A Song of Ice and Fire: The Purple Wedding

We go back a Storm of Swords and take a look at the Purple Wedding. Did the Queen of Thorns really kill Joffrey?
/ prestonjacobs
Music by the wonderful Kayley Hughes. Please check her out: • Angel Of The Morning (...
/ @justkayleymusic

[@superluck4827]

I think the funniest possibility is that Joffrey was planning on killing Sansa and Tyrion and was so drunk that he forgot his own plan and ate the pie

[@darylchurch2115]

Genius!

[@dustingaethje1332]

This is reality to me until decisively proven otherwise

[@sirsplintfastthepungent1373]

Hoisted upon his own custard.

[@TraciPeteyforlife]

You know that would fit. Given what type of murderous monster Joffery was. He could legitimately come up with something like this. But get too drunk to remember it or think that he's safe from the poison. Due to not eating the lemon cream directly. Its unlikely we will ever know for certain. But I adore your idea just for the sheer lols of it.

[@jaipandey7142]

What else can we expect from that Foolish Joffrey Lmao

[@bram_412]

My pet theory is that Joff's wine goblet was so comically large, and so many people hated him, that as many as seven people poisoned him separately. It would be amusing if we learn in a series of later chapters that seven or more people believe they alone killed Joffrey, and that wine cup could have killed a giant.

[@TheShadowBee]

Bram Reichbaum i would love that

[@adrianramirez8882]

"You idiots, you ALL poisoned Joffrey! In fact, Tyrion might be the only "person" at the wedding who didn't spike the little bastards cup!"

[@WeirdTale]

@@adrianramirez8882 That would actually make sense. Little bastard or not Joffrey is still his nephew and he did try to discipline him early on for his horrible behavior. He probably believed he could at least straighten the boy up before he could do too much damage as king.

[@Hakokoro]

Oberyn poisoned Joffrey because he is a Lanister ,Tywin poisoned Joffey to get rid of Tyrion and raised Tommen as king ,Varys poisoned Joffrey to destabilize the kingom.

[@ThibautVDP]

the whole of kings landing hated him anyway

[@shinespider]

"Now, you might be wondering why I would make a theory video about..." Nobody is wondering, Preston. This is your whole thing.

[@Jobother]

shinespider *dons tinfoil cap* Alright Preston, what do you have for us today?

[@emmashen8724]

You got him there

[@lorettoponton7218]

exactly, we overthink stuff, but not to that level

[@ctastrophe]

@@lorettoponton7218 It's a parody of the Deadpool movie - both the credit crawl and the opening line

[@TPutnam]

Vccc,

[@toslowlypoke]

What if Joffrey poisoned Joffrey? He had Tyrion's pie poisoned, but he was just such a drunken, spiteful imbecile that he ate it instead.

[@ClaireYunFarronXIII]

Wow! That is possible! He did sent the catspaw to kill Bran using a VALYRIAN STEEL knife, so him doing another drastically careless thing is possible.

[@fuckoffgoogle9747]

@LeadFaun but he did send Kingsguard to kill Tyrion during the Blackwater, if I remember correctly

[@fuckoffgoogle9747]

@LeadFaun It's still a possibility though, isn't it? Kingsguard take orders from the king, it's still a possibility that joffrey ordered the hit

[@napolien1310]

Dun dun dun

[@burnsloads]

That's what I thought too

[@jonathanc6954]

I just realized, Littlefinger has beem trying to get rid of Tyrion since the very beginning. First blaming him for owning the valyrian steel dagger, and then with how obsessed Lysa Tully was with killing him without a fair trial, and we later find out that Lysa wouldn't do anything that risky unless she had the blessing of Littlefinger. She is terrified of the lanisters, but she is very quick to call for his death. There must be another reason for Littlefinger wanting Tyrion dead.

[@summer8856]

Yotaz C I dont think it has much to do with Lysa. She was just an easy play. Tyrion is intelligent. He not only knows the game of thrones, he likes it. He is a threat to Littlefinger. Tyrion has proven that he is far more clever all by himself.

[@jonathanc6954]

Kelly Marie That was before both Littlefinger and Tyrion both knew that Tyrion could play the game well. Back then he was just a spoiled rich kid who was smart as a defense mechanism. Could it be that Littlefinger thinks that Tyrion is a targaryen (or blackfire), and that is what he sees as a threat to his plans of being king some day?

[@yourdashingheroidol7909]

Littlefinger had a sketchy dwarf uncle.

[@richardfitzpatrick9732]

@@summer8856 few times that Tyrion questions LF when holding the dagger but he holds of for a bit he needs him to make his plan successful to see who is spying for Cercei or with her I love when he tricks them all at the time I think he wanted to be LF he seen that he acted alone without anyone help but his own I really did think he was going to bring him down but didn't bother which was a shame would of loved to seen that LF poisoned joffery but was aiming for Tyrion because he knew too much

[@richardfitzpatrick9732]

@@jonathanc6954 or he wanted him dead to make Sansa free to marry in theory Sansa can't be married unless Tyrion is dead which he was hoping for but can be annulled which would be hard to do

[@fightscrimewhilesleeping4024]

If in fact it turns out that Tyrion was the real target when everyone assumes it was Joffrey, and Belwas was the real target when everyone assumes it was Dani, that would actually be a nice little thematic consistency. Dani and Joffrey are assumed to be the targets because they're the monarch--the highest rank, the "most important"--therefore everything must be about them, right? Ignoring all the various intricate motivations and agendas involving "lesser" people around them. Overlooking "lesser" people--whether it be smaller houses, women, dwarfs, younger siblings, or the 'small folk' themselves--is a running theme throughout all of the books, so this actually would be perfectly in keeping with that idea.

[@a_mage_as_old_as_joe1598]

But it would be a little bit boring if in _both_ cases the same plot twist happened...

[@chippersonsencyclopediaemp1318]

Yeah but its foolish to poison someone in such an uncertain way. Im not buying it... Especially because the monarch situation. You'd never risk it

[@wisdommanari6701]

@@a_mage_as_old_as_joe1598 burnt bones proving nothing is only relevant And slaver's Bay and not at all at the wall.

[@a_mage_as_old_as_joe1598]

@@wisdommanari6701 sorry I think I don't understand, what does this have to do with the wall? I'm tired at the moment btw so that could it be... 😂

[@AppaYipYipBro]

"A book series that will never be finished" Preston pls

[@user-qf6yt3id3w]

So far the books have come out AGOT 1996 ACOK 1999 ASOS 2000 AFFC 2005 ADWD 2011 Suppose TWOW comes out this year, 2017 Then you have these times in years between books. 3 1 5 6 6 So it's reasonable to expect ADOS in 2023. At which point GRRM would be 75. He might make it to 75 but it's not guaranteed. Also it's not out of the question that working on the TV show, doing press events would delay things even further. Then again someone once joked that the first page of ADOS and or TWOW might well be "Adapted from the HBO TV series'. Whether that counts as the series being finished is matter of debate.

[@AlternativeExplosion]

"Then again someone once joked that the first page of ADOS and or TWOW might well be "Adapted from the HBO TV series'. " dude... don't even...

[@mankytoes]

He's stopped working on the tv show, as well as editing anthologies.

[@omarabdelsame4478]

That's a funny joke.

[@DrJReefer]

Vberg56 At his current rate of writing he's going to be 90

[@marienola848]

This is the first and only explanation of the purple wedding that actually makes sense to me. I could never get past why Olenna needed to involve Sansa at all. It’s not like they were being body searched for poison on the way in to the party. Littlefinger poisoning Tyrion, maybe even with Cersi’s blessing makes A TON of sense. Thank you!!!!

[@trisarathops]

I would assume, even tho Olenna is worried for Magaerys well-being, she’s also be smart enough to wait with an assassination plot against Joff until after Margaery gets pregnant and until then trust that Margaery is able to control Joff one way or another (it’s the one thing I liked about the show: they actually showed just how shrewd and clever the Tyrell’s are). With Joff dead this early on, they now have to wait until Tommen comes of ages (or at least old enough to consummate the marriage) and that just can’t be in Olenna‘s interest.

[@YumiTab]

Re-reding a Storm of Swords and rewatching this video, something still surprises me. When Sansa and Tyrion are discussing with the QoT, at the same moment she adjusts Sansa's hairnet, she asks Sansa if she wants to come at Highgarden with her after the wedding, but Sansa answers that her place is near Tyrion, at King's Landing. I've always wondering if maybe the QoT knew somehow that Tyrion would get poisoned at the feast, and that was the reason of her asking Sansa to join her. Have you ever thought about it ? :D Anyway, great video and great work, thank you for it:>.

[@1980999chris]

Replying to a 3 year old comment lol, but i think the plan was for tyrion to be blamed for the poisoning. This would still free sansa up for marriage because tyrion would be executed.

[@YumiTab]

@@1980999chris replying to a response about my 3yo comment, you might be right! It’s kinda surprising because it seems like a slip off from the QoT who is otherwise very poised and in control.

[@TheKadanz]

Weren't some of the pearls or gems missing when sansa got out of kingslanding? I remember sansa making a comment about it right after she got out.

[@pushista9322]

I personally thought Olenna's proposal for Sansa to visit Highgarden meant Olenna had known Tyrion would be framed for Joffrey's murder and so out of the way.

[@soxpeewee]

​@@TheKadanza missing black amethyst that she worried with her finger like a missing tooth. She knew it was no gem when a black mark was left on her finger

[@torrentialrage]

The intro is excellent.

[@therecklessabandable]

The perfect balance of self deprecation, hilarity, and talk of masturbation. 10/10

[@rade1809]

I've played it at least 10 times now...make that 11

Wanted to add that it is inspired by Deadpool's intro... Which is awesome.

[@tlahuicolebarrraz7772]

miodragniss dude....I masturbate to all these videos 🤔😤

[@miodragniss]

There's just something about Preston's voice...

[@antisciamoore3884]

Thinking about it, it's pretty obvious that Quaithe, who is really Ashara Dayne who is really Sheira Seastar who is really Melisandre, hired a faceless man, Jaqen H'ghar (who is really Syrio Forel, Mance Rayder, and Rhaegar Targaryen) to cause instability in Westeros to make way for Patchface to take his rightful place as the Prince That Was Promised, also known as the Kwizatz Haderach to the Fremen of Asshai, or The One to those mysterious freed men from the hidden city of Zion deep beneath the Land of Always Winter. Quaithe, whom is *really* Ariana Dumbledore (whose incredibly powerful obscurus tore through the fabric of reality, becoming trapped in a dimension of her own making), made these preparations a thousand years before Robert's Rebellion. After receiving a vision of the future from her lover, Morpheus, known to muggles simply as 'The Sandman', Quaithe set into motion a series of events that would change not only the world of Ice and Fire, but all worlds connected by Yggrasil; Westeros, Arrakis, Earth, the Dark Dimension, Asgard, Earth 52... none of them will be spared.

[@micharyzejno8392]

It is known,

[@HH-cm5rp]

it is known

[@DeJahMode]

idk why but i fcken loved this

[@dingo1547]

Finally a real theory.

[@jonny2hotty378]

It is known

[@jakemauger8377]

I don't think it's that much of a stretch to say that Cersei is lying to herself. It's pretty obvious that she killed her friend Melara some time after visiting Maggy the Frog, and each time we hear of it, Cersei blames the girl for her own death a little more. It's certainly possible that Cersei is once again transferring blame off of herself and dumping it on Tyrion because he was the one that was supposed to die. Even so, I wouldn't be suprised if it was just Littlefinger trying to kill Tyrion again.

[@jordanrutledge7943]

Especially because it’s not hard to see how it could be “Tyrion’s fault” in her mind, if by Tyrion not eating his pie and letting Joff eat it, Joff died.

[@jazwhoaskedforthis]

Also she blames Tyrion for her mother’s death, which is nonsense.

[@jobowisheshewasnomo4171]

@@jazwhoaskedforthis the fact that i've experienced people as nonsensically hateful as that woman is sad, some people refuse to be happy unless it involves the suffering of others.

[@KingSlayer_.]

Ok I'm just going to say it. Cersei did poison joffrey. It was the pie that was poisoned. As joffrey was coughing and gagging he said that it was the pie he was choking on. Littlefinger was telling the truth and had planned on Olena Tyrell poisoning Joffrey later on in the feast, perhaps when people were more drunk, but Cersei had planned on killing Tyrion and joffrey ate his poisoned pie before Olena could poison him herself. Jofrrey drank the wine and got out a few lines with no trouble, it wasn't until he ate Tyrions pie that he began to choke. Everyone in the feast thinks that joffrey choked. That is everyone except Cersei. She knew he was poisoned immediately after his death. Cersei being the narcissist she is will lie to herself as a way to cope as hardly any woman could live with herself knowing she killed her own son by accident. Lastly George Martin said the strangler was used to make it look like he choked. You cant choke on wine, but you can choke on pie. Case closed.

[@hi-ls6lt]

@@KingSlayer_.that would be so sad and hilarious at the same time. And now Cersei is getting her comeuppance for being a kinslayer for killing her favourite son. You can’t deny, her luck has been pretty terrible since Joffrey’s death.

[@daboos6353]

My take is that Littlefinger and Olenna collaborated in an attempt to kill Tyrion via his pie so Sansa would be free to marry Willas, however from the start Littlefinger planned to betray Olenna and spirit Sansa away via Dontos.

[@justkayleymusic]

Hi Preston! Thanks for using my cover track at the start of your video :). Keep up the good work! Kayley x

[@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin]

Thank you for singing it! You have quite a voice!

[@ClaireYunFarronXIII]

Kayley!!! 🤗

[@ClaireYunFarronXIII]

@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin Pin this comment, lol! 🌼

[@maartenboy37]

It must have been the pie no matter who did it. As we read in A Clash of Kings, when the meister tried to poison Melisandra he was immediately affected. Where as Joffrey drinks deep and keeps going with no issues. Only right after he swallows the pie his throat starts collapsing just like with the aforementioned meister. It always seemed logical to me that the hairnet was crooked because someone removed the poison already. So before our beloved queen of thorns straightened it.

[@DivingDog0]

You can use different strengths of poison. A lower dose would increase onset time.

[@krystiandrzazga1950]

but cressen was a very old man and joffrey young healthy teenager could it be a difference that made that little shit struggle so much?

[@GRB-tj6uj]

​@@krystiandrzazga1950but wouldn't it be bad writing when we have to explain the different effect away like this? The fact that GRRM shows us how this specific poison works and then it turns up again later in the story must be intentional.

[@krystiandrzazga1950]

@@GRB-tj6uj that makes sense too

[@lincolnnoronha4128]

A moment of silence for poor, young King Joffrey, the first of his name. Never was a king so pure at heart as beautiful to look upon. "Just call HIM angel of the morning ANGEL just touch his cheek before you leave him, baby."

[@sapiensursus3034]

JOFFREY KING

[@hauntologicalwittgensteini2542]

King Jofferey the Little Shit first and last of his name.

[@lovescent46]

THE MOST NOBLE CHILD THE GODS EVER PUT ON THIS GOOD EARTH!

[@polnasememel839]

Really ???? He was a monster! No king !

[@mjtambe]

Purple wedding - great video but there is one big open question on the "tyrion as littlefingers target" theory. If Tyrion got poisoned, how could Dontos flee with Sansa? If Tyrion choked all eyes would be on that side of the table. Sansa could not have slipped away.

[@BlackCampariBlue]

good point actually

[@Knight860]

Exactly plus the Ghost of High Heart says " I dreamt of a maid at a feast with purple serpents in her hair, dripping venom from their fangs" which is meant to indicated Sansa having the poison on her. Smuggling in poison on a hairnet to kill a King might not be the smartest assassination plan, but as Preston pointed out in his Littlefinger Science Mistake Update "Our author is a hippy writer" so we have to put real world feasibility aside and go with fantasy improbability instead.

[@BattyButtercup]

Dontos as false hope for Sansa to resign her to Littlefinger's control &/or a fallback plot set up as a catch-all means of getting Sansa to Baelish. alternatively, the KETTLEBLACK was supposed to get Sansa to Littlefinger but Dontos got there first. Dontos was then adapted into the plan because Sansa trusted him & killed to ensure she didn't question anything. Olenna's adjustment of Sansa's hairnet + magic stuff convinces me that it held poison. the poison in the pie could have come from the net or both it AND Tyrion's pie could have been poisoned independently. i am more inclined to thinking hairnet -> server -> pie, however. Olenna's adjusting the net was likely her confirming a suspicion that she then warned Margaery of (thus the bride's repeated efforts at getting Joffrey AWAY from Sansa's end of the dais). that Olenna did not walk up to a Kingsguard and go "yo, that Stark girl got shady hair accessories" is entirely justified: it would interrupt the wedding (bad), draw attention to herself (bad), potentially endanger Sansa (distasteful), or endanger her family to Littlefinger or Cersei (VERY BAD) for thwarting their scheme. relying on poison already present in Tyrion's pie seems risky: its placement could change at any time and Sansa (or Joffrey, as it happened) could end up eating it by mistake. that leads me to thinking that the pie/lemon cream was not pre-poisoned but during one of the Distractions. Servant X was to wait for the right moment to slip poison (via Sansa's hairnet or in some lemon cream spread). while Sansa only noticed her hair being adjusted ONCE, she (and Tyrion) was sufficiently distracted & out of the way (end of the dais) for any decent pickpocket to nab some poison without realising someone had brushed against her intentionally.

[@squattingheads]

Another questions is, what became of the poison missing from the masters chamber? Was it a lie?

