A Roose Bolton Appreciation Thread

[The Fat Huntsmen]

Roose Bolton is the nobelest lord who ever lived.

[Ramsay B.]

I have a House Bolton tee-shirt. Anyone who can make me wear pink...is a true inspiration.

[Allison of Tarth]

I support this thread. Roose and Tywin both are serious BAMFs. They get shit done.

[MotherAnduin]

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/1dsesz/spoilers_all_roose_bolton_appreciation/

[The_Kingslayer]

Yeah. He put up with a lot of nonsense in the war of the 5 kings seeing his men get slaughtered against Tywin and was in the nitty gritty of the war. Also whilst Robb was cosy in Riverrun, getting married and feeding his wolf pedigree chum.

[Konrad Richtmark]

Interesting character, to be sure. But I haven't seen anything yet in this thread about how Ramsay was conceived in the first place. Perhaps I haven't read far enough in the thread, but he is a rapist. He claimed the ancient right of the First Night (which is disputed to not even have existed among medieval scholars) and raped a common woman to create the creature that is Ramsay.

He maneuvered his House to survival and supremacy, which will likely be short-lived and he will soon have to pay the price for his treachery. But maybe the other posters are right. The Red Wedding, or something like it would've definitely happened without his involvement, even though it made things go a lot smoother (bled the Northern armies). So yes he got his forces safely out of the south, but at what cost in the long term? Even he realizes his northern 'allies' are not actually with him. So good job Roose, you got yourself out of the frying pan and into the fire. And you're a rapist.

Whether First Night ever existed in the real world (it probably didn't) is irrelevant, this is Westeros, even though it's a little disappointing to see the otherwise well-informed GRRM recycle such a cliché.

It would be more accurate to say that Roose Bolton was a rapist some 20 years ago. If Lady Dustin's assessment of him is anywhere near the truth though (which we have every reason to believe to be), I doubt he has raped anyone for a long time now. The leeches would have sucked his libido out of him with the rest.

No-one here is sticking up for Roose or denying that he is evil. All we're saying is that he is an awesomely cool villain. I mean, what kind of man does it take to tell his bastard son "Damnit, get serious, you're making me regret the day I raped your mom" with a straight face, with neither shame nor smugness? Heck, the whole way he regards Ramsay is nothing short of unflinching, calculated pragmatism. He's clearly not a happy camper over the fact that Ramsay likely poisoned Domeric, but instead of retaliating he goes with Ramsay simply because it's the best he's got given the circumstances.

As for the second part of your post, yes, Roose understands what a precarious situation he is, which just adds to his evil coolness, contrasted to Ramsay who is utterly clueless about the nature and the limitations of worldly power. That Roose is in such a precarious position right now has much to do with Stannis appearing out of the blue, something Roose had no reason to believe would happen at the time when he betrayed Robb. His actions were in rational self-interest at the time, and if he's gotten out of the frying pan and into the fire, it was due to events that couldn't have been foreseen. But he doesn't complain, he keeps making the best out of the situation as it is.

[The Fat Huntsmen]

http://www.reddit.co...n_appreciation/

Thank you so much.

[The Marquis de Leech]

It would be more accurate to say that Roose Bolton was a rapist some 20 years ago. If Lady Dustin's assessment of him is anywhere near the truth though (which we have every reason to believe to be), I doubt he has raped anyone for a long time now.

The leeches would have sucked his libido out of him with the rest.

Rape isn't about libido: it's about power. Though Roose's drive seems healthy enough, if Fat Walda is anything to judge by.

I mean, what kind of man does it take to tell his bastard son "Damnit, get serious, you're making me regret the day I raped your mom" with a straight face, with neither shame nor smugness?

To some extent, I think the nature of that comment was an attempt to re-establish his "credentials" with Ramsay. Ramsay only respects violence, and Roose (for now) needs Ramsay around. It's like how he makes extremely pessimistic remarks about Fat Waldas children: he's saying this, knowing that Theon would pass the information back to Ramsay.

[Das_Boof]

Normally I understand it when they have to cut things from the show, but under developing Roose I will not forgive. He receives blind hate because he killed the King Who Lost The North. Roose is the man I aspire to be like.

[The Marquis de Leech]

Roose is the man I aspire to be like.

Including the hypochondria and fondness for pink? ;)

[Pinkie Baelish]

Roose is the man I aspire to be like.

Wow....

[Arya kiddin']

I just wish that Stannis kills him personally. Wyman can also do a - "Starks send their regards" but that will be a little far fetched.

[The Broke Howard Hughes]

A little love, attention and parenting might have served Ramsay well. As for Roose, the guy is an idiot, sure getting power is easy enough but as Cersei figured out ruling and keeping it are different things. Roose shrewdly grabbed power for himself but just like all over reaching jerks didn't realize being the boss is about more than threats and fear. He could have warned Robb of the Freys upcoming betrayal and endeared himself to Robb and the North, and been seen as a hero. Not exactly as good as being Warden or king but incredibly useful long term, especially in the North, but he chose to elevate himself at everyone's expense. Never a good idea, especially when everybody knows what you did.

[TalalOfDorne]

I appreciate Roose!

[Konrad Richtmark]

Rape isn't about libido: it's about power. Though Roose's drive seems healthy enough, if Fat Walda is anything to judge by.

I suspected someone would make the remark about power, not sex. The two are neither mutually exclusive nor unrelated. A rapist gets sexual kicks from subjugating his victim sexually. A completely asexual person would not commit rape simply to assert his power.

Ramsay went on a rape binge after being left in charge of the Dreadfort, probably as a self-reinforcing ego-trip after having gained real power for the first time in his life. I can't really imagine present-day Roose doing that though. Not because of any moral inhibitions, but because it just doesn't fit his style. He knows exactly the extent and the limitations of his power (unlike Ramsay) and doesn't let it get to his head. Heck, is there anything that he lets get to his head?

Fat Walda doesn't really imply anything other than that Roose does have sex. Which is, well, kind of a normal and expected thing to do if you're newly wed. Somehow I don't think sex excites Roose even nearly as much as it does someone like, say, Robert Baratheon.

To some extent, I think the nature of that comment was an attempt to re-establish his "credentials" with Ramsay. Ramsay only respects violence, and Roose (for now) needs Ramsay around. It's like how he makes extremely pessimistic remarks about Fat Waldas children: he's saying this, knowing that Theon would pass the information back to Ramsay.

When I read that line, I seriously didn't think there was anything calculated about that comment, just an honest expression of annoyance from a man of ice with an iron composure, who cannot be called confident because he's utterly beyond such concepts as confidence and insecurity. If the TV series shows that conversation between Roose and Ramsay and airs that quote, I expect it to go viral on the Internets in no time.

Roose doesn't need to establish himself over Ramsay. Roose knows that he has all the power in their relationship, that any power Ramsay has has just been lent to him by Roose and can be withdrawn at any time. All Roose needs to do is to get Ramsay to stop screwing things up for the long-term prospects of House Bolton.

[Konrad Richtmark]

A little love, attention and parenting might have served Ramsay well. As for Roose, the guy is an idiot, sure getting power is easy enough but as Cersei figured out ruling and keeping it are different things. Roose shrewdly grabbed power for himself but just like all over reaching jerks didn't realize being the boss is about more than threats and fear. He could have warned Robb of the Freys upcoming betrayal and endeared himself to Robb and the North, and been seen as a hero. Not exactly as good as being Warden or king but incredibly useful long term, especially in the North, but he chose to elevate himself at everyone's expense. Never a good idea, especially when everybody knows what you did.

The conversations between Roose and Ramsay show well enough that Roose understands exactly how precarious his situation is, that he knows that most of the Northern lords despise him but stick with him anyway for various compelling reasons, reasons that may not last forever and thus he has to tread carefully, and most importantly of all, keep Ramsay from alienating them further.

Unlike Cersei who inherited the best position House Lannister had ever had, and managed to alienate pretty much everyone who mattered, few of which had initially any reason to oppose her.

[Zaphodess]

As for Roose, the guy is an idiot, sