“If wars were arithmetic, the mathematicians would rule the world.”
–Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish
If there's anything to be learned from the events that led to the country-spanning civil war of Game of Thrones' second season, it's that warfare is not a numbers game. The clash of kings that threatens every life in Westeros came from one fatal hunting trip and one unjustified execution. As Arya Stark says in a Game of Thrones trailer, "anyone can be killed" —and when that "anyone" is a person with power, the consequences are often severe. But if wars aren't arithmetic, which of the four "kings"—Joffrey, Robb, Stannis, and Renly—stands a chance in the game of thrones?
In this week's episode, "Garden of Bones," King Joffrey manages to find new ways to prove his unfitness for the throne. When Tyrion objects to his public dressing-down of Sansa, Joffrey replies, "The King can do as he likes"—a phrase which sums up his life philosophy, and which embodies his snottily entitled perspective so well he should have it added to his family crest. In last week's episode, Varys told Tyrion that "power resides where men believe it resides." But he wasn't quite right. Power resides where men decide it resides, and Joffrey is proving unfit enough to everyone—from the highest members of the court to the lowest-born of his people—to require a fatal demotion from the iron throne.
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Ironically enough, it's Joffrey's two "fathers"—one public and one private—who prove wrong Joffrey's belief that a king can do what he likes. After all, the Mad King Aerys Targaryen did what he liked, butchering Ned Stark's father and brother in his throne room without any cause. In retaliation, he was killed by his own sworn protector (Joffrey's father/uncle Jaime) and replaced by a seemingly fitter ruler (Robert Baratheon, who believed that Joffrey was his son). Joffrey has no legitimate claim to the throne, but neither did Robert Baratheon; he took the throne by war, but held it by keeping Westeros in a state of relative peace. The king can do what he likes until someone stops him, and Joffrey's list of enemies grows longer with each of his petty (and often not-so-petty) cruelties.