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House Baratheon of King's Landing

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/house_baratheon_of_kings_landing_main_shield.png
"Ours is the Fury."

Robb Stark: Stannis Baratheon sent ravens to all the high lords of Westeros. King Joffrey Baratheon is neither a true king, nor a true Baratheon. He's your bastard son.
Jaime Lannister: Well, if that's true, then Stannis is the rightful king. How convenient for him.

The ruling house of Westeros after Robert Baratheon passes away. Nominally the senior branch of House Baratheon of Storm's End, as its members are allegedly the children of King Robert, the house's head. However, its members are in fact the biological (bastard) children of Cersei and Jaime Lannister. The Lannisters of Casterly Rock are also the true power behind the Baratheons of King's Landing. As of 303 AL House Baratheon of Kings Landing is extinct, alongside its cadet branches House Baratheon of Storm's End and House Baratheon of Dragonstone.


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    In General 
  • Book Ends: They die in the same order as their births.
  • Everybody's Dead, Dave: Thanks to their family's habit of making political enemies, all three (supposed) offspring of Robert Baratheon and Cersei Lannister are dead. Joffrey was poisoned for being a madman and a threat to the Tyrells, Myrcelle was poisoned due to a potentially avoidable rivalry with Dorne thanks to Tywin Lannister allowing Gregor Clegane to kill Elia Martell years earlier (along with her brother's death when the two clashed), and Tommen committed suicide when his mother murdered all of her political adversaries (including his wife) with a massive explosion that killed hundreds (if not more) of his subjects. Ultimately, Lannister pettiness was their downfall, and only Joffrey could be said to have invited the fate brought upon him.
  • Freudian Trio:
  • Hair Color Spoiler: Them not being dark haired like their father or his relatives is a telling sign that they're Baratheons In Name Only.
  • In Name Only: In-universe, despite being Baratheons by name, they are Lannisters by blood. Technically speaking, children born of incest have no proper surname and have no right to one unless legitimized by a king, and the Baratheons of King's Landing are unlikely to ever receive one — as bastards from the Crownlands they would normally use Waters, but they'd have to be acknowledged by their father for that, and that would mean admission that they have no actual rightful claim to the throne. The fiction of them being anything other than Lannister puppets ends when Cersei takes the throne as Queen becoming the first Lannister monarch.
  • Nice, Mean, and In-Between: Tommen is nice to the point of being a complete pushover. Joffrey is cruel to the point of being a complete sociopath. Myrcella is sweet but more assertive than Tommen.
  • Open Secret: Stannis Baratheon "outs" their secret when he receives Ned's missive and it quickly catches Word Of Mouth with the commonfolk at King's Landing and different parts of the kingdom. Olenna Tyrell, who's marrying her grand-daughter to the Crown, points to Tywin Lannister that the evidence is very convincing. As Season 4 rolls, it is the worst kept secret of Westeros that is only tolerated for political necessity and convenience, with everyone making snarky comments about it and the rumor having spread all the way across the Narrow Sea to Essos. Even when Cersei herself tells Tywin outright that it's true, he refuses to believe it — suggested to be because he point blank does not want to, and because admitting it to himself would mean that both his legacy and the Lannister blood claim to the throne are a lie.
  • Royally Screwed Up: Thankfully limited to Joffrey, whose complete personal monstrosity is far worse than the Lannisters', while both Tommen and Myrcella are good kids.
  • Rule of Symbolism: The House sigil is a quarteringnote  of the Baratheon Stag and the Lannister Lion—and yet the tail of the Lion hovers menacingly above the Stag's own field—subtly emphasizing that it is really House Lannister calling the shots behind them.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Connections!: Tywin Lannister, probably the most powerful (and certainly the richest) person in Westeros, backs the Baratheons of King's Landing to the hilt, allowing them to pretty much do whatever they want, no matter the obstacles. Unfortunately, this has also extended to the borrowing of money, leading to the Baratheons of King's Landing acquiring astronomical amounts of debt which they are largely unable to service.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: Joffrey and Tommen are both awful kings being extremely cruel (Joffrey) and extremely nice (Tommen).
  • Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Averted, and one of the main indications that House Baratheon of King's Landing has no true connection to House Baratheon of Storm's End, every single one of whose (male) members, going back hundreds of years, have been black haired.
  • Tangled Family Tree: The siblings are also cousins. Joffrey and Tommen were also even married to the same woman.

    King Joffrey Baratheon 

King Joffrey Baratheon

Played By: Jack Gleeson

See King Joffrey Baratheon.

    Queen Margaery Tyrell 

Queen Margaery Tyrell

Played By: Natalie Dormer

See House Tyrell.

    Princess Myrcella Baratheon 

Princess Myrcella Baratheon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/myrcella_baratheon.png
"I'm glad that you are my father."
Click to see Myrcella as played by Aimee Richardson.

Played By: Aimee Richardson (Seasons 1 and 2), Nell Tiger Free (Season 5)

"Myrcella is a sweet, innocent girl and I don't blame her at all for you."
Tyrion Lannister (to Cersei)

Robert and Cersei's only daughter, the middle child. Jaime Lannister, the queen's own twin brother, is her biological father, and that of her siblings. In Season 2, she is Put on a Bus to the southern kingdom of Dorne, betrothed to Trystane Martell, Prince Doran Martell's youngest son.


  • Abled in the Adaptation: In the books, Myrcella loses an ear and gets her face heavily scarred. This is omitted in the show, though she gets fatally poisoned instead.
  • Adaptational Angst Upgrade: In the books, she doesn't cry when she's shipped off to Dorne.
  • Age Lift: About two or three years older at the start of the series compared to the first book, and like everyone else it just goes on from there.
  • Ascended Extra: She finally becomes prominent in Season 5.
  • Back for the Dead: Returns in Season 5 after being Put on a Bus for two whole seasons. And then gets fatally poisoned in the season finale.
  • Break the Cutie: She's sent away from her whole family to Dorne for her own protection. A Subverted Trope, as Oberyn tells Cersei that she's enjoying life in Dorne and is very happy, and Season 5 proves this.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: She gets one in Season 5 when she points out Jaime doesn't know her at all, to which he has no rebuttal.
  • Children Are Innocent: She's nice to Sansa and seems genuinely excited to see her and Joffrey get married.
  • Deadly Nosebleed: The first telling sign that she was poisoned.
  • Death by Adaptation: She tragically dies after being poisoned by Ellaria via Kiss of Death. She is still alive in the books and definitely in no danger from the book's Sand Snakes and book Ellaria unlike the show's villainous versions. However book Myrcella is still foretold to die as well.
  • Demoted to Extra: She wasn't exactly a large character in the book, but in the series she's only had a few speaking lines and been on screen a handful of scenes beyond that. Averted in Season 2, in which she gets a bit more time. She becomes a recurring character in Season 5.
  • Died in Your Arms Tonight: Heartbreakingly and like her older brother, Myrcella ends up getting poisoned and Jaime can only hold her and helplessly call her name as she succumbs to her death.
  • Establishing Character Moment: She has a sweet moment with Tyrion in the second episode where she brings out his nice side and inquires about Bran after his accident and is sincerely glad to hear he will live, showing that she is a genuinely kind and sweet-natured young girl and not at all like her mother or brother.
  • Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: 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.
  • Generation Xerox: Looks strikingly like Cersei did when she was young, though thankfully lacks her mother's temperament. By coincidence, the actresses who portray Myrcella and a young Cersei share an uncommon first name.
  • Going Native: She chews Jaime out when he comes to rescue her, declaring that she loves Trystane and Dorne is her home now.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's blonde-haired and big-hearted.
  • Heroic Bastard: Like her brothers, she's the product of an incestuous affair but is a good person who cares about her family.
  • Last Words: "I'm glad that you are my father."
  • Licked by the Dog: One of the early signs that the audience received that Tyrion is more than a drunken whoremonger is how much Tommen and Myrcella adore him and how much he returns the affection.
