Jasper's Shooter Was Revealed On 'The Royals' & The Culprit Was So Surprising

Spoilers for The Royals episode "My News Shall Be The Fruit To That Great Feast" follow. During Queen Helena's birthday celebration, plenty of drama unfolds. But perhaps the biggest reveal is who shot Jasper on The Royals. While it seemed that Robert had planned his own assassination attempt as a way to injure (or kill) his bodyguard Jasper, it turns out the king isn't that nefarious. Instead, Jasper's dad shot him. Using his own twisted form of logic, Earl Frost thought it would help bring Jasper and Eleanor back together. Although it's just more evidence of the dysfunctional father-son dynamic they have, Earl's intentions were good. And it's a relief to know that as shady as he is, King Robert isn't into plotting murders currently.

With all the hints that Robert had something to do with Jasper's shooting, perhaps fans should have realized it was too obvious for the king to be involved. And Mr. Frost did call Jasper when his son was in the hospital recovering from the bullet wound. So The Royals had set up this reveal. "I mean, you called me at Christmas and said I ruined your life and you never wanted to speak to me again. So naturally I felt bad and I wanted to fix things," Earl says to a stunned Jasper.

In Earl's mind, his actions are justified since Jasper is now a hero in Britain, he no longer has to hide his past (or the fact that he's American), and he's back with Eleanor. Of course, the reason that Jasper and Eleanor broke up at Christmas in Season 3 was because of Earl (and Robert), but it's clear that Earl is an "all's well that ends well" type of guy.

Although Earl shot Jasper, he manages to prove that he's actually not that bad of a father in "My News Shall Be The Fruit To That Great Feast." Jasper is still resentful that Earl never showed up for a childhood spelling bee, but Earl was there. And he gets Robert to make Jasper a knight so that the king can stop using the excuse that Jasper is a lowly commoner against Jaspenor. Sure, Earl uses blackmail to get the job done — he is a con artist — but Robert deserves to be blackmailed for intentionally trying to tear Eleanor and Jasper apart. Plus, it's always nice to see Robert lose the upper hand.

Earl's confession also leads Jasper to tell Eleanor that he had suspected Robert of planning the shooting. And she, in turn, tells him that she has been sneaking out of the palace to covertly give to people in need. So Earl's actions somehow bring Eleanor and Jasper closer together yet again. It turns out that Mr. Frost isn't that bad of a guy after all. Even the Grand Duchess knew he was conning her, but she says she went along with it because the sex was so good. TMI for sure, but it seems the royal family (with the exception of Robert) approves of Earl Frost — and Jasper kind of does now too.

If this reveal somehow disappointed you because you want Robert to be bad, there's still good reason to be suspicious of the king. While he rejects Cassandra when she shows up in his bedroom as he's now engaged to Willow, his insecurities — and his darkness — is still exposed in "My News Shall Be The Fruit To That Great Feast." Cassandra touches a nerve by saying that Willow could be in love with Liam over Robert. The king's face during this moment shows that there is still some brotherly envy occurring — particularly since Liam brings Kathryn as his date to Queen Helena's birthday dinner. It also seems like Robert may still have feelings for Kathryn (or at least wants to manipulate her again) since he tells her, "I'm glad you came tonight," and follows it with a somewhat menacing smirk. And don't forget that he likely planned the blackout.

So even with Earl being Jasper's the shooter, Robert is still kind of the bad guy in Season 4 of The Royals. As for Mr. Frost, if you have become fond of him like Eleanor has, you may be disappointed that he leaves the palace in the April 15 episode. However, now that this dynamic character has been introduced, he's bound to show up again. And when that happens, Jasper may even be happy to see his father.