[@rutherfordpendleton9270]

@@squattingheads I thought that was from when Tyrion had Pycelle arrested in ACoK. He stole some poison to make Cersei unable to discuss terms with the Starks. Pycelle then used the half-truth against Tyrion in court. Tyrion arguing he _only_ stole the poison to use on the queen would only make things worse, so Pycelle rubbed as much salt in the wound as possible. I doubt Pycelle even had Strangler on hand, but who would be able to confirm that? The other maesters are more likely to conspire together.

[@misterfitzgerald]

You had me at the lemons

[@KLemon16]

Jacker Eightyfour He had me at me

[@squattingheads]

The lemon would also make sure that Sansa wouldn’t eat the cake. As she openly said that she doesn’t like it.

[@donaldjgumpofficial5754]

@@squattingheads I thought Sansa loved lemon cakes though?

[@jennpark8559]

@@donaldjgumpofficial5754 Jesus

[@bludreem121]

As always, Preston, a high quality argument. I'm for the Cersei theory, however. I'm not sure where I saw it, but I heard an argument about why Cersei never thinks of it, or blames herself, etc. While you mention "Tyler Durden, Jekyll & Hyde" stuff, I think the explanation I heard doesn't require that. It's completely in Cersei's character to blame others for her mistakes. Nothing is ever her fault. She constantly blames her victims. I don't remember specific names and things, but she blames her childhood friend for having to kill her with regards to the Maggy the Frog prophecy, she blames the people she gives to Qyburn, saying they "made" her do it. In her mind, it's Tyrion's fault, because he didn't eat the pie that was meant for him. If he had only eaten the pie, Joff would be alive. Therefore, Tyrion killed him.

[@HxH2011DRA]

Kekekek I believe it

[@squattingheads]

That’s also why she calls him out right away

[@whinemax]

I could definitely see her being in denial and delusional about it, but I find it a hard pill to swallow without any kind of hint. It's very possible, but if it came to be true I'd be less happy about it, at least with what information we have now.

[@taylorgayhart9497]

Blu Dreem years late but I LOVE this theory!!!!!!

[@martijnbouman8874]

That makes sense considering Cercei blames Tyrion for his mothers death similar to his fathers and to Joffreys death. Blaming Tyrion for his mothers death is as far-fetched as blaming him for Joffreys death if Tyrions pie was poisoned.

[@vlpinfinity9448]

Shae helped Sansa get the hairnet on when she was getting dressed for the wedding. Maybe she was who Littlefinger was referring to. She did mention the dancing bear to Tyrion and asked him to let her come to the wedding.

[@TheArcanumJinx]

And Shae was REALLY insistent about serving at the wedding... 🤔 Now, does she just want to be apart of the festivities or was she playing Tyrion for longer than we think??? Imma have to reread ASoS now.

[@pushista9322]

Strictly speaking, Shae didn't need to be a part of the scheme. Highborn ladies like Sansa don't do their own hair and garments before big events. Even if Olenna hadn't touched the hairnet Sansa would have remembered her maid arranging her hair that afternoon.

[@akeelbrown7675]

"His throat working" was said when joffrey was drinking the wine. Could be a hint that the poison hadn't hit him yet.

[@Jari_Sanou]

Agee 100%. It seems to me that George knew there would be debate on what killed Joffrey and this was his subtle hint to attentive readers that it might not be the wine that was poisoned like most of the characters in the story and the fandom believe.

[@akeelbrown7675]

@@Jari_Sanou im surprised Preston didn't catch this to.

[@Jari_Sanou]

@@akeelbrown7675 I guess nobody is perfect ;)

[@glanni]

Honestly, the fact that the guards are talking so much about the wine makes it look a lot like it wasn't actually the wine.

[@inthefade]

When, relative to the purple wedding, is Aria told that poison is a poor choice for assassination because it can hit the wrong target? My sense of timeline is all confused, but my point is that we are directly introduced to this idea by the author. He is saying it to our face. I think you are right that the target was Tyrion, but I don't totally rule out Cersie. When she thinks to herself that "Tyrion killed Jof", she could mean that he killed him by not eating the pie. But you would think she would have stopped him. Now, I haven't re-read the books in a long time, so I would have to go over all of her thoughts about him, but the line you show doesn't preclude it from being her.

[@TheOrderoftheGreenhand]

The intro is hilarious, I watch it randomly for a laugh.

[@Diablejambe19]

What do you guys think of this theory? This directly goes against your Littlefinger - Doran alliance theory. Love to hear your opinion , Dave and Mary Ellen. Huge fan of PJ and TOOTGH 🔥

[@edinsonrodriguez7486]

1. When Joffrey drinks the wine from his goblet, it is described as purple in appearance not red (the original color of the wine pored) 2. When Tyrion inspects the content left inside goblet, it is also described as purple in appearance not red. Which he quickly pored to the ground 3. Although the strangler can be mixed in both food or drink, it is known to change the appearance of the liquid it is dissolved in.

[@azh698]

It is known.

[@junyulu4648]

If so, wouldn't the poison be extremely easy to be noticed? Why would the poisoner choose that in the first place?

[@concept5631]

@@junyulu4648 Everyone hated Joffrey that much.

[@DarkLordFromTheSecondAge]

​@@concept5631The Joffmeister makes it real easy to hate on him

[@concept5631]

@@DarkLordFromTheSecondAge True

[@syjak9067]

The idea of Petyr actually trying poison Tyrion instead of Olenna trying to poison Joffrey with Petyr’s help actually makes a lot more sense than I thought at the beginning of this video

[@vallraffs]

That goblet Joffrey got from Mace really is magnificent. The one in the show looks extremely boring compared to how the book describes it. Like most things in the show, really.

[@bel8122]

but some things are the opposite. Ygritte for example

[@sapiensursus3034]

Bel Exel Tyrion, too. Hideous in the book.

[@vitoriag.r.6334]

I love this fandom

[@alexturlais8558]

@@sapiensursus3034 the characters became more attractive, the scenery and objects became less.