  • Like Mother, Unlike Daughter: Myrcella was sweet and kind, completely unlike her cruel, self-obsessed mother. Cersei talked about this after Myrcella's death.
    She was good. From her first breath, she was so sweet. I don't know where she came from. She was nothing like me. No meanness, no jealousy, just good.
  • Kill the Cutie: Much like Shireen in the previous episode, Myrcella dies horribly after being poisoned by Ellaria.
  • Morality Pet: For various characters, she shows Jamie is capable of being loved despite his flaws, that Cersei is capable of genuine love for her kids that doesn't lead to them ending up like Joffrey and that Tyrion is more than just a hedonistic dwarf.
  • Nice Girl: She loves her uncle Tyrion and "uncle" Jaime, as well as her brother and is generally kind to everyone she meets.
  • Only Sane Woman: Aside from lacking the awful personalities of her mother and brother, she also lacks Tommen's meekness and eagerness to please, making her the only Baratheon to have her head on straight. She also knows Jamie is her father when even her grandfather, the terrifyingly smart and perceptive Tywin, didn't.
  • Perfectly Arranged Marriage: To Trystane Martell, due to Tyrion's machinations. She's seen crying as she sails away, and Cersei is vehemently opposed to the idea, but Myrcella and Trystane actually do fall in love and cannot wait to get married.
    Jaime: You're lucky. Arranged marriages are rarely so... so well arranged.
  • Pet the Dog: Proves that the Lannister family evil isn't genetic by asking about Bran's condition and being genuinely happy to hear that he will live.
  • Princess Classic: A young, lovely, and beautiful golden-haired princess in a Perfectly Arranged Marriage to a handsome Prince Charming.
  • Princesses Prefer Pink: The first glimpse we see of her in Season 5, she's wearing a resplendent, diaphanous pink gown.
  • Put on a Bus: Sent off to Dorne to meet her betrothed. She isn't seen again until Season 5, when there is a lot more focus on what is going on in Dorne.
  • Secret Secret-Keeper: She tells Jaime she's known for some time that he was having an affair with his twin sister and that he's her biological father. She never breathed a word of this to anyone to protect herself and her family.
  • Smarter Than You Look: Myrcella comes off as rather naive, sheltered and a Horrible Judge of Character. While she is this to an extent, it's revealed that she eventually figured out that she and her siblings were fathered by Jaime, who is shocked that she knows.
  • Star-Crossed Lovers: With Trystane. He's a Martell, she's a Lannister (even if she does have a Baratheon name). Those two families tend to be at each other's throats; their entire arranged marriage was an attempt to heal the rivalry between the two houses, but that was before Oberyn died by the hands of the Mountain.
  • Token Good Teammate: Along with her youngest brother, Tommen, they're the Lannister characters without any malice in them.
  • Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Acknowledged by Cersei herself who pointed out that Myrcella was kind, sweet and never had the awful qualities of her brother Joffrey. But because of her blood as a Lannister who happened in the firing range between an old house rivalry, it's sad to see her go like that.
  • Too Happy to Live: Everything seems to go well for Myrcella: she falls in love with the boy she's arranged to marry, she reveals to Jaime that she knew he's her real father and they have a sweet father-daughter bonding moment. She dies instantly after that.
  • We Used to Be Friends: Oberyn told Cersei that he last saw Myrcella playing with his daughters at the Water Gardens. It isn't clear if he means his younger daughters or the Sand Snakes of Season 5, but either case they aren't friends after Oberyn's death. This is a major change from the books where absolutely none of his daughters and no one in Dorne, aside from a nutcase knight, wanted to hurt Myrcella.
  • White Sheep: She's one of only two Lannister family members who isn't evil or massively fucked up.

    King Tommen Baratheon 

King Tommen Baratheon

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tommen_baratheon.png
"Wisdom. Wisdom is what makes a good king."
Click to see Tommen as played by Callum Wharry.

Played By: Callum Wharry (Seasons 1 and 2), Dean-Charles Chapman (Season 4-6)

Tywin Lannister: How do you know which choice is wise and which isn't? You've any experience of treasuries and granaries, or shipyards and soldiers?
Tommen Baratheon: No.
Tywin Lannister: No. Of course not. A wise king knows what he knows and what he doesn't. You're young. A wise young king listens to his counselors and heeds their advice until he comes of age. And the wisest kings continue to listen to them long afterwards.

Robert and Cersei's second son and youngest child. Crowned King of the Andals and the Rhoynar and the First Men, and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, although his mother retains the regency and the title "Protector of the Realm" has been granted to his grandfather, Lord Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King. Jaime Lannister, the queen's own twin brother, is his biological father and that of his siblings.


  • Adaptational Attractiveness: In the books, Tommen is a short, plump little boy. Here, he's played by the handsome Dean-Charles Chapman to go with his Age Lift.
  • Adaptation Personality Change: In the books, Tommen is an adorable (if unprecocious) 8-year-old Cheerful Child whose idea of governance is playfully stamping decrees and plotting to outlaw beets. In order to keep him in the same Puppet King role despite an Age Lift into his teens, the show makes him a Weak-Willed Extreme Doormat.
  • Age-Gap Romance: Via an Arranged Marriage with Margaery Tyrell. He's seemingly in his early teens (his exact age is a bit iffy to determine) while she's in her early 20s when they get married. They still consummate the union. Despite the disturbing implications of this, Tommen adores his wife and even worried about hurting her during sex. Margaery for her part is likely just manipulating Tommen as he's her Meal Ticket to queenhood, but does seem genuinely fond of him too. Considering she was briefly married to his psychopathic brother Joffrey before he was assassinated, Tommen is comparatively a vast improvement. When she's murdered in the bombing of the Sept, Tommen commits suicide out of grief.
  • Age Lift: Upon being recast, Tommen seems to have aged by three or four years (from age eight to nine in A Storm of Swords to apparently twelve on the show). This is probably to reduce the Squick associated with his relationship to his betrothed, the much older and very sexy Margaery (who herself was, somewhat ironically, also subject to an Age Lift, from 16-17 to mid-20s). If we go by the fact that he was 9 in the first Season (Tommen was 7 in the first book), and consider the greater timeframe covered by demand of Pragmatic Adaptation (about a year per season), then that makes him 12 when Season 4 comes into play. Dean-Charles Chapman is a year or two older, true, but so are Sansa, Arya and Bran's respective actors.
  • All-Loving Hero: In complete contrast to his older brother Joffrey, Tommen wants to take the path of least bloodshed. Unfortunately, this makes him indecisive when the High Sparrow kidnaps his wife and later his mother since he does not want any blood on his hands.
  • Ambiguous Innocence: He's ambivalent towards Joffrey's dwarf play and laughs along several times. The difference is that he just doesn't seem to realize just how much it hurts his uncle, and he starts to look more and more uncomfortable as the wedding wears on and Joffrey progresses to openly making Tyrion's life a living hell.
  • Analogy Backfire: 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. This nicely shows that he's not like Cersei or Tywin and he's a bit more savvy than he seems.
  • Arranged Marriage: He's betrothed to Margaery after Joffrey's death, and she quickly sneaks into his bedroom to suss him out before Cersei has the chance to alienate the relationship.
  • Ascended Extra: In Season 4. Joffrey's death all but enforces this, as Tommen is next in line to the throne.
  • Born in the Wrong Century: Tommen would've undoubtedly been a good king and fondly looked upon as such had he not had the bad luck to come into power at such a bad time in Westerosi history when the continent was tearing itself apart and in desperate need of strong, decisive leadership. Tommen could even have provided that if he'd had genuinely well-meaning and competent support like Varys and Tyrion or even Tywin around to help him. Sadly, he lacked any such advantages and his reign just ended up making things worse.
  • The Bus Came Back: He returns in Season 4.
  • Children Are Innocent: In sharp contrast to his brother, Tommen comes off as a genuinely sweet kid, and is nice to Sansa.
  • Crown of Horns: His crown of stylized stag antlers looks virtually identical to his brother's. It may even be Joffrey's, but modified to fit his head.
  • Death by Adaptation: He committed suicide after seeing his mother kill several people including his wife and mentor. He is still alive in the books, though book Tommen is still foretold to die as well.
  • Deconstructed Character Archetype: Of Redeeming Replacement characters. No one will argue that Tommen is a much better human being than Joffrey ever was, but his meek and spineless nature is also the reason why he is unfit to rule as king.
  • Demoted to Extra: Much like his sister in Seasons 1 and 2. Averted in "Blackwater", where he has a minor role, whereas in the book he's not even present in King's Landing.
  • Despair Event Horizon: After two seasons of being a powerless king, Tommen is finally (and literally) pushed over the edge after witnessing Cersei causing the deaths of hundreds, including Margaery. This drives him to suicide.
  • Disney Villain Death: Though he's more of a good guy, he dies by throwing himself out the window of the Red Keep.
  • Distracted by the Sexy: After Joffrey's murder, he's betrothed to Margaery Tyrell. She secretly visits his chambers late at night for a quick getting-to-know-you chat. Margaery, of course, is very practiced at deploying flirtation as a political strategem, and Tommen practically hits puberty right then and there.
  • Dramatic Irony: Back in Season 1, Jaime pushed Bran Stark out of a tower window to protect the secret of Joffrey, Myrcella, and Tommen's true parentage. How does Tommen die several years later in Season 6? By jumping out of a tower window.
  • Driven to Suicide: He calmly throws himself out the window of his room after watching the Great Sept of Baelor be consumed by wildfire thanks to his mother's machinations.
  • Dude, Where's My Respect?: 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 who don't respect you, and Tommen has not learnt it.
  • Dying Alone: Appears to be the case concerning Tommen's suicide. The "Inside the Episode" segment even notes that if Cersei had been present to console him over becoming a widower, rather than doing other things like torturing Septa Unella, he may not have taken his own life.
  • Dying as Yourself: Twofold. In jumping out the window of the Red Keep, he finally was able to make a single decision as his own person without anyone guiding his hand — not Tywin, not Cersei, not the High Sparrow. He also removed his crown before he jumped, so that he would die not as the King of the Andals and the First Men, but as Tommen Baratheon.
  • Extreme Doormat: Having grown up sheltered all of his life and largely ignored by his parental figures, 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 killing himself.
  • Fatal Flaw: His naivete coupled with his eagerness to prove himself. Tommen wants to be a good ruler, but his lack of experience means that he yields to anyone he believes knows better than him. All it takes is some charismatic words or token gestures of affection to convince Tommen that someone is right, and he'll go along with what they tell him not realizing he's being manipulated. This results in the Faith Militant seizing control of King's Landing, Cersei's walk of shame, and ultimately mass destruction and death that he finally seems to realize is partially his fault for allowing it to happen.
  • Foil: Tommen is this to Joffrey in everyway, for both good and bad.
    • In "The Gift", he shouts "I am the king!" and entertains the idea of slaughtering the Faith Militant, resembling Joffrey. However Tommen is motivated by love, and recognises the impossibility of such a maneuveur, showing emotion and intelligence that Joffrey never did. Also when Joffrey called himself the king, it was to justify that he can do whatever he wants, Tommen calls himself the king because his loved ones are being tortured and humiliated by his own subjects.
    • While Joffrey is incredibly impulsive in his cruelty and never thinks beyond his own satisfaction, Tommen meanwhile allows his kindness to make himself a doormat and is crippled by indecisiveness.
