Theon greyjoy jack fishers official publishing blog. He is balon and alannyss fourth child after rodrik, maron, and yara. In the books, theons torture happens off the page, which likely saved us from some of the more brutal aspects of his transformation into reek. Theon becomes ned starks ward after his fathers failed rebellion. Asha, a captive with stanniss army after the fight by deepwood motte, barely recognizes theon due to his torture at the hands of ramsay. Sansa starkwho was basically a younger sister to theon at winterfellgets betrothed to. A similar device, commonly referred to as a shin crusher, squeezed the calf between two curved iron plates, studded with spikes, teeth, and knobs, to fracture the tibia and fibula. Wood or iron wedges were hammered in between the casing and the victims flesh. Ramsay bolton takes the garrison of the dreadfort and theon goes out to fight them with his men and gets taken off the field.
In the television adaptation game of thrones, he is played by alfie allen. Embarking on a twisted campaign of psychological manipulation, ramsay poses as an ironborn emissary of theons sister, yara, and falsely claims to have been. Game of thrones s03e10 roose bolton and walder frey talks, ramsay bolton officially revealed duration. On the show, the creators decided that alfie allens performance was too good to keep him off the show for a year.
One type was made of four pieces of narrow wooden board nailed together. The treatment in the show was mild and gentle compared to the levels of psychological and physical torture theon is subjected to in the books. Psychologically broken, he is forced to assume the identity of reek. May 16, 20 theon greyjoy takes winterfell, asha comes and tells him to sack the city and take all the loot he can and return to the iron islands what he really should have done in retrospect. During the imprisonment, ramsay severely tortured theon physically and psychologically before emasculating him and mockingly. The spanish boot was an iron casing for the leg and foot. The boot has taken many forms in various places and times. Whether the show follows the book or not, i hope yara rescues theon soon because i cant stand more of that torture. As book fans may remember, the whole scene is actually much worse in a dance with dragons. Things you never knew about theon and reek screenrant. Theon greyjoy is not a point of view character in the first novel, but becomes one beginning with the second novel a clash of kings. Book theon will likely never hold a bow again due to his severed fingers and toes. Ramsay agreed, in a sense, deciding to kill theon greyjoy in name. Theon is reek as said in the earlier entry, the book series doesnt show the torture ramsay inflicted upon theon in much detail.
Following his fathers failed rebellion against the iron throne, theon is taken as a ward initially hostage to lord eddard stark of winterfell. The camera cuts away from the rape to linger on the exprinces pain as he. I finally managed to get around to reading a dance with dragons, the fifth book in the game of thrones series. For me, and i believe for a considerable amount of people, one of the most disturbing aspects when reading about the torture of theon greyjoy. After the wedding, ramsay has theon take arya aka jeyne to his room.
Asha greyjoytheon greyjoy works archive of our own. Book spoilers about the depiction of theons torture on. Abused and neglected by britain s most sadistic mum. The show doesnt use flashbacks or internal narration. What on earth is game of thrones doing to theon greyjoy. Theons torture in the books didnt just destroy him mentally, but physically as well. The term boot refers to a family of instruments of torture and interrogation variously designed to cause crushing injuries to the foot andor leg. But theon had sent reek away from winterfell with gold to bribe bolton men to assist. How a mother could abuse and torture some of her children like she did is horrific. Fast forward through more torture and creepy ramsayreek baths. He starts to torture theon and eventually turns him into reek3.
He is shown in adwd catching and promptly devouring a live rat when the jailer suddenly comes in and his. Due to the torture endured at ramsays hands, theon looks like he has aged forty years. Theon didnt commit this particular crime in the books either, as he did. It upset me that so many people turned a blind eye to the abuse and could have helped. Exxtra history theon the clever greyjoy greyjoy alla. It comes to show that the book series a song of ice and fire and the tv show game of thrones give a truly eyeopening look at how different genders are treated. Following the sack of winterfell, ramsay and his men take theon to the dreadfort, where the ironborn prince is subjected to gruesome tortures. Jan 18, 2017 i finally managed to get around to reading a dance with dragons, the fifth book in the game of thrones series. Balon greyjoy and his daughter yara asha in the books receive a parcel, a special gift, and a mysterious letter, sealed by what looks like piece of skin and house boltons flayed man sigil.
Theon greyjoy has gone through quite a transformation in game of thrones. Game of thrones theon greyjoy characters tv tropes. The ironborn were crushed in a war led by king robert baratheon and lord eddard stark. In the show, the sadistic ramsay bolton marries sansa stark but in the books, another poor girl, jeyne poole, is. Game of thrones ramsay snow torturing theon greyjoy. Abused and neglected by britains most sadistic mum. Welcome to the unofficial gathering of meta as to why book. The book is a singular reference for the academic or historian who will try to make sense of an age when americans acted out of fear instead of strength and confidence, and became the worlds bully instead of its protector. Beginning as the annoying, arrogant friend of robb stark, theon has grown into one of the most self. Sep 06, 20 theon s torturing scene from game of thrones. Game of thrones s03e10 balon greyjoy recieves quite the package from ramsay bolton duration.
The book doesnt show the torture, leaving it up to the readers minds, yet the show reveals exactly the damage ramsay inflicts. There are literally too many instances of this psychological torture to quote. We see much more of theons torture in the books, most of ramsays atrocities come up in passing, or in rumor in other pointofview. The master torturer was the apparent leader of the men holding theon greyjoy prisoner.
Moreover, book ramsey made theon do all those things to arya before he took his turn. The book is a singular reference for the academic or historian who will try to make sense of an age when americans acted out of fear instead of strength and confidence. Before sansa becomes ramsays bride, the bolton bastard has already made theon a eunuch and put him through unthinkable mental and physical torture. In the books, ramsay slices off his arm when cassel offers a hand in friendship, and then later.
Theon greyjoy is a member of house greyjoy and is the sole surviving son and heir apparent of balon greyjoy, lord of the iron islands. Most notably, ramsay intentionally allowed theon and a woman named kyra to escape, only so he could hunt them down and drag them back to the castle. Oct 24, 20 balon greyjoy and his daughter yara asha in the books receive a parcel, a special gift, and a mysterious letter, sealed by what looks like piece of skin and house boltons flayed man sigil. As a result, they decided to give us a depiction of just how theon greyjoy became reek. Ramsay warns balon to withdraw his troops from the north or else more boxes will follow with more. Apr 12, 2019 the journey of theon greyjoy on game of thrones has been wrought with angst and anguish. The book is able to show how he goes from theon to reek but it would be too much of a shift for tv as we arent in his head. What the hell is game of thrones doing with theon greyjoys arc. That way, he got to watch, and also watch their humiliation and fear. The mind games teevie ramsey plays on him are nothing compared to what all theon endures in the book. Sansa and theons history on game of thrones popsugar.
Ramsay forces theon to join in with his sexual torture abuse of his bride. Oct 04, 2017 the mind games teevie ramsey plays on him are nothing compared to what all theon endures in the book. For those not familiar with the books, the character of theon greyjoy is captured and tortured, badly, by ramsay snow later ramsay bolton. The trauma of this torture causes theon to lose much of his body weight, turns his hair white, and leaves him resembling an old man. Apr 24, 2019 before sansa becomes ramsays bride, the bolton bastard has already made theon a eunuch and put him through unthinkable mental and physical torture. As written in a song of ice and fire, theon grejoy is one of the most. Prince theon greyjoy was the youngest son of king balon greyjoy of the iron islands and the younger brother of rodrik, maron, and yara greyjoy. How bad was theon tortured in the books as compared to the show. The way it was written in the books was kind of horrible because it just slowly reveals one horrible thing after another. In the books, theons torture happens off the page, which likely.
