History Characters / ASongOfIceAndFireHouseBaratheonOfKingsLanding

* BoomerangBigot: He hates all Targaryens even though he is 1/4 Targaryen (his paternal grandmother Rhaelle was the daughter of Aegon V).[[note]]to say nothing of his ancestor Orys Baratheon, who's believed by many including the Targaryens to be one of their bastards.[[/note]]

* YouAreWhatYouHate: Robert wants the entirety of House Targaryen exterminated because Rhaegar stole away his betrothed, Lyanna Stark. He himself is 1/4 Targaryen through his paternal grandmother Rhaelle Targaryen, to say nothing of the fact that the entire Baratheon family is descended from a Targaryen bastard.

* EvilIsPetty: Oh boy. Joffrey is willing to kill or torture over the slightest annoyance, or just because he wants it. He also wanted to have the Stark direwolves killed just because their howling annoyed him. In another and non-lethal or physically harmful instance, he cruelly hacks into pieces with his new Valyrian steel sword the rare and valuable book named ''Lives of Four Kings'' that Tyrion had offered him for his wedding, before telling his seething uncle that he owes him a new gift.

* KissingCousins: One of the numerous women he has slept with is an unnamed Lady Estermont who is also his cousin.

* HiddenDepths:

* ThePeterPrinciple: An epic example. A good (and happy) general; an utterly lost king.

* UnfitForGreatness: He fights valiantly in a just war to dethrone a mad king, but when he takes the throne himself, he proves himself incompetent in dealing with matters of state, spends lavish amounts of money on feasts and tournaments, and his inattentiveness to his own family sows seeds of disaster.

* TheGoodKing: Inverted and deconstructed; while the realm has been at peace for the vast majority of his reign, much of the credit is due to the Small Council. There are some issues, such as the massive debt, but the realms are for the most part stable. Robert does have the charisma and charm to keep [[DecaentCourt everyone in the Red Keep]] from stabbing each other in the back, and him dying is what makes everything go FromBadToWorse. After his death [[TheCaligula Joffery]] and [[PuppetKing Tommen]] would succeed him; the first would plunge the continent into war, the second is barely able to keep it together, and both are the proxies of the StupidEvil [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Cersei]]. All three of these make Robert look like a saint in comparison. In fact, the worst thing that can be said about him is that he's a lecherous drunken oaf, instead of being an insane pyromaniacal tyrant like Aerys II, a spiteful little shit like Joffery, a spineless puppet ruler like Tommen, or the grossly unqualified collection of errors that is Cersei.

** Ned is horrified and disgusted to learn that Robert's method of running the kingdom essentially boils down to leaving other people ([[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen usually his wife]], Hand and small council) to make decisions and turning a blind eye to things he doesn't want to see ([[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen usually his wife's]] and [[ToxicFriendInfluence wife's family's]] antics). He also spends the kingdom into massive debt because he loves throwing lavish tourneys and parties, but doesn't like hearing how much gold the royal coffers do or don't have.

* WouldHurtAChild: Played with. He doesn't order the execution of Rhaegar's children, but is clearly relieved when [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork the Lannisters did the dirty work]] for the sake of securing the throne for him. He once struck Joffrey so hard that he knocked out two of his baby teeth and Stannis, recalling the incident, admits he thought for a moment that Robert had actually ''killed'' him...but Joffrey had literally just slit open a pregnant cat because he wanted to see her kittens, and brought them to show off to Robert, so the latter's furious and disgusted reaction is somewhat understandable. He does order the assassination of 13-year old and pregnant Daenerys, but regrets it [[spoiler:on his deathbed]]. And according to Ned, there is a chance that he would hurt Cersei's children (or at least Joffrey) had he learned their paternity... though he would probably regret it as well later. So while Robert has the morality to know that hurting children is wrong, there are instances where his opportunism or blinding hatred would get the better of him.

* EvilIsPetty: Oh boy. Joffrey is willing to kill or torture over the slightest annoyance, or just because he wants it. He also wanted to have the Stark direwolves killed just because their howling annoyed him. In another and non-lethal or physically harmful instance, he cruelly hacks into pieces with his new valyrian steel sword the book named "Lives of four kings" that Tyrion had offered him for his wedding, before telling his seething uncle that he owes him a new gift.

* AmusinglyAwfulAim: His attempts to shoot hares with a crossbow result in numerous arrows scattered across the ground.