[@maliziosoeperverso1697]

@@alexturlais8558 Huh. That actually says a lot about the show as a whole, now that I think about it

[@evoxghiretti]

Would be hilarious if there were two Murder plots and joff just took both hits lol

[@thehobowizard]

CSI:Kings Landing Also Joffrey was killed for wanting to audit the Master of Coin

[@bsh819]

Like Ron Paul

[@ThereIsNoLord]

I heard Joffrey had a pizza parlor that was a cover for some unsavory business.

[@SunDogGod]

That’s some CIA taking out the president level theory

[@BlueSkullFish]

The Joffrey administration was working with pro-Slavery Ghiscari to smuggle and sell Shade of the Evening in Westeros and using the funds to hire sell swords to fight Dani.

[@faisalkamal4319]

You don't just audit master of coin It's like 9/11

[@sabrinamcclain162]

On the "What if Margaery got poisoned" thing, she could have known about the plan, drank from the cup a few times before the poison was put in to avoid suspicion, then when she saw her grandmother put the poison in, she knew not to drink from it after that.

[@trevorturner9733]

Ah yes, the bells, the symbol of a monarchs death and nothing else

[@exu7325]

It's safe to assume that the bells have different rhythm and cadency for different things. What's the point of ringing bells if nobody can interpret what it actually means.

[@orchedt]

Sansa wasn't in shock because she thought that Ser Ilyn's sword was Ice. She knew he had Ice from when he was in the Red Keep with her at the Battle of the Blackwater. Sansa was worried because she could tell that he had a different sword now, not Ice. She freaked out because she no longer knew where it was.

[@TheCaffienatedGamer]

If this was an actual court case, there would be Phoenix Wright music in the background as Preston was presenting evidence of the Queen of Thorns innocence.

[@namgilesile6224]

In a recent reread of ASOS I noticed that Ollena wasn’t the only person to fidget with Sansa’s hair. Just before everyone entered the main hall where the feast was to take place shae adjusted Sansa’s hair net. It as also mentioned in ACOK that Shane’s quarters are beside the kitchen so maybe shae could have been the one to take the poison and deliver it to the kitchen.

[@SilverSon87]

That intro was better than all of Season 6...

[@biggerlicious]

it's easier to count things that were worse than season 6.

[@Helldog6]

^ Not really, considering even Season 6 of Game of Thrones is better than 99% of the other shows on air at the moment.... so....

[@SilverSon87]

Maybe in terms of Production value, music, acting, VFX, and directing....but writing...no.

[@Helldog6]

Yes, even in writing. You can't seriously be telling me that you think Season 6 of Game of Thrones was not better than 99% of other currently running television.

[@SilverSon87]

Helldog6 Not really, the writing is incredibly flawed, full of continuity errors, plot holes, predictable as ever, and cliche. There's way better written shows: -House of Cards -Bates Motel -Stranger Things -Daredevil -Vikings -Hell, even the Walking Dead sometimes

[@Christopherjazzcat]

What if Cersei blamed Tyrion because he didn't eat the poison? Joffrey would be dead because of Cersei's plot failing but in her greif she would blame Tyrion because he was the one who was supposed to die. It's a stretch but she could have struck a deal with Littlefinger who then double crossed her to kidnap Sansa.

[@raswartz]

Wait -- did Littlefinger hire the dwarves in Braavos or Pentos? LF says Braavos but Penny says Pentos.

[@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin]

Good catch. I didn't notice that. (She talks about the Sealord later, so I assumed she was in Braavos, but yeah, she says Pentos). Hmm, that is weird. I currently suspect that Penny is still working for Littlefinger. She did try to kill Tyrion in Volantis before the weird turn of events (that don't make any sense) at the Merchant's House.

[@ComradeSlice]

Preston Jacobs Volantis is not a safe place for dwarves.

[@bennettsmith4390]

She also says that the Sealord gave her and Oppo "a ... a grand gift" but doesn't say what the gift was. Suspicious. Perhaps the gift was putting them in touch with Oswell/Littlefinger.

[@whinemax]

@@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin Which events are you referring too? Genuinely curious, trying to make note of things of importance I didn't think about when I first read the series. I'm starting my first reread in a couple of weeks

[@TheKingreddragon]

@@whinemax i think he means, that after the assassination attempt by Penny, the hostess has her taken upstairs to be cleaned up. that is a weird thing to do with an assassin. Also after the attempt she is willing to help them, while before she wasn't.

[@erinsharp5941]

I will never get tired of your videos. This is Agatha Christie level cleverness!

[@GregoryTDraheim]

Just throwing this out there, but could the Tyrells have wanted Tyrion dead? They did want to marry Sansa to Willas, and therefore have a motive for killing Tyrion.

[@henryrice9263]

It would be excessively stupid of the tyrells to kill Tyrion by poisoning the lemon cream , because Sansa could have easily eaten the cake too. Whoever wanted Joffrey dead also wanted/didn't mind Sansa dying as well.

[@HH-cm5rp]

@@henryrice9263 the pie isn't the first dish, far from it. And LF makes it clear he knows sansa is a delicate youth with "a little tummy" in Sansa VI. I d say there isnt much risk she eats in tyrion's plate, having server x putting another slice of the pie before her.

[@BlackIce3190]

@@HH-cm5rp Most likely the server slid it on Tyrion’s slice and then covered it with the cream.

[@tycoughlin735]

@@HH-cm5rp Although given Sansa's known love for lemon cakes it would be stupidly risky to hide any poison in lemon cream. Ollena and LF are both highly interested in Sansa and should know she can't control herself around lemon cakes and frequently over eats them. If either of them put poison on Tyrion's pie their just asking for him to share the first bite with his lemon loving wife.

[@southernsunshine1149]

@@tycoughlin735 but..if it were Cersai trying to kill Tyrion and it ended up killing both Tyrion & Sansa, that would probably just make Cersai happier.