    • When Cersei tried to control Joffrey, he made it clear that he wasn't above having his own mother beheaded if she doesn't respect him as King and know her place, terrifying Cersei to leave him alone. When Tommen stands up to Cersei to defend being with Margaery, she just smiles and runs a guilt trip on him that works, which shows Tommen didn't have the will to assert himself, a crucial personality trait for a strong King.
    • Joffrey refused to listen to anyone around him, only being reigned in by Tywin who took a hard stance in making sure Joffrey knew who was really running things. Tommen is happy to listen and learn from those who've been around longer than him and Tywin treats him in a far more paternal manner but his deference to others means he ends up making bad decisions due to wrongly believing others know better.
    • The rule of both ends up making things worse for Westeros but while Joffrey's worst actions were brought on by his impulsiveness and disinterest in being king for any reason than abusing his power, Tommen genuinely wanted to do good for the realm and he honestly believed his actions were for the best and is devastated at seeing the end results.
  • Freudian Excuse: He was largely ignored by almost everyone growing up and received little affection before being thrust into a leadership role he was never prepared for and with no one around who wants to help him become a good king, only manipulating him for their own ends.
  • Generation Xerox: To his great-grandfather Tytos Lannister: weak, indecisive, a strong desire to be liked and easily exploited by the people around him. And Tommen doesn't even have someone like Tywin to steer things right after or offer better guidance.
  • Gone Horribly Wrong: Tywin's first lesson to Tommen about being king is wisdom, specifically the wisdom to know when someone else knows more than you do. This is a not-so-subtle attempt by Tywin to set himself up as the power behind the throne but is otherwise good advice. However, Tywin dies not long after, so the indecisive Tommen is left with people who only want to manipulate him for their own gain including Margaery, making him an even bigger Puppet King than his brother. As a result of the machinations of the High Sparrow and his Stupid Evil mother, King's Landing is well on its way to becoming a theocracy, with Tommen having been easily conned into enabling it because no one has taught him to stand up for himself.
  • The Good King: Subverted. Tommen's ideas on what virtues a king should possess (piety, justice, strength, and wisdom) are all good traits, and if he actually possessed them he probably would be a good king. The problem is that he doesn't nor does he have anyone around who wants to help him gain such traits; he's a child with little experience in the ways of the world, but is told by Tywin that because of this shortcoming, he should yield to those that know more than him. Tommen takes this advice to heart too well and allows himself to be swayed by anyone who can convince him to go with what they're saying, and on his own he's indecisive about what to do without someone to tell him. While Joffrey was a terrible king because he was cruel and callous and did as he liked without caring what other people thought, Tommen is a terrible king because he's too naive and kindly and can't make good decisions on his own.
  • Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Exactly as it says on the tin.
  • Happily Married: Somewhat. Tommen is clearly infatuated with Margaery, and while Margaery does seem to care for Tommen, she also mostly just wants to be his Puppetmaster instead of Cersei.
  • Heroic Bastard: He was born out of an incestuous affair but is a kindhearted boy.
  • Heroic BSoD: Following the arrests of Margaery and Cersei, Qyburn reports that Tommen has locked himself in his rooms and is refusing to eat.
  • Hero with Bad Publicity: Thanks to the actions of his brother and mother, he's forced to deal with hatred and insults despite having done nothing wrong personally.
  • Kill the Cutie: Ultimately kills himself after being in the Despair Event Horizon (see above) for so long.
  • Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Has an adorable cat called "'Ser Pounce''" whom he clearly loves (especially given how Joffrey threatened to kill it to hurt Tommen).
  • Last of His Kind: Due to the deaths of Robert, Renly, Joffrey, Shireen, Stannis, and Myrcella, he was the last recognized legitimate Baratheon, and with his suicide, the Baratheon line has officially been snuffed out. Of course, he was never a Baratheon by blood, but this entire trope becomes moot after Daenerys legitimizes Gendry in Season 8.
