5 things nobody wants to admit about Game of Thrones

Joffrey Baratheon is one of the best characters in Game of Thrones

Surprise! You thought this was all just going to be defending season 8? We have other hot takes to discuss, from my lips straight through your heart like a dagger.

Game of Thrones had many beloved characters and just as many characters that viewers loved to hate, but few villains left as big of a mark as Joffrey Baratheon. The incestuous son of Cersei Lannister and Jamie Lannister, Joffrey ascended to the Iron Throne after King Robert's death in season 1. He then proceeded to be the most awful person imaginable for three more season of television, doing everything from having Ned Stark beheaded to mentally torturing Sansa, acting cowardly at the Battle of the Blackwater, chopping up a rare book given to him by his Uncle Tyrion and far too many other enraging acts to list them all.

No one would dispute that Joffrey is awful. George R.R. Martin excels at writing loathsome villains; combined with a spectacular performance by actor Jack Gleeson, the maladjusted teenage king practically leapt off the screen and made us all root for his death for years on end.

But beneath all that is a dark, horrible secret that few Thrones fans will say out loud: Joffrey Baratheon is actually one of the best characters in the series. That's why we all love to hate him so much. He's gripping to watch, a ticking time bomb where you never know what terrible thing he'll think of to do next. At the same time, we're given to understand that he ended up this way for a reason. Kids can grow up to be pretty monstrous when they believe they're born to rule over other people.

Beyond how effectively drawn Joffrey is, his spontanaeity is also a huge driver for the story. Game of Thrones quite literally would not be Game of Thrones without Joffrey. Ned Stark would have went off to the Wall and joined Jon's fight against the White Walkers, Sansa would probably not have been hardened into a woman capable of outmaneuvering Littlefinger and ruling the North, Arya wouldn't have sought revenge with the Faceless Men, and on and on. Even Joffrey's death served as a catalyst to send Tyrion on a world-spanning journey to meet Daenerys Targaryen.

Yes, Joffrey is the worst. But part of why he's the worst is because he is a masterfully realized character, better than many others in the saga. It's not Joffrey's fault if all that pressure went to his head.