* YouAreWhatYouHate: Robert wants the entirety of House Targaryen exterminated because Rhaegar stole away his betrothed, Lyanna Stark. He himself is 1/4 Targaryen through his paternal grandmother Rhaelle Targaryen.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Littlefinger, a guy who also has an evil streak, has him poisoned. In the eyes of many fans, what might have been horrible was something awesome as Joffrey was the victim.]]

* WouldHurtAChild: Played with. He doesn't order the execution of Rhaegar's children, but is clearly relieved when [[BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork the Lannisters did the dirty work]] for the sake of securing the throne for him. He does order the assassination of 13-year old and pregnant Daenerys, but regrets it [[spoiler:on his deathbed]]. And according to Ned, there is a chance that he would hurt Cersei's children (or at least Joffrey) had he learned their paternity... though he would probably regret it as well later. So while Robert has the morality to know that hurting children is wrong, there are instances where his opportunism or blinding hatred would get the better of him.

* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: She's afraid of wolves (the animal, that is, not the [[Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireHouseStark other sort of wolf).]] [[TomboyPrincess Arya]] thinks little of her because of this.

-->'''Robert''': Let me tell you a secret, Ned. More than once, I have dreamed of giving up the crown. Take ship for the Free Cities with my horse and my hammer, spend my time warring and whoring, [[BloodKnight that's what I was made for]]. The sellsword king, how the singers would love me. You know what stops me? The thought of [[RoyalBrat Joffrey]] [[TyrantTakesTheHelm on the throne]], with [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Cersei]] standing behind him, [[MotherMakesYouKing whispering in his ear]].

-->'''Ned''': Have the years so unmanned you that you tremble at the shadow of an unborn child?

* TheExtremistWasRight: [[spoiler: While Robert is rather zealous in having the surviving Targaryens hunted down, he correctly predicts that Daenerys would try to use her new Dothraki warlord husband and unborn Targaryen heir to retake Westeros with a BadassArmy. While said husband and child die on the way, she still manages to hatch dragons and raise a new army, and still ''very much'' intends to retake her father's Iron Throne.]]

* GeneralRipper: Has an overwhelming hatred of all Targaryens, and has no moral qualms with sending assassins after a 14-year old girl currently located on another continent and moving away from him. [[spoiler: (Not that he was ''wrong'' about her trying to take back the throne.)]]

* JerkAss: Robert became a selfish jerk after the Rebellion. He ignored or mistreated his wife and children for years, and generally acts like a prideful, drunken blowhard whenever things don't go his way. His heart of gold only comes out when he's with Ned, and even then it can disappear if Ned challenges his pride.

** Possibly of Alexander the Great and Henry VIII. Like the two, Robert is [[HotBlooded fairly mercurial]] in personality, and like the two, he undergoes a decline in rulership before his death despite his reign being inaugaurated with great promise. Like Alexander the Great, Robert is an utterly fantastic general neatly married with boundless charisma, but whose administration of the empire he conquered left much to be desired, and whose death triggered a SuccessionCrisis among his former subjects that tore apart most of his gains. Like Henry VIII, Robert was the {{Hunk}} with a passion for physical activities early in life, only to descend into being a FatBastard by the end of his reign (due to an injury in Henry VIII's case, versus Robert's depression), with an AwfulWeddedLife to boot.

** Also with his {{Archenemy}} Rhaegar Targaryen, as they were respectively the poster boys for BloodKnight and KnightInShiningArmor.

-->See [[Characters/ASongOfIceAndFireCerseiLannister Queen Cersei Lannister]]

-->''"So long as I am your King, treason will never go unpunished! Ser Ilyn, BRING ME HIS HEAD!"''

-->''"We're children. We're ''supposed'' to be childish."''

* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: [[spoiler: Averted: Myrcella loses an ear and has her face scarred by Darkstar.]]
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler: She is disfigured during a failed assassination attempt.]]

* ChildrenAreInnocent: [[spoiler: At least until ''Feast of Crows''.]]

* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler:Implied to happen BecauseDestinySaysSo. Maggy's prophecy didn't explicitly say that Cersei's children will all die before her, but Cersei certainly believes that to be the case. While no one was sad to see Joffrey go, it'll be a shame if/when she and Tommen do.]]

* {{Foil}}: To her mother. Like Cersei, Myrcella was born as the only girl beside two brothers, which put her on a dead end of the chain of inheritance. But while Cersei just ''feels'' she is more competent than any of her brothers, Myrcella could easily actually be smarter than both of hers, is certainly more stable than Joffrey and may be stronger than Tommen... and, would probably be better ruler material than any of them, as a result --[[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen including better than their own mother at it]]. Not exactly ''hard''.

-->''"When I'm king in my own right, I'm going to ''outlaw'' beets."''