  • A Lesson Learned Too Well: 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, Tyrion, Varys or anyone else worth listening to 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.
  • Licked by the Dog: Like his sister, he's the metaphorical Dog in relation to his uncle Tyrion, showing Tyrion's softer side and that he's able to care for innocent people, and not just himself and his interests.
  • Like Father, Unlike Son: 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, insight 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.
  • Lousy Lovers Are Losers: Downplayed. As expected from a naive, young virgin, his wedding night with the much more experienced Margaery Tyrell is obviously not satisfying for her while he gets spent quickly. But she's too politically savvy to let something like that bother her and simply pretends it was an ideal wedding night in order to preserve their Arranged Marriage. While the narrative doesn't shame him for his lack of experience, it is used illustrate how out of his depth he is and how easily Margaery can manipulate him. The next days in court, she even acts like they're Insatiable Newly Weds and spread rumors about how he's "a lion in bed", to create the image that the new boy-king of Westeros is a real man.
  • Mentor's New Hope: Tywin, disappointed in his children and his eldest grandson, notes that Tommen has the makings of a good king and takes him under his wing.
  • Morality Pet: To Cersei and particularly Tywin. He's the only family member besides Jaime that Tywin is ever shown being genuinely affectionate and paternal towards and regards with respect or pride.
  • Naïve Newcomer: He was never groomed to rule and his only capable mentor dies soon after Tommen gets the throne, which makes him an easier target for manipulation, as he has to learn almost everything by himself and the ones who could teach him are only interested in controlling him.
  • Nice Guy: He's a genuinely kind and gentle person who doesn't share Joffrey's sadistic streak whatsoever, and Tywin says that this temperament will make him a good king; at the very least, he can be counted on not to be Stupid Evil. This is presented as a questionable virtue for the King of Westeros, given he lacks the inherent ruthlessness needed to rule and nobody except his great-uncle Kevan has any interest in Tommen developing a backbone.
  • No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Much of Tommen's courtly troubles and lack of competence as a king borrow a lot from the real-life Henry VI of England, seen as the weakest king of the House of Lancaster due to various personal factorsnote . Henry VI's personal piety is also visible in Tommen's decision to ally with the Sparrows. They are also both, to an extent, the Last of Their Kind: Henry being the last person with full Lancastrian blood, and Tommen the last "official" Baratheon.
  • Odd Name Out: The only one of his siblings who doesn't have the letters "R" and "Y" in his given name.
  • Pet the Dog: He doesn't enjoy the notion of Robb being killed by his brother at all, saying as much in front of his mother and more importantly Sansa.
  • Poor Communication Kills: Tywin taught him that a wise king listens to his advisers, however, Cersei and the small council made no effort to advise him on running the kingdom and refused to make him a part of their plans and affairs. So when Tommen attempted to confront the High Sparrow on his own, he found himself swayed by his charm and his platitudes and ended up allying the Crown with the Faith Militant. Now under the High Sparrow's guidance, Tommen makes new acts and decrees without consulting his mother or the small council.
  • Precocious Crush: Develops one for Margaery Tyrell, exactly as she intended.
  • Promotion to Opening Titles: Starting Season 5.
  • Puppet King: Deconstructed. He lacks the knowledge to rule on his own, and the only parties who could teach him want to control him for their own reasons; as a result, he is very easily manipulated. The problem with this, as the Small Council finds out, is that anyone can manipulate him; while the Small Council insists on leaving him out of meetings while they make their plans, the High Sparrow swoops in and wins him over to the Faith Militant's cause, which ruins everything the Small Council had planned. Anyone can pick up a puppet's strings if they're left lying around, after all...
  • Put on a Bus: We don't see Tommen in Season 3.
  • Sibling Yin-Yang: Joffrey was a sadistic psychopath who did whatever he wanted with no regard for anyone else, while Tommen was kind and gentle and deferential towards those he saw as knowing more than him, even to a fault.