[@SilverSon87]

But Preston...you have to remember that George wrote the Purple Wedding episode as well, so it should give some backing.

[@PrestonJacobstheSweetrobin]

While its true that he did write the Purple Wedding, the QOT's confession was in the next episode.

[@SilverSon87]

Ah that's right.

[@Voltage2016mbct]

+RiceDuke Just because he wrote the episode doesn't mean he had freedom to represent his books. He still had to answer to D&D, and whatever their interpretation would be (which is QOT being the culprit).

[@SilverSon87]

Possible, but it's open to speculation.

[@jamx_1276]

im gonna lose my shit if GRRM just concludes everything in the most simple manner and most of the theories and conspiracies go to shit lmao. just watch all of yall lose your minds. i would be disappointed thought, cuz i would like for some of them to be true..

[@lite4998]

That intro was absolutely majestic. Bravo.

[@HOGuru]

When I was putting together my own analysis of this event, I noticed something you missed - Pycelle seems to know Joffrey is poisoned before anyone else does. While everyone else is offering suggestions for how to help a choking person, Pycelle - who could actually have useful information on the subject, is instead demanding that someone help him get his potions. Why? Because he knows that Joffrey has taken the Strangler, and he has an antidote for it in his box of poisons. This led me to the probable conclusion that Pycelle was in on the murder with Littlefinger, and it's likely that it was his strangler that was used. Pycelle being involved would go a long way towards explaining why he distances himself from Cersei in AFFC - he's so guilty about his role in Joffrey's death that he slinks away to the Tyrells. Also, it's impossible to avoid the conclusion that the poison is in the pie - we see the poison instantaneously take effect with a tiny sip of wine is taken, but Joffrey takes a long drink and has no symptoms, but as you say, his throat immediately gets scratchy the moment he swallows some pie.

[@BattyButtercup]

Pycelle didn't need to be directly involved in the assassination to want to Nope Out from Cersei's notice, post-regicide: if the poison was bought off, stolen from him, or completely unrelated to him, his "negligence" in keeping track of his stores/failing to report them throws suspicion his way. There are several moments where Pycelle Lets Slip his being Actually Competent and his connecting dots to The Strangler at the Purple Wedding is one of them.

[@donaldjgumpofficial5754]

Isn't Pycelle Tywin's man though? Does that mean Tywin worked with Littlefinger here?

[@HOGuru]

@@donaldjgumpofficial5754 Not necessarily- littlefinger could have approached pycelle privately. Tywin wouldn't have signed off on murdering his son in all likelihood.

[@TotalWar305]

Preston you need to start a shitposting channel

[@ClimateDude]

Wait, you mean this isn't his shitposting channel?!

[@jamesalexanderrenoi9551]

Damn! Bring some water for that burn

[@kettlemagic]

omg yes we need more Preston memes

[@DavidGarcia-oi5nt]

@@bennmapus8788 you suck lol, we want proof to what he says.

[@flintliddon]

Melkor. Why don’t you just go somewhere else?

[@mikajlod25]

YEEESSS, finally! This has been on my mind ever since I first read it. At first reading I was convinced that Tyrion was the target and that it was the pie, but everyone jumped to the wine and Queen of thorns, and for years I've been debating this. I've played that scene in my mind a thousand times, I still think that's what happened.

[@Bakinak]

I went into this video thinking you would never be able to convince me that it wasn't Littlefinger and Olenna who poisoned Joffrey, but damn. This is a really well put together theory, I love it.

[@stefenvincent8051]

Cersei meant to poison Tyrion but it didn't work out because Joffrey ate his pie with the topping on it. That's why she jumped to Tyrion as guilty. She lost her mind

[@sweetpotatofries99]

Dude, even if the dancing bear sucked, it was still there. All black and brown and covered with hair...

[@dino6912]

But why would Cersei try to poison Tyrion at a public event? It probably puts Joffrey in danger by being in close proximity to the poison. Baelish makes more sense. He failed but saw an opportunity to create another conspiracy theory. Blame the Tyrells. Chaos is a ladder.

[@PineappleLiar]

I haven't watched the video yet but this opening is magical.

[@LordofBroccoli]

Ah, the Purple Wedding - the scene I rewatch just to witness King Bieber die.

[@danferno]

Wait a sec, let me get my fedora-shaped tinfoil hat, this looks like a nice trip.

[@anaisabel713]

Damn you, Preston. I haven't even watch the video and I chocked on water on the opening. A book series that would never be finished. You kill me sir.

[@lanaalba8392]

I just want to say that I love your videos, they are increadibly entertaining and deep, always a pleasure to revisit

[@megaronny9709]

I never thought about the theory, that not Joffrey was the target but Thyrion... This is in fact a pretty mindblowing! Thank you, Preston

[@kevinmoore4237]

One thing to add: LF definitely had a different plan going on as well - he needed to get Sansa out of Kingslanding. And to do that he needed a distraction. And he clearly had Dontos give the hairnet to Sansa, so while the target might be Tyrion rather than Joff, LF was definitely in on it.

[@macnsteez3938]

You're half right on this I reckon. I can see littlefinger scheming with Olenna to kill Tyrion, thru his KL agents (once Tyrion and Sansa were wed and the initial marriage to Willas was foiled) .. with the added caveat that Littlefinger never intended to give them Sansa, he probably always planned to steal her. Making the Tyrells believe he'd whisk her off to highgarden then betraying them would be some classic Baelish the Bard shit

[@pushista9322]

And how about this sweet moment Sansa tells Dontos about Wyllas and all the fandom goes nuts with victim blaming once again. And then Martin gives us one little detail, how at Sansa and Tyrion's wedding Margaery's ladies turn away from Sansa as if they don't know her. And Sansa thinks bitterly: "My friends". Which means their usual manner with her was visibly friendly and close, which would have never gone unnoticed by Littlefinger. So Dontos or not, Baelish would have known about the Wyllas plan anyway, and whatever Sansa did would never change her fate.