* BigBrotherWorship: He views Margaery like this, rather than as a romantic partner, due to his young age. Loras as well--he even wishes to train under him to become a great knight, much to his mother's dismay.

** Unusually for this series and fiction in general, Joffrey appears to be a very low-functioning sociopath, as he is noticeably unintelligent and determines almost everything by whatever his most sadistic impulse is at that exact moment without ever being able to stick to a plan for more than a few minutes. [[note]] This is TruthInTelevision; contrary to the popular belief, most sociopaths in real life aren't the scheming, cunning geniuses often portrayed in fiction, but tend to have below-average intelligence and very poor impulse control.[[/note]]
** Some psychologists have even diagnosed him as either suffering from [[UsefulNotes.{{Personality Disorders}} Anti-Social Personality Disorder]] or some form of Conduct Disorder like [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadistic_personality_disorder Tyranical Sadism]].

* SpannerInTheWorks: When Joffrey goes off-script, problems happen and snowball ''rapidly''. Few people can keep up with his StupidEvil tendency towards random cruelty and there are many scenes when you can ''feel'' the Small Council lose collective years off their lives fearing what is about to come out of his mouth. Or that he'll bother actually turning up to cause trouble, even. About the only people to truly get him to stick to a script? [[spoiler:Cersei, Tywin, Littlefinger and, to some extent, Margaery]]--each using rather different means. Everybody else is playing roulette, however much they think they've weighted the outcome. [[spoiler: Varys]] is bright enough ''not'' to try directing this particular spanner at all, but work around him... or, just try to tidy the resulting rubble.

* HuntingAccident: [[spoiler:How he meets his end.]]

* BrutishCharacterBrutishWeapon: Robert's signature weapon is a giant two-handed warhammer, befitting his legendary strength and fiery temper. Most other characters can barely even lift the monstrous weapon, but Robert swung it around with ease; during the Battle of the Trident, he famously used it to crush Rhaegar Targaryen's chest through his plate armor.

* DropTheHammer: His weapon of choice is a giant iron war hammer that is described as being so heavy Ned Stark could hardly even lift it. Robert used it effortlessly. With '''one''' hand because he had a shield on his other arm.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Much to his rue, taking a throne is much easier than keeping one. Much to his court's chagrin, being a powerful general in wartime doesn't make him a good king in peacetime. Also someone who just wanted the woman he loved back probably doesn't care about being the king.
-->'''Donal Noye''': Some men are like swords, made for fighting. Hang them up and they go to rust.

* MoralityChain: Despite the Martells's murderous hatred of her family [[spoiler:including the Dornish prince Doran]], not one of the Martells ever suggest harming her despite their ample opportunities to do so and her lack of agency as a 10 years old girl. Arianne even hatched the Queenmaker scheme to crowning her queen in place of her younger brother Tommen. [[spoiler:This is severely deconstructed by the end of the Queenmaker storyline, with her being caught in the crossfire and severely injured with a huge scar on the side of her face and one of her ears cut off. The Martells also casually discuss killing her beloved younger brother Tommen, something which would probably severely upset Myrcella, showing that even if the Martells do not murder her on sight, they are still capable of some very bad actions that would make her life miserable]].

* BadPeopleAbuseAnimals: One of the EarlyPersonalitySigns of his cruel, sadistic nature is that when he was younger, he cut open a pregnant cat to see her kittens. While his father was understandably freaked out, his mother brushed it off as typical childhood mischief. He also suggested killing Bran's direwolf simply because its howling was annoying him, and killed Tommen's pet fawn and had its skin made into a jerkin.

* VillainBall: Twice so in the first book, as outlined above in UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom. While Joffrey is largely oblivious to the political subterfuge that was brewing around him, his violent impulses essentially lights the fuse to the powderkeg.

* DaddyHadAGoodReasonforAbandoningYou: He once broached the subject of bringing his natural (bastard) daughter Mya Stone to court, only for his wife Queen Cersei to [[ShameIfSomethingHappened imply she would have the girl killed]]. He didn't bring the topic up again, and it's implied that he distanced himself from all his illegitimate children from that point onward to protect them.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Robert's numerous bastards, but especially [[spoiler:Edric Storm]], are said to have the capacity of awakening dragons by spilling their blood according to Melisandre based on the fact that they have "Royal Blood". Since no one has allowed her to kill any of the bastards, there has been no proof that this would actually happen; likewise, when she tries to kill [[spoiler:Mance Rayder's son]] for the same reason and he was taken away from her as well, she has been left with no means to achieve her ends concerning this claim.