(SPOILERS!) Game of Thrones : LAST AIRED EPISODE Discussion

[richieb1971]

I don't think we should rule out Stannis and the witch as the reason Joffrey died. I find it more than a coincidence that the exact episode Joffrey dies that the Stannis story gets reinjected into it. On top of that the Stannis part made really no sense and I am sure in previous episodes the witch said that ALL heirs to the throne would be killed.

[Edword]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

I don't think we should rule out Stannis and the witch as the reason Joffrey died. I find it more than a coincidence that the exact episode Joffrey dies that the Stannis story gets reinjected into it. On top of that the Stannis part made really no sense and I am sure in previous episodes the witch said that ALL heirs to the throne would be killed.

Well if you remember the ritual that Stannis and Melisandre performed with the 3 leeches, and for what person each leech was for it pretty much foreshadowed what was to come.

[mrrant_33]

[Show spoiler]"The Usurper, Robb Stark"

[Show spoiler]"The Usurper, Balon Greyjoy"

~ FOR REAL SPOILER!!! AS IN HASN'T HAPPENED YET!!!

[Show spoiler]"The Usurper, Joffrey Baratheon"

Game of Thrones (S03E08): Stannis burns leeches - YouTube

DAMN, I love the dude who plays Stannis.

[richieb1971]

Yeah well I'm inclined to believe the death of Joffrey was more a magical element than a poison one. He literally had the life taken from within and I don't know a poison that does something like that. I think all these poison theories are off the mark.

[The Lizard King]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

Yeah well I'm inclined to believe the death of Joffrey was more a magical element than a poison one. He literally had the life taken from within and I don't know a poison that does something like that. I think all these poison theories are off the mark.

Poison in Westeros |= Poison on Earth.

HTH.

TLK

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by richieb1971

Yeah well I'm inclined to believe the death of Joffrey was more a magical element than a poison one. He literally had the life taken from within and I don't know a poison that does something like that. I think all these poison theories are off the mark.

It's funny you bring this up, because I have had this conversation several times this week.

I see how someone could think this way, because we very rarely see actual realistic death on film. I mean, how many poisonings in real life have you witnessed? (Me = none, hopefully same for you, LOL.) So our idea of what a death should look like comes mostly from film or TV we have seen, where it tends to be much overly simplified (people rarely get hit on the head once and just die, if they die from the injury it's hours later because of blood loss, etc., even a single gunshot unless it's a direct hit to a few select places won't just instantly kill someone).

While we often see "superhuman" strength/abilities in action movies (even on non-super-powered folks), and know it's not realistic - the opposite is true as well - you'll hear a lot of doctors and medical folks say that people are way too fragile on film, and that it's a lot harder (and often much messier) for someone to die in real life.

That said, I think this may very well be a rather accurate portrayal of what it looks like for someone to choke to death/suffocate. I've watched the episode a few times, and the first time I too thought there was something...odd about it (at the end where he almost looks like he's shrinking like Golum or something LOL). But if you really pay attention, he just cannot breathe. His airway has closed and he is choking to death. That's why the weird noises, the draining of color, etc. A poison certainly could close off his throat/airway - I think that the producers just went the medically accurate way here, because Joffrey's death was so demanded/anticipated, they wanted to add some heft to it.

We may find out differently later, but I'm pretty confident he just choked to death and that's what it would look like IRL. I hope never to find out, but I would be curious if someone who has some medical expertise weighed in with their thoughts.

[CYMBOL]

Originally Posted by BillieCassin

It's funny you bring this up, because I have had this conversation several times this week.

I see how someone could think this way, because we very rarely see actual realistic death on film. I mean, how many poisonings in real life have you witnessed? (Me = none, hopefully same for you, LOL.) So our idea of what a death should look like comes mostly from film or TV we have seen, where it tends to be much overly simplified (people rarely get hit on the head once and just die, if they die from the injury it's hours later because of blood loss, etc., even a single gunshot unless it's a direct hit to a few select places won't just instantly kill someone).

While we often see "superhuman" strength/abilities in action movies (even on non-super-powered folks), and know it's not realistic - the opposite is true as well - you'll hear a lot of doctors and medical folks say that people are way too fragile on film, and that it's a lot harder (and often much messier) for someone to die in real life.

That said, I think this may very well be a rather accurate portrayal of what it looks like for someone to choke to death/suffocate. I've watched the episode a few times, and the first time I too thought there was something...odd about it (at the end where he almost looks like he's shrinking like Golum or something LOL). But if you really pay attention, he just cannot breathe. His airway has closed and he is choking to death. That's why the weird noises, the draining of color, etc. A poison certainly could close off his throat/airway - I think that the producers just went the medically accurate way here, because Joffrey's death was so demanded/anticipated, they wanted to add some heft to it.

We may find out differently later, but I'm pretty confident he just choked to death and that's what it would look like IRL. I hope never to find out, but I would be curious if someone who has some medical expertise weighed in with their thoughts.

I think it was magical in only that he was cursed by Stannis. Was the curse actually in some way the cause? Who knows.

As for choking, I assumed poison simply because of the puking and then blood coming from his nostrils. I don't think common suffocating/choking would cause massive hemorrhaging like that...

Cursed and poisoned are my thoughts on it.

[JeffTheMovieGuy]

The poison that killed Joff was called the Strangler

[BillieCassin]

Originally Posted by CYMBOL

I think it was magical in only that he was cursed by Stannis. Was the curse actually in some way the cause? Who knows.

As for choking, I assumed poison simply because of the puking and then blood coming from his nostrils. I don't think common suffocating/choking would cause massive hemorrhaging like that...

Cursed and poisoned are my thoughts on it.

Oh yeah, I agree - poisoned - which caused him to choke to death on his own vomit/fluids, which was likely exasperated (pun intended) by some type of anaphylaxis of his throat.

I'm not so sold on the mystical aspect with this one. We know that something "magical" happened with Renly's death - but the M. claiming credit for the Rob just smacks of astrology to me, LOL - there was a war going on, it wasn't exactly unexpected as a strong possibility. I'm just not sold on her magical abilities - the only real evidence we have seen is with Stanis' "baby" - which, to be honest, could be credited to Stanis - he obviously has...unique ***** (look at the grotesque pickled life forms his wife keeps in their house, and his daughter - who has what looks like dragon skin to me) - which combined with some mystical thing could have been more of his doing than M. herself.

I'll be interested if we ever do find out what exactly happened to Joffrey - I'm sure we will find out who is responsible, but I wonder if the method of death itself is explored much more.






BTW, sitting here, finishing up some work with an hour to go before the show - I'm so happy to have a show I enjoy so much it becomes "event" TV - I plan my night around it, it's the only show in a very long time that I make sure my devices are away, I make a special snack to watch, I flip off the lights, and just sit and...watch. It's really awesome to have a show I am that in to that I make a deal out of watching - even the ones I like a lot, even love, currently - I'm almost always flipping around on my iPad or doing something else at the same time. With GoT I am front and center, and while of course I TiVo it, I still really love watching it "live" as well.