Ramsay Bolton

Ramsay Bolton is a character from Game of Thrones. He is the bastard son of Roose Bolton and major antagonist through seasons 3-6.

Why He Sucks

 * 1) He is a Villain Stu in the worst way possible, having him gain increasingly unlikely victories that rely more on luck than anything else for three seasons despite his stupid evil tendencies that would have gotten anyone else quickly eliminated.
 * 2) In a series where making bad decisions had realistic consequences, Ramsay has a lot of plot armour until season six, violating the series' theme of actions and consequences. This is in contrast with Joffrey Baratheon who couldn't last five minutes without facing the consequences for his wanton sadism.
 * 3) * He pointlessly kills several of his own men just to further the illusion he's on Theon's side only to later break the illusion himself. Somehow his men don't turn on him.
 * 4) * He tortures and castrates Theon, making him too psychologically broken to serve as a negotiator and useless as a bargaining chip. Despite this, his father still trusts him to make strategically decisions.
 * 5) * He fights Yara's men bare chested and doesn't get a scratch.
 * 6) * After said battle, he just lets Yara and her men go for no apparent reason and she never tries any other attempt to get Theon back.
 * 7) * Sending "twenty good men" to raid Stannis' camp. Somehow his men are able to win.
 * 8) * Killing the Warden of the North in front of his banner men and a master and killing the Warden's wife and newborn son in a public setting with no consequence.
 * 9) * He messes about when shooting arrows at Rickon but is somehow able to finish him when he's almost reached Jon. Most characters would have failed to kill Rickon, doing that.
 * 10) He is poorly developed and does not have much characterisation beyond being an unlikable villain.
 * 11) He spends the entirely of season 3 torturing Theon with us not knowing much else about him. In the books, this all happened offscreen and on the show, it doesn't tell us much about him beyond being a sadist. It does not add to any other plots and just slows the season down.
 * 12) Whatever characterization he has other than "sadistic villain" is thrown out the window when he kills his father, his baby brother and girlfriend.

Redeeming Qualities

 * 1) He is played well by Iwan Rheon.
 * 2) He would actually have worked as a villain in a less deconstruction setting.
 * 3) His father calls him out on his sadism and pointless violence. Smalljon Umber's calling out in season 6 could be taken as a Take That, Scrappy.
 * 4) His invincibility does eventually run out in the penultimate episode of season 6, getting a taste of his own medicine, as Jon Snow brutally defeats him before Sansa feeds him to his own dogs as revenge for assaulting her.

Comments