From the realms of the epic scifi, the azziarin series, comes a swee. Game of thrones 3x10 ramsay snow bolton what realy happened. Theon, the castrated viking history behind game of thrones. Theon greyjoy is a fictional character in the a song of ice and fire series of fantasy novels by. All the ways game of thrones ramsay bolton is way worse in. All the ways game of thrones ramsay bolton is way worse. Theon expects to recruit his father to robb starks cause, but instead finds balon greyjoy not willing to take anything offered by the hated stark family, and instead will. By the end, he makes theon forget his own name, crafts an entirely new identity, and breaks the smiling prince into a writhing creature terrified of ramsay.
Being theon greyjoy, or why this dick in a box matters. Theon greyjoy is played by alfie allen in the television adaptation of the series of books. Jul 12, 2017 theon greyjoy is forced to watch as sansawho is still only around 15 years old. Ramsay watches theons torture while disguised as a servant boy.
Sansa starkwho was basically a younger sister to theon at winterfellgets betrothed to ramsay, against her will, of course. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. It simply gets worse as ramsay is next shown eating a long and plump sausage right in front of his captive, making theon believe that ramsay is eating his genitals. All spoilers theon greyjoy and reek, book question. Theon greyjoy is not a point of view character in the first novel, but becomes one beginning with the second novel a clash of kings theon greyjoy is the only living son, and heir apparent of balon greyjoy. Theon proved himself to be an incredibly ruthless and almost monstrous man in his subjugation of winterfell, but suffered greatly for his arrogance and winterfell was taken from him however, after later events in the books, specifically his torture at the hands of ramsay bolton, he becomes subdued and hopeless. In adwd, theon remembers the tortures visited on him and we get disturbed, in addition to the awfulness his present state. In the television series, theon escapes the north, returns home and travels to meereen, implying that in the books, he will not be killed by stannis and may very well escape captivity along with asha, possibly around the same time as stanniss possible coming death in the books, though it remains to be seen, as theons role in the series has been merged with victarions from the novels. In the show, theon beheads ser rodrik cassel because hes bullied into it, and makes a mess of it. Post torture theon in the show has a few too many teeth and fingers, but thats understandable given how long it would take to recreate all. Ramsays torture leaves theon with many of his toes, fingers and teeth missing. Lord ramsay bolton, born ramsay snow, was the legitimized bastard son of roose bolton, lord of the dreadfort, and the unidentified wife of a miller during the war of the five kings, ramsay is initially loyal to king in the north robb stark, retaking winterfell from theon greyjoy on his orders but at the same time sacking the castle as part of his fathers scheme to betray house stark. He is the thirdperson narrator for thirteen chapters throughout a clash of kings and a dance with dragons. An archive of our own, a project of the organization for transformative works.
The inner strength this abused child found is a testimony of the will to live. Although the detention and torture starts in the previous books, it is in a dance with dragons that it takes on a completely new meaning and effect. From the perspective of what happened to the character is was much worse in the book, however from the perspective of the reader, unlike in the show, all of it. Game of thrones 3x10 ramsay snow bolton what realy. For those not familiar with the books, the character of theon greyjoy is captured and tortured, badly, by ramsay. Even after a won battle, after going home safe and sound, ghosts of the past silently followed him, but it is one particular ghost ramsay boltons, of course who is still chasing him. This article contains content some readers might find upsetting. Its implied fairly strongly in the books that ramsay has cut off theons, uh, little ironborn. Theons torture is not like foucaults drawingandquartering in the important respect that its private. And ever since roose bolton announced that his wife was pregnant, we have. Show theon, once he manages to shake some of the stress, is capable of decently holding his own in a scrap.
