History Characters / GameOfThronesHouseBaratheonOfKingsLanding

* TookALevelInBadass: Season 6 sees him gaining an urge to grow stronger, acknowledging that he should have executed the High Sparrow a long time ago. Subverted as his attempt to step up makes him someone else's pawn. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome A kid raised to be a puppet has no chance in a place full of schemers no matter how much he wants to be strong.]]

** Myrcella, [[WomenAreWiser the most grounded of the siblings]] (Ego).

* WomenAreWiser: She perfectly balances her siblings' most defining traits. She's assertive without being cruel like Joffrey, and is kind without being a pushover like Tommen. She's also the only one shown to figure out her true parentage on her own. Unfortunately, despite this making her the Baratheon sibling who would be the best ruler, the fact she's a woman puts her last in the succession.

** While Joffrey is incredibly impulsive in his cruelty, Tommen meanwhile allows his kindness to make himself [[ExtremeDoormat a doormat.]]

* ALessonLearnedTooWell: Tywin teaches him about the importance of a king accepting limitations in knowledge and experience and listening to those who know more about complex topics. It's self-serving as Tywin is trying to set himself up as said source of good guidance but still good advice and Tommen is smart to take it on board. Sadly, without Tywin or Varys or anyone else around, he ends up trusting people who don't have his or the kingdom's best interests at heart simply because they have convinced him that they know better.

* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: In contrast to Joffrey who had all their flaws and none of their strengths, Tommen lacks the massive character flaws of all his parental figures but also doesn't have any of their strengths. He lacks Robert's impulsiveness, bombastic demeanor and disinterest in actually ruling the kingdom but doesn't have his bravery, commanding personality or ability to step up when needed as well as Jaime's irresponsibility and cavalier attitude but neither does he have his charisma or surprising cunning. From Cersei, he avoided inheriting her paranoia, short-sightedness and petty cruelty but doesn't have her awareness, cunning or ruthlessness when he might have needed it. He also didn't inherit Tywin's narcissism, callousness or desire to rule through fear but he also lacks his decisiveness, strategic mind and his sheer force of personality.

* UnfitForGreatness: Played with. Tommen actually ''does'' have the makings of a good king and the desire to be one but his timid personality and not having anyone to guide him in the right direction means he is hopelessly unsuited to what the role requires when he is appointed to it.

* AnalogyBackfire: During the Battle of the Blackwater, Cersei tells him of a lion who was meant to be king, who was in a forest filled with evil things such as wolves and stags. Tommen's response is to point out that stags ''aren't'' evil creatures, they're ''good'' because they only eat grass.

* DudeWheresMyRespect: He might be a child king but he is still supposed to be the king. Yet no one consults him about his new decrees and he doesn't even have the power to let his mother attend Myrcella's funeral. There is a difference between surrounding yourself with wise councilors and surrounding yourself with assholes, and Tommen has not learnt it.

* ExtremeDoormat: Having grown up sheltered all of his life, Tommen is incapable of making decisive decisions on his own terms as a ruler. His mother undermines him at every turn and because he does not want to spill any blood, the Faith Militant runs roughshod over King's Landing. He's such an inept doormat, that the first decision he makes on his own in the series is [[DrivenToSuicide killing himself]].