As far as miserable experiences go in the Game of Thrones universe, Theon Greyjoy's arc in Season 3 must rank among the most miserable. While he certainly deserved his comeuppance after betraying Robb and sacking Winterfell, it's difficult to argue that he really deserved an entire season of unceasing agony. Captured after the fall of Winterfell, Theon is taken to the bowels of the Dreadfort and mounted upon a wooden X for torture. His captor, we learn, is none other than Roose Bolton's bastard son Ramsay. Over the course of the season, Theon is tormented, starved, beaten, flayed, and ultimately castrated. This last offense finally drives Theon to beg for a mercy kill, but Ramsay is not inclined to oblige. Instead, he is disproportionately merry on the topic of Theon's recently removed manhood. It's pretty awful, but by this point, we're kind of desensitized to the gratuitous violence of Theon's storyline. What elevates this particular scene into pure delightful WTFery is Ramsay's...multitasking. As he cheerfully monologues about the castration, he devours a large sausage with almost indecent relish. From what we'd seen of Ramsay, it wouldn't exactly be out of the realm of possibility for him to be enjoying a meal out of the spoils of Theon's gelding. Theon certainly thinks so; when Ramsay picks up on Theon's suspicions, however, he gasps in exaggerated injury. "No!" protests Ramsay. "Pork sausage. You'd think I was some sort of savage!" Theon looks as though he would vomit if he had any food in his stomach, and Ramsay grins. It'd be funny if it weren't so twisted.
Fiction buff and writer. If it's on Netflix, it's probably in my queue. I've bought DVDs for the special features and usually claim that the book is better than the movie or show (and can provide examples). I've never met a TV show that I won't marathon. Follow on Twitter @lah9891 .
