Game Of Thrones: 7 Things We Learned From "The Mountain And The Viper"

4. Ramsay Sends €œTheon€ To Take Moat Cailin

Remember in €œThe Laws of Gods and Men€ when Ramsay told Reek he would be €œpretending€ to be Theon Greyjoy to get some €œbad men€ out of a castle? Now we see the plan unfolding. Dressing him in armor, Ramsay has sent €œTheon€ to Moat Cailin to persuade the Ironborn inside to surrender to the Bolton forces. As he rides to the fortress and is admitted inside, it€™s clear the land has seen better days, what with the carcasses everywhere and the moat itself looking like a wasteland. Theon is brought before the Ironborn commander and proves that he really is Theon Greyjoy. He explains that he was captured by Bolton€™s army and was sent to deliver a message. With their soldiers sick and hundreds of miles from the sea, Roose Bolton implores them to surrender the fortress. If they do so, they€™ll be allowed to live. The commander, who accuses him of being a whip dog and a woman, won€™t agree to those terms. Even in sickness, he declares that the Ironborn won€™t surrender...and is promptly given an ax to the head. The killer asks Theon if the paper really says that if they yield, they live. Theon confirms it, and so the men surrender. Unfortunately for them, Ramsay isn€™t one for keeping his word and has them all flayed and slaughtered. Of course, to the victor goes the spoils. Roose Bolton eventually arrives, and Ramsay gives him Moat Cailin€™s flag to show the fortress is his. Roose asks whether there€™s been any word from Locke, to which Ramsay says no. Roose says it doesn€™t matter since Bran and Rickon are most likely dead. With the Ironborn having mostly fled, Roose is now truly the Warden of the North, which stretches for hundreds of miles in every direction. As a reward for taking Moat Cailin, Roose allows Ramsay to take the Bolton name. He is Ramsay Snow no longer; now he is Ramsay Bolton. With his new title, Ramsay, Roose, Reek and the Bolton men head back home. Ramsay is one of the more deplorable characters on that show, but even he has goals beyond making Reek€™s life hell. As a bastard, he was always looked at as baseborn despite being the son of Roose Bolton. Now that he€™s an official Bolton, his reputation is one of prestige, and he€™s also guaranteed inheritance upon his father€™s passing. Now the psychopath who has prestige and power to accompany his land, women and pet to torment. He also reminded us of something: the rules of war are changing. The formalities and traditions are slowly dying off. If you lose in a battle or surrender, you€™ll still die despite pleading for mercy. Only the powerful survive in this world, and Ramsay knows this.