Tommen Baratheon
| House / Order | House Baratheon (officially); House Lannister (by blood) |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | |
| Status | Alive (in the novels) |
| Origin | King's Landing |
| Born | 291 AC (approx.) |
| Died | — |
| Weapon | |
| Fate | Reigns as a boy-king under the regency and influence of his mother Cersei Lannister |
| Portrayed by |
Tommen Baratheon is the younger son of Queen Cersei Lannister and, officially, King Robert Baratheon, though in truth he is, like his siblings, the child of Cersei's twin brother Jaime Lannister. A gentle, sweet-natured boy fond of his pet kittens, Tommen ascended the Iron Throne as a child after the poisoning of his elder brother King Joffrey Baratheon, reigning as a pliable figurehead amid the schemes of his mother and the Tyrells.
Background
Tommen was the third of Cersei's three children, after Joffrey and Myrcella. Plump, kindly, and timid where Joffrey was cruel, Tommen loved his pets and was easily led. During the Battle of the Blackwater, he was nearly evacuated from the city before the tide turned in the Lannisters' favor.
Reign
When Joffrey died at his own wedding feast, poisoned by the so-called Purple Wedding, Tommen, then about eight years old, was crowned king. He was swiftly married to Joffrey's widow, Margaery Tyrell, binding the crown ever more tightly to House Tyrell. Real power rested with his mother Cersei Lannister, who served as queen regent and grew increasingly paranoid and reckless in her efforts to control the boy and undermine his young queen.
Tommen, easily swayed by whoever stood nearest, became a battleground of influence between Cersei and Margaery. After Cersei's downfall and imprisonment by the Faith of the Seven, and her humiliating walk of atonement, the boy-king remains a passive instrument, his loyalties pulled in every direction.
Character
Tommen is the gentlest of Cersei's children, lacking any of Joffrey's malice, but his very mildness makes him a vessel to be steered by stronger wills. His attachment to his kittens, named Ser Pounce, Lady Whiskers, and Boots, underscores his innocence in a court that has no use for it. His arc is one of a good-hearted child crushed beneath the weight of a crown he never wished for and powers he cannot resist.
In the television series
In HBO's Game of Thrones, Tommen is portrayed first by Callum Wharry and later by Dean-Charles Chapman. The series gives him a markedly different fate from his ongoing book arc, having him take his own life after the destruction of the Great Sept; in the novels, as of the latest published volume, Tommen still lives and reigns.