【popular culture and the eroticization of little girls】

The popular culture and the eroticization of little girlsbooks are there. The copious Reddit threads are, too. But to anyone who generally avoids the internet (or literature), Game of Thronesalready spoiled its spin-off’s ending way back in 2013, thanks to none other than Joffrey Baratheon (or should we say, Lannister). 

House of the Dragonis proving to be a monstrous feat, living up to Game of Thrones’ golden era. It’s got dragons. It’s got politics. And it’s also got its own version of Daenerys Targaryen through its lead, Rhaenyra. Her journey promises to be one of the show’s central arcs, but we all (unknowingly) already know how it’s going to end. For anyone tuning into the show, this is your official warning to avoid Season 3, episode 4 of Game of Thrones. Naturally, there are spoilers ahead.

Before he was joyously poisoned and finally off our screens, Joffrey Baratheon was an absolute menace. His sadism extended from torture to murder to delightfully monologuing a story about a queen who was eaten alive, who was trapped in a pit while her son watched, and who died at the hands of her own brother's dragon. Any idea on who that queen is? 

In a scene featured in Season 3’s “And Now His Watch Is Ended,” Joffrey takes Margaery Tyrell through a tour of the Red Keep, where he gleefully tells her a history of dragons, bloodbath, and murder. The highlight of his tour is the crypt Rhaenyra dies in on the orders of her brother Aegon II, who is still only 2 years old in House of the Dragon, but who will probably become one of the show's most hated characters.

Thanks to Joffrey, we all now know how it’s all going to end. I thought my Game of Thrones rewatch was going to be blissful. Joyful. A fun trip down memory lane before the untimely doom of season eight. But Joffrey hadto speak and ruin everything. 

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Will I still tune into House of the Dragonevery Sunday? Absolutely. Am I trying to forget everything Joffrey said? Of course. Did my hatred for this man multiply by tenfold? Imagine it didn’t. 

New House of the Dragonepisodes premiere every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.

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