[@Royal_Chief_Architect]

That intro was baller. The text and realizing at the end it was Joffrey 😂

[@Spiny-Norman]

It doesn't really matter if your theories are right or wrong, I think it's amazing that they're so plausible. Really makes me want to read all the books again and pay more attention the the details, make some theories of my own. :)

[@aendraes5135]

Good video. Found some flaws. There are two people we know are actually fond and knowledgeable of poisons around and Littlefinger is not one of them. One is Pycelle and the other one is Oberyn Martell. There's also the faceless men and the "servant man" is literally not given a face in the books. The hair-net theory seems a bit flawed considering it is much easier to poison the lemon cream at the top of the pie instead of carrying the poison around in a very small container.(Which is completely unnecessary as the killer could just easily carry it in their sleeve.) Another interesting thing is that digestable poisons would have a digestion time so neither water nor food would give the instantaneous response given. It would have to be either inhaled or given into the bloodstream to have that quick an effect. So what could cause this "poisoning" then? Well as we know the "Viper" gave Joffrey a "Scorpion brooch" earlier that day.

[@voluntaryismistheanswer]

Thank you, Lucrezia Borgia, for the poisoning refresher.

[@LivingDaylightsThe]

the opening of this video is 100% worth the whole fuckin thing, god bless you preston

[@TheBenjaman]

Bro I so want to believe cersei wanted to poison tyrion but instead poised her son. Would make it even better of moment.

[@osirisgem]

I know I have said something similar to this a thousand times in the comment sections of your videos, but I do so look forward to them. Thank you for the free entertainment of such exceptional quality. P.S. KEEP THE INTRO from this video. It was magical.

[@gjf7932]

Omg, this video is brilliant. I never thought about the purple wedding that hard apparently

[@ev1677]

I've always found it unbelievable that it would be a good plan to need somebody to rip a stone off of somebodies hairnet and then plant it. Could easily go wrong, how loose are these stones that you could just pinch one off without sansa knowing somebody had touched her?

[@sonnkiki]

The intro is everything. you are so very awesome, Preston.

[@bretviola6871]

Even unfinished, this is the greatest story of all time, imo.

[@lircox]

"But what if the wind HAD been at her hair" Lol you really are the reacher of reachers, and it goes both ways too, in every video.

[@hadasg11]

Ive seen so many vids on the purple wedding and this is by far the one that makes most sense. I see absolutely no reason for the Tyrel's to even use Little Finger to murder a king even if they are the ones to do it. If the Tyrel killed Joffrey, than Little finger only knew something about that from spying on them. Or guessing that they will. But its defiantly wasn't the wine. So perhaps the entire pie was poisoned

[@MondeSerenaWilliams]

I think Littlefinger was telling the truth about who killed Joffrey and why. I feel like "who poisoned Joffrey" is one of those things that GRRM just want to get over with, just like him making Joffrey to be the one who had sent that catspaw with the Valyrian steel dagger to kill Bran.

[@loki_l_1380]

Imagine the mindfuck that must have been for the would be poisoner if he found out it had killed the king instead of Tyrion lmao

[@SrFreire89]

This is better than what he meant. You should write books, I bet this never crossed Martin's head.

[@OneOnOne1162]

This is... interesting. I mean, Joffrey doesn't have quite so immediate or dramatic a reaction as Cressen either way. I do think Littlefinger seeking closer ties with the Tyrells and destabilising the kingdom makes sense as a motive, so does Olenna's. Also, yes the wine was thrown around, etc. but they didn't know that would happen. If risk of failure is a reason to believe an alternate theory, then surely the pie lead to the biggest failure of all since it completely missed its target. Is it any more or less odd to think Tyrion would be the one eating his pie than it is to think that Joffrey would be drinking from his cup? So, it's not necessarily the case that I think the purple wedding is entirely unreasonable as presented. But there IS a strong motive for Littlefinger to attempt to kill Tyrion (especially considering that after kidnapping Sansa his plans for her all involve marriage) and it does seem slightly odd that Olenna would do it herself (though maybe she didn't trust anyone else, then again she trusted Littlefinger and Dontos). What Littlefinger says, at least what's quoted in this video, doesn't necessarily seem to rule this out. Preston's theory still doesn't explain away the seemingly unnecessary complexity of the whole thing though. Servant X could've brought the poison with him as well, not needing the hairnet. You can't argue one reason to disbelieve the original story is it being overly complex if you just then go on to use that complexity yourself in your new theory. You could argue the hairnet is in truth irrelevant and that the servant did bring in the poison himself, but then why would Dontos have given it to Sansa? Perhaps the one reason for either doing it this way or making Sansa believe it was done this way was to make her feel that she was implicated in Joffrey's death and as such less likely to ever reveal Littlefinger's involvement. After all, he needed her both with him (under odd circumstances that she'd seek to explain) and needed her loyal to some degree. Though I suppose another could be that Olenna didn't want to carry it in in case she was frisked and/or it was discovered. If the guards somehow discovered it on Sansa they'd blame her, not Olenna. Through the hairnet Olenna only has to spend a few seconds with the poison on her. This makes less sense if a servant did it, since he'd have less say in his own protection as a crony, but isn't completely impossible (if Littlefinger thought that discovery was more likely to lead back to him). So, I don't know, maybe. Maybe a further look into the logic of this would make me believe more strongly one way or another, but so far while I'm not necessarily convinced it doesn't seem altogether impossible.

[@gregorymaurer9858]

That intro was hilarious. Keep up the good work Preston.

[@pedroc6802]

You earnedyourself a subscriber with a 3-old year video. But a high quality video at that. I thought the Joffrey arc had nothing else to offer and yet you schooled me hard. Good. Job. Loved it.

[@ThereIsNoLord]

Go down the rabbit hole of his other videos. An impressive body of work.

[@pedroc6802]

@@ThereIsNoLord Still not done with all of them - but loving each one. Glad to have found this channel! :D

[@MakoTheFrog]

me at the start of the video: what a load of fucking nonsense, who comes up with this crap? me at the end: HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO BLIND!!?!

