Game of Thrones begins....

[grumbler]

Sure it's better in the short term, but not in the long term. It's as easy as sending a message to Balon saying that his men were a bunch of rats which delivered Theon to them for their own safety and they'd be sentenced to death on the spot.

So Balon executes Ironmen summarily whenever an enemy says they acted like a bunch of rats?  That's not a very bright man, is it?  How many people have taken advantage of this opportunity to off large numbers of Ironmen without any more effort than sending a raven?

Wrong assumption, when did I say that his sister wanted him to be given to the Northmen? They could just carry him unconscious and/or tied up back to the shore.

Wrong assumption.  How are they going to get through the siege lines at all, let alone lugging a couple of hundred pounds of dead weight, along with their gear?  Theon's sister isn't stupid enough to propose such an inanity, and there is zero evidence in the show for such a wacky scheme.  No, I think the Ironmen cut a deal to escape with their lives, just as the show implies.

[grumbler]

Well without knowing what happens in Book 3, they showed an image of Winterfell burning, so staying there wasn't an option unless they wanted to be barbecued. I'm not sure who burned it though.

The Northmen wouldn't burn it, would they?  After all, they are going to be at the mercy of Ramsey Bolton's men, and so wouldn't want to do anything that looked hostile.

Who does that leave to burn the place, then?   

Once you answer that, you know why the Stark kids aren't safe anywhere but with Jon.

[PRC]

The latter is clearly explained by Maester Luwin when he speaks with the Bran and friends.

His explanation doesn't make any sense.  Sure, they shouldn't head south because they could get bushwacked by Lannisters.  But what's the risk of staying in Winterfell?

you'll see in Season 3

Unsatisfactory answer.  Anyone watching the show who hasn't read the books is thinking "damn, WTF just happened there?  This is stupid".

[Grey Fox]

Yes. I don't understand by whom nor why is Winterfell burn to the ground.

Why is running North now an option? What changed?

[Tamas]

Well, you can piece it together if you try.

Winterfell was under siege by Bolton's bastard and his men. The Greyjoy men abandoned it.
Sooo, who could pillage it and destroy it I wonder? Hmmm....

And the conclusion on that leads us to the answer on why the Maester thought it would be a bad idea for the Stark boys to wonder around aimlessly south.

[Josephus]

This is TV man, we're not supposed to think.
One could just as easily assume the Grey Joys burned Winterfell on their way out (a fairly normal wartime procedure).

[grumbler]

This is TV man, we're not supposed to think.
One could just as easily assume the Grey Joys burned Winterfell on their way out (a fairly normal wartime procedure).

Actually, a force surrendering under the honors of war was always prohibited from destroying or damaging the fortress.  It is not only NOT a " fairly normal wartime procedure," it wasn't done at all.

So, that leaves us with one possible culprit in the destruction of Winterfell, and that explains fully why sticking around would be a bad idea.

[PRC]

But it wasn't clear that they were surrendering at all. 

[grumbler]

But it wasn't clear that they were surrendering at all.

It was clear to me.  What else would they be doing?

[PRC]

But it wasn't clear that they were surrendering at all.

It was clear to me.  What else would they be doing?

Escaping and bringing Theon back to his father. 

[grumbler]

Escaping and bringing Theon back to his father. 

They couldn't escape.  That was established in the dialogue between Maester Luwin and Theon.  Luwin could get Theon himself out via a secret passage, but Theon's crew knew nothing about this.

[KRonn]

Theon gets so badly messed up by Bolton, the son. Both Boltons are ruthless and treacherous but the son is stark raving cruel. I'm just waiting for the Boltons to get their due, though you never know how things will turn out in Martin's story.

[Habbaku]

Theon gets so badly messed up by Bolton, the son. Both Boltons are ruthless and treacherous but the son is stark raving cruel. I'm just waiting for the Boltons to get their due, though you never know how things will turn out in Martin's story.

Roose may not get his for some time, book 5 spoilers : [spoiler]but I think the end of book 5 makes it fairly certain that Ramsay is going to bite it.  Stannis is in an excellent position to mete out some justice some time in book 6.[/spoiler]

[Josquius]

Winterfell being burned to the ground and the maester dying in the godswood like that and being so scared and telling the boys to go north...
I think what was happening there was meant to be a bit of foreshadowing of Ramsay. I guess he will be quite a major character and a big villain in the next series with his handling of Theon.

Though it did feel kind of....tacky, with the whole "You're the only one who can help Osha!!!". Really exagerating a minor character just because she has a significantish actress.

And we already saw the Ironmen stick him...
So...the effect really wasn't very strong at all.

[Admiral Yi]

Is Osha the chick with the big eyeballs and eyebrows?

This series has really been a boon for actors and actresses with funky northernish accents, hasn't it?