  • Spanner in the Works: Thanks to the High Sparrow's manipulations, Tommen ruins whatever plans Cersei and the Small Council had to curb the power of the Faith Militant.
  • Spare to the Throne: After his brother's death at his own wedding, Tommen is next in the line of succession. His grandfather Tywin wastes no time in beginning his training. He's betrothed to Joffrey's widow afterwards.
  • Token Good Teammate: Along with his sister, they're the only Lannister characters without any malice in them.
  • Too Good for This Sinful Earth: Tommen was a good person born and raised around vipers. And it doesn't help that his own mother was one of the most dangerous ones. In the Season 6 finale, after his mother Cersei had the High Sparrow and everyone associated with him killed, including his Queen, he realized he was a Puppet King who doesn't have the respect of his subjects and is a pawn of his mother who doesn't take his commands seriously - he commits suicide.
  • Took a Level in Badass: 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. 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.
  • Tragic Hero: Tommen genuinely wants to be a good king and takes the responsibility seriously but he fatally lacks the strength and assertiveness required and he has no one who wants to help him gain it and his good traits such as his desire to avoid conflict and bloodshed often end up making things worse.
  • Trauma Conga Line: Let's see: He loses his (admittedly horrible) brother, his uncle and grandfather in just a few weeks. He is forced into a role he wasn't prepared for at a time of unprecedented strife and conflict and with no one to help him navigate his way through it. He sees his city overtaken by fanatics he is powerless to reign in. His wife and mother are taken prisoner. His kingdom is caught in a war it's increasingly losing and which he is forced to fight despite the family being flat broke. His beloved sister is murdered as part of an ongoing feud with Dorne that started before he was born. And he has to see the people he swore to protect killed by his own mother in a wildfire attack. Is it any wonder that the poor kid gets so crushed that he decides to just pack it in?
  • Turn in Your Badge: After seeing the Wildfire blast, he takes off his crown and leaves it in his room before committing suicide, possibly as a way to distance himself from the game of thrones that has cost him everything he held dear, and accepting that he was no true king.
  • Uncanny Family Resemblance: Chapman had played the small role of Martyn Lannister in Season 3 before taking over the role, though it makes some in-universe logic that he strongly resembles Martyn, given that Martyn was Tommen's first cousin once removed. On both sides, of course.
  • The Unfavorite: Cersei spoiled Joffrey and repeatedly stated that she missed Myrcella, bitter and angry that Tyrion sent her to Dorne. When the latter two died, she was heartbroken. Tommen on the other hand rarely gets much open affection from his mother, who repeatedly condescends to him, and while Cersei spared him from going to the Sept of Baelor before it blew up, when Tommen commits suicide she's mostly angry at him for "betraying" her this way. This probably explains why Tommen was such a pushover, he was always looking for some form of open affection and attention. Indeed, after Tommen's suicide, which Jaime is devastated by, Cersei dismisses him as a traitor for abandoning her by killing himself. Meanwhile, even after Tommen's death, Cersei is still shown being deeply affected by Myrcella and Joffrey's murders.
  • Unfit for Greatness: Played with. Tommen actually does have the makings of a good king and the desire to be one but his timid personality, lack of preparation for the role 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.
  • Weak-Willed: As a young man in a highly dysfunctional family without a strong father figure, Tommen is easily manipulated by other authoritative or politically savvy figures such as Tywin, Cersei, Margaery, and the High Sparrow.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy: Given how he was raised with little affection from his mother and Jaime had to keep his distance and he was largely ignored by almost everyone else, Tommen ends up trying too hard to win everyone's approval now, even if it means deferring to very bad ideas.
  • White Sheep: He and his sister are among the only good and decent Lannisters.

Royal Court

See Royal Court.


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