This article check mollycoddler for " domicile , " the 2d episode of the sixth season ofGame of Thrones . Proceed with caveat .
Ramsay Bolton , theGame of Thronesvillain dally with puckish menace by Iwan Rheon , has always been an evil fop . That ’s been true ever since he joyfully flay the Ironborn in Season 2 and then solidify his Big Bad merit badge through three other seasons of torture , castration , murder , and rape . On a show fill up with schemers , back - stabbers , and spiritual fundamentalist who will make you take the air through town naked , Ramsay stay the theatrical role with the most punchable cheek and the least number of piece of tail to give .
But onlast night ’s episode , the now - legitimize bastard of Roose Bolton not only stab his father to death – and twist the knife as he looked deep into dada ’s heart – but he also unleash his rabid pet firedog on his stepmother and newborn half - chum . Game of Thronesfinally achieve peak Ramsay in the procedure , and I ’m here to recount you why that is n’t a well thing . rent ’s take a look at how the show can recover from Ramsay ’s new low .
Helen Sloan/Courtesy of HBO
How can they top this?
It ’s unlikely that Ramsay will ever be more hateable than he is flop now . There ’s not much he could do to get any more villainous . Maybe he could murder his dogs . mayhap he could captivate Brienne and do even unsound thing to her than he did to Sansa . Maybe he could move to Dorne and ram viewer to observe more boring Dorne shit . The problem is , anything awful he does from here on out will be overkill .
We get it . Ramsay is double-dyed , unadulterated evil . He has zero redeeming qualities . And because we get that , the show ’s creators , David Benioff and D.B. Weiss , have indorse themselves into a spectacular street corner by having Ramsay handle other characters like chewing toys .
In some ways , this was inevitable . Part of the fun and anxiety of watching a zeitgeist - chasing water - cooler show likeGame of Thrones , Breaking Bad , orThe Walking Deadis look to the ways the show ’s creative brain trust will hear new ways to excite , jolt , and , yes , occasionally horrify you . The " now top this " character has been an essential part ofGoT ’s DNA ever since the fender ended with Jaime Lannister having sex with his babe and shove teeny-weeny short Bran off of a tower . " Damn , " you probably said to your friend back in the barren days of 2011 . " I ca n’t think they went there . "
That action place a case law betimes on , and the show has joyfully topped it with act of mercilessness that make Jaime look like Andy Griffith . ( For real , though : he ’s now the show ’s most honest dispenser of problematic fatherly advice . ) But that eccentric of Evel Knievel storytelling can lead to cockeyed moment like last night ’s Ramsay plot , one of the few missteps in an otherwise thrilling episode .
It ’s not that the killing of Lady Walda and her child crossed some variety of ethical or moral bloodline this time that the show has n’t trampled before – do n’t blank out that Talisa Stark was viciously stabbed in the uterus during the Red Wedding . But the positioning of Ramsay as the show ’s Big Bad is disappointing from a larger storytelling perspective . Without his Father of the Church around to torment him , the character has no worthy hydrofoil and very little motivation beyond a nebular and under - explored seeking for power . There ’s no grade with Ramsay . No shading . No depth .
apparently , not all villains need to have plentiful , complex backstories – the psyche - squishing shenanigans of Gregor Clegane do n’t ask flashback to hit home . ButGoT ’s best villains , like Tywin Lannister , are never just sociopath . As the show ’s characters continue to spread across the map and the skilful guys slowly amass more cause for hope , it ’s become more and more clear thatGame of Throneshas a villain problem . The unfortunate death of Joffreyleft a void that the show has struggled to fill , and Ramsay and the High Sparrow ’s sadistic fury and religious fundamentalism just have n’t been compelling - enough substitutes .
Helen Sloan/Courtesy of HBO
What’s wrong with Ramsay?
On a narration level , it ’s potential to see Ramsay as the perfect villain to look off againstthe freshly revitalized Jon Snow : both are ( purportedly ) bastard raised by troubled father public figure , both spent time in deportee , and both lost the women they loved . You should be eagerly anticipating a showdown on the floor of " Battle of the Blackwater " or " The Watchers on the Wall " between their two armies that will likely occur after this season . The battle has so much poetical and dramatic potential . On newspaper , it ’s the perfect natural process - flick finale .
But in execution , the Ramsay character is a cartoon . He has more in common with Wile E. Coyote or Boris Badenov than Hannibal Lecter . That ’s not to discredit thespian Iwan Rheon , who has done an admirable Book of Job of bringing prankish wittiness and hints of compassion to a altogether worthless human being on the page . If there ’s a way for the Ramsay storyline to recover as the time of year continue , the answer belike lie in Rheon ’s expressive middle .
How can Ramsay be redeemed?
If you have the stomach , take a closer facial expression at the wienerwurst sequence from Sunday ’s installment . It ’s a familiar character ofGoTscene , where an innocent character walk into a serious , clichéd situation that on any other phantasy show would end with the arriver of a brave knight coming to the rescue . But by now , viewer sleep together that the cynical worldview of the show demands that the conventional story beat be upend : the innocent is murdered , malign winnings , and the regretful guys get the last word .
" I prefer being an only child , " articulate Ramsay , perpetuate a hilarious only - child stereotype that has to bite for anyone without siblings . It ’s a silly quip that undersell the gravity of the moment . It probably would ’ve been less over the top if he had bend to the camera and said , " Can you believe I drop dead there ? Look at me . I ’m a gamey male child ! "
But rewatch the scene , and maybe you ’ll discover a risible smell on Ramsay ’s face . Was that , for the first time , the slightest glimmering of regret ? Is this previous atrocity the tipping stop that will lead to a friendlier , more human Ramsay ? I do n’t think I ’m misread the present moment , either . " It ’s not cypher , it ’s far-right , " articulate Iwan Rheon about the killing of Roose Bolton in an audience withEntertainment Weekly . " And it has an effect on him , which he did n’t expect . "
Helen Sloan/Courtesy of HBO
The only way to make Ramsay a more compelling baddie is to turn him into a tragical mantrap . Imagine a character equal to of feed a child to a dogandbringing you to tears – nowthatwould be horrifying .
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Dan Jacksonis a staff writer at Thrillist Entertainment and is not go to miss Roose Bolton . He ’s on Twitter:@danielvjackson .
Helen Sloan/Courtesy of HBO
