Game of Thrones begins....

[Grey Fox]

I like that they made [spoiler]Ramsay Bolton[/spoiler] hot. This is going to elicit a collective what-the-fuck later on. 

How have you not watched Misfits?

It's not on the BBC.

[garbon]

I like that they made [spoiler]Ramsay Bolton[/spoiler] hot. This is going to elicit a collective what-the-fuck later on. 

That's the creepy, weird kid from the Misfits.

Ah, quite a bit late but still I think adding in the creepy weird part is important.

[Martinus]

Why is it always that creepy weird nerds with superpowers end up playing a serial killer on another show? Or Spock.

[Viking]

Why is it always that creepy weird nerds with superpowers end up playing a serial killer on another show? Or Spock.

Why is it that you always want to suck the toes of the creepy weird nerds?

[Martinus]

Why is it always that creepy weird nerds with superpowers end up playing a serial killer on another show? Or Spock.

Why is it that you always want to suck the toes of the creepy weird nerds?

Well I guess I just realized that I am kinda attracted to the type. This also includes Michael C. Hall.

[Viking]

Why is it always that creepy weird nerds with superpowers end up playing a serial killer on another show? Or Spock.

Why is it that you always want to suck the toes of the creepy weird nerds?

Well I guess I just realized that I am kinda attracted to the type. This also includes Michael C. Hall.

All Serial Killers I must observe.

[Martinus]

Well, I started liking Michael C. Hall when he was only a creepy funeral house director.

[Viking]

Well, I started liking Michael C. Hall when he was only a creepy funeral house director.

Still lots of dead bodies.

[Valmy]

Well, I started liking Michael C. Hall when he was only a creepy funeral house director.

David Fisher was not creepy!

[garbon]

Well, I started liking Michael C. Hall when he was only a creepy funeral house director.

David Fisher was not creepy!

He looked creepy.

[Viking]

Well, I started liking Michael C. Hall when he was only a creepy funeral house director.

David Fisher was not creepy!

Compared to Nate, yes he was.

[Josephus]

they were both pretty creepy. And the sister with the foot in her locker. Hell, that whole family was wacko

[Sophie Scholl]

By the way, I have a question to Team Stannish here - now, I always thought him to be repugnant in the books, but he seems somehow even more despicable in his show portrayal - essentially a psychopath. Do you agree or do you still support the show version and find the character likeable?

I'm not a fan of the changes.  He's not nearly as supportable in the series beyond his claim to the throne.  In the books, he had the best claim and a sense of honor and dedication to justice.

[garbon]

they were both pretty creepy. And the sister with the foot in her locker. Hell, that whole family was wacko

Speaking of that, watching the last what, 6 minutes or so of that show, gets me crying every time without fail.

[Josquius]

That is stupid. You can't be a lord if you go around killing several of your own men just for giggles. You won't have any men rather quickly.

He is not a lord. He is a bastard and a psychopath and his "men" are psychopaths like him, not vassals in the feudal sense. He is known to rape, hunt, kill and flay (not necessarily in that order) women for sport, and murdered his own brother.

He had those men torture Theon, to appear as a saviour, because he wants to completely mind-fuck him. And in this situation, there is no way for his other men to find out he killed these four, so he is not risking some sort of morale breakdown.

He is a lord to the extent that he has men who follow him and he relies on their loyalty for his own power.

And it doesn't matter if his other men cannot find out (and of course they certainly can - it's not like Bolton could be sure he would be able to kill all four of his own men without any escaping), they are going to I don't know, wonder where their four other buddies disappeared to?

The fact that he is a psycopath who surrounds himself with others of like psychology is fine - such is reflected in the books. But that doesn't mean that they will just follow him no matter what he does TO THEM. Rape, kill, flay others? Sure.

Martin got this - he understood the means by which men control other men. Hell, one can argue that the basic concept of loyalty to a "lord" and the power it conveys is one of the very foundations of the entire series. What is power? is a theme that pervades the entire series. Power is perception, it is based on what those who follow you believe. They may follow for a variety of reasons - fear, money, honor, duty, love.

But nobody follows someone who they think is just going to murder them on a whim, especially one who has no power otherwise.

I am honestly surprised Martin didn't object to this change in the story. It simply makes no sense. If the Bastard was the kind of man who would do something like this, he would never have any followers to begin with. Certainly Theon is not so extra special that he warrants Bolton setting up such an elaborate ruse and then actually murdering his own men just to mess with some captives head.

My only guess is that those men he sent were men he wanted rid of. A bit too loyal too his father and non-approving of Ramsey's hobbies. Getting rid of them will allow him to put his own men in their place too.
It really does seem weird however, some odd head fucking going on there, I hope they're not changing things too radically just to have more Theon time,