After eddards execution in kings landing, theon pledges his loyalty to eddards eldest son, king robb. The journey of theon greyjoy on game of thrones has been wrought with angst and anguish. Ramsays torture of theon got so unbearable that theon begged to be killed. But some people havent still found peace, and such is the case of theon greyjoy. Ive seen a lot of good, wellsupported meta in favor of the theory that this poor guy had his penis flayed and. A breakdown of the many ways hbos game of thrones strayed. Theons torture and mutilation at the hands of ramsay snow happens almost entirely offstage and is only suggested until he reappears in book five, at.
Book spoilers about the depiction of theons torture on the. Theon greyjoy how game of thrones characters look in the. At the end of greyjoys rebellion, theon was taken to winterfell as a hostage and ward to lord eddard stark. Eight years before the start of the series balon rose in rebellion against the iron throne. Game of thrones s03e06 theon back in the torture chamber duration.
All the ways game of thrones ramsay bolton is way worse in the books. Theon greyjoy and the messy road to redemption watchers on. Jun 07, 2015 we see much more of theons torture in the books, most of ramsays atrocities come up in passing, or in rumor in other pointofview chapters. Luwin, the maester of winterfell at the time, had nothing but praise for young theon, remarking that within six months there was nothing left to teach the boy and come another sixth months it was no longer luwin teaching theon, but it was luwin who was learning from theon furiously. Martin, and its television adaptation game of thrones.
And its revealed so subtly and theon is just such a patheticsympathetic character that i think the book had a lot more impact, whereas the show was more quick shock cringe factor which wasnt necessarily bad. Theon and jeyne land in snow and are caught by mors umber, who sends them to rendezvous with stanniss army at a crofters village in the wolfswood a few days ride away. Theon greyjoy is a fictional character in the a song of ice and fire series of fantasy novels by american author george r. As written in a song of ice and fire, theon grejoy is one of the most interesting characters in a series full of interesting. I applaud victoria spry for being so forthcoming with her tragic upbringingrather, the tragic first portion of her life. Theons torture and mutilation at the hands of ramsay snow happens almost entirely offstage and is only suggested until he reappears in book five, at that point so beaten down and disfigured. Sep 17, 20 game of thrones s03e10 balon greyjoy recieves quite the package from ramsay bolton duration. Theon greyjoy, the prince of winterfell, book two version season two of game of thrones, and book two a clash of kings are pretty close in regards to theons storyline. Unfortunately, theons case would more than likely be turned into a joke about male circumcision and put on an episode of married with children. Theon greyjoy takes winterfell, asha comes and tells him to sack the city and take all the loot he can and return to the iron islands what he really should have done in retrospect. Reek2ramsays armies attack the army outside winterfell and sack winterfell and reek2ramsay then comes back out as ramsay. Mark danners torture and truth deserves separate consideration. Theon greyjoy is the only living son, and heir apparent of balon greyjoy. Exxtra history theon the clever greyjoy greyjoy alla breve fic.
Apr 17, 2019 post torture theon in the show has a few too many teeth and fingers, but thats understandable given how long it would take to recreate all of the injuries the character sustains in the books. Nov 05, 2019 this leads to theon suffering his own torture. Winterfell eventually is besieged by northern forces, led by the loyal and honorable ser rodrik cassel. He is shown in adwd catching and promptly devouring a live rat when the jailer suddenly comes in and his first and only thought is he must hide the rat, or else he will be punished for eating a rat that didnt belong to him.
Theon greyjoy is forced to watch as sansawho is still only around 15 years old. How bad was theon tortured in the books as compared to the. Jul 25, 2017 what the hell is game of thrones doing with theon greyjoys arc. Common varieties include the spanish boot sometimes referred to as scarpines and the malay boot. Theon greyjoy is tortured to such a degree, that he takes on a completely new persona, the character of reek. In the book, reek suggested the ruse, and skinned the faces off of the boys rather than burning the bodies as in the tv show. Please dont misunderstandthe subject matter and circumstances were dreadfulbut it is a story that needed to be told. As if ramsay cutting theons fingers off isnt bad enough, but ramsay further emasculates him by cutting his genitalia off.