2015-01-04
Explanation
The Joke
A king presents a classic Sleeping Beauty scenario: a princess was cursed 500 years ago and will not wake until kissed by a "true prince." However, the would-be prince raises two very modern objections. First, people were "really, really racist" 500 years ago, so the concept of Sleeping Beauty has become uncomfortable over time. Second, the princess's family holdings are controlled by the state and the notion of inherited political power is "socially uncomfortable." He concludes he should stay away from the whole situation.
The king warns him, "You are going to regret this." In the final panels, the prince declares his love for the king instead, and they decide to go "bury some Lutherans" together. The king responds, "I can work with that."
The Humor
The comedy comes from applying modern progressive sensibilities to a fairy tale setting. The prince deconstructs the Sleeping Beauty trope by pointing out historical racism and problems with hereditary monarchy -- concerns that are completely anachronistic in a medieval fantasy context. The punchline twists expectations again: rather than simply walking away, the prince falls in love with the king (subverting the heteronormative fairy tale) and immediately pivots to enthusiastically participating in religious persecution ("bury some Lutherans"), which is very much in keeping with the historical era. The joke is that the prince is selectively progressive -- he objects to racism and monarchy but is perfectly happy with religious violence, and the king is delighted because that is something he can relate to.
References
The comic references the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty, in which a cursed princess sleeps until awakened by a prince''s kiss. The mention of burying Lutherans is a reference to the historical persecution of Protestants during the Reformation era, particularly the conflicts between Catholics and followers of Martin Luther in the 16th century.