wright

    Brandon Bran Stark