Joffrey Baratheon is a reluctant hero, Margaery a psychopath in a re-cut trailer for Game of Thrones

Nowadays, Ramsay Bolton has mostly taken over as the role of the hated villain de jour on Game of Thrones, but it wasn’t too long ago that fans reserved their venom for Joffrey Baratheon, First of his Name, King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, Protector of the Realm, Crossbow Fetishist, and Colossal Jackass.

Joffrey’s reprehensible deeds are well known. He executed Ned Stark and set off a war, he murdered prostitutes for kicks, he went out of his way to disrespect his uncle Tyrion, and the abuses he visited on Sansa Stark could fill up a library of really depressing diaries. Basically, he was awful and everyone hated him.

Or did they? Well, yes, they did, but the proprietor of the Bloodblitz Comedy channel on YouTube has put together a really effective trailer that suggests how different Game of Thrones might have been if Joffrey were a gentle, caring soul who assumed power reluctantly only to discover that he was a tragic hero. Let’s watch.

You know, when you isolate shots of Tyrion slapping Joffrey, it really does start to look like child abuse. I feel like the people watching Tyrion’s trial, the ones who didn’t have the whole story and found it easy to condemn him for things he didn’t do. Also, points for the bit when everybody stands up and claps as Joffrey assumes the crown and for reediting the lines. Tyrion Lannister: “I have a tender spot in my heart for…Joffrey.” Something doesn’t quite track there.

Does this trailer stack up to the one recut to make Ramsay Bolton look like “the kindest man in Westeros?” You decide.

Also, if you still haven’t gotten your fill of trailers that make villains look like heroes and heroes look like villains, the people behind Bloodblitz Comedy also put together a video depicting Harry Potter as a psychotic bad seed. Next up: Cersei as Westeros’ sweetheart.

H/T Time

Next: Game of Thrones fans put their (outsized?) passion for the show on display