[@mattlundy6108]

Absolutely best intro to a video ever. Love how it pans around interspersed with snide remarks, and then once you realize what you’re looking at the chorus comes on in all its glory. Great breakdown too, but holy shit did you nail the start.

[@Vank4o]

Next murder mystery: Tyrion actually didn't kill Tywin. The Martels send a vision through their glass candle to Tyrion fooling him to think that he killed his father, but it was Little Finger all along. I'm 99% sure that will be the next video, but I may be wrong about half of this percentage. Mayhaps.

[@luvprue1]

Tywin was already poisoned.

[@hamletfisherman5740]

Tywin was already dying from being poisoned by Oberyn, his staying in the privy for a long period of time probably is a symptom.

[@johnegnatios-beene9482]

Preston, you're a genius, nobody should doubt that, but subjects are "broached" not "breached."

[@masonrockwood7732]

Also, theres no 'ea' in Olenna Tyrell's name. Where does he get the infinite gall to pronounce it like that?

[@kekero540]

Hot take but I think LF secretly *despises* Tyrion. Because Tyrion seems to think of himself a small fry who wins purely based on his wits. But in reality he is sloppy with his power and is a son of one of the great houses and could easily inherit the second most powerful lord paramount seat. He is anything but an underdog. Meanwhile littlefinger comes from commoners who spent *generations* trying to get a noble title. He is rejected completely by Hoster Tully because he is way too lowborn and finally is hit with the old 1-2 by Brandon Stark. He was humiliated based on class prejudice and it’s the first thing George brings up about him is that he is pretty much a freeholder and not really considered proper nobility. I think little fingers motivations are much grander than becoming king or something I think he wants to humiliate feudalism itself. Think of how he takes advantage of the nobility. The nobility claim to be wise stewards but are constantly in debt, the nobility claim to be chaste and honorable so LF runs a brothel, the nobility claim descent from noble lineages so he fathers a bastard in the vale and plays a significant role in exposing Cerseis bastards.

[@Methus3lah]

I mean, Cersei trying to kill Tyrion and then blaming him when her plan goes awry is pretty in-character. She blames him for the death of their mother in childbirth, even though that’s obviously crazy. So if Joffrey ate the poisoned pie that was meant for Tyrion, she probably blames Tyrion for “provoking” Joffrey. Let’s be honest here, Cersei is a complete Karen whose children can do no wrong, no matter how illogical it actually is. But in my personal opinion, Joffrey is allergic to lemons.

[@geg6315]

The Tyrion Littlefinger rivalry is awesome

[@Argos-xb8ek]

It would've made my day if it turned out the poisoning was a "pass it down" kind of thing

[@guillembonet3350]

cercei killing his son will be hylarious

[@godfreyofbouillon966]

The plan to put poison in the hairnet is convoluted no matter who was the target. If it's the evidence against official version its also the evidence against your version and against any version anyone can come up with. Except the version where Sansa was supposed to accidentaly hurt her head against a doorframe and receive a bleeding head wound while breaking hairnet at the same time allowing poison to get into the wound. This version is awesome Chad Summerchild would love it :)

[@waldenandwilson]

I don't think you're overthinking this one, man. It makes perfect sense to me, and I love the intro!

[@calvinwright2214]

Im just noticing no one ever ever ever refers to Sansa as Sansa Lannister…

[@princeprocrastinate6485]

So often I start out sceptical of whatever theory you're coming up with and yet again you sway me, by the end of this video you have me seriously rethinking the Purple Wedding, you are too good at this.

[@amphibianenthusiast1887]

"Podrick payne is a sex god" I'm literally dying

[@Jord73]

Preston, you keep providing us with high quality videos. Thank you for that!

[@LightningNC]

"Let me give you a basic gestalt about the Purple Wedding."

[@uscilid]

this intro was 10/10 pure magic. every reason why i watch your videos.

[@ThereIsNoLord]

I just read this chapter again, and it is very clear that Littlefinger might have been trying to poison Tyrion. My main concern with this is if Tyrion unexpectedly was poisoned, I think it would be harder to extract Sansa, which was already not certain. Getting control of Sansa was really the main point of the exercise. The fact that Littlefinger was so confident of Joffrey's death immediately is another weak point in the theory. Bells could have meant anything. BUT all things considered, this makes a lot of sense. An excellent insight. Reading the books the second time changes everything, 'tis true.

[@housevinyl4640]

You always have the best theories and you put the pieces together so clearly. Keep up the great videos! You're awesome at it.

[@HenRab1]

Why does Littlefinger choose to murder Tyrion at the wedding in full sight of everyone? If he's just using some poison, surely Server X can feed him poison at any time?

[@ladydewynter674]

My goodness, Ser Preston, you are fiendishly clever in unravelling such a mystery. Good job!

[@Aixynwo]

This intro is the best thing thats happend since The Rogue Prince!

[@alexanderabdulov9434]

two vids in one day. Thx a lot, bro. I cheer up when ur vids are out. I'm addicted to asoiaf

[@vana.johnson8845]

Loved this analysis, and as for comparison to the show after season 3 the showrunners went so far off the Rails and became the murder of the episode killing off characters who are actually still alive in GRRM's narrative. The show is more disjointed than anything GRRM could ever create.

[@Stoner075C]

Great vid as usual, thanks very much Preston. And the Dontos that shows up at 3:54 is the stuff of nightmares.

[@JackFroster]

I have a few problems with this theory. First of all, dont you think it's a bit odd that they changed how it played it out in the show to completely confirm that Olenna did poison Joffery using the poison in Sansa's necklace? If Tyrion was the intended target I don't see why they would change it. Second of all, it seems very strange that out of ALL of the things George could of wrote for Olenna to do when next to Sansa would be to randomly fix her poison filled hairnet. That's a bit on the nose to not be a hint at when the poison is transferred. My guess is that Olenna did poison Joffery's wine and that either during the wedding or before told Margery not to drink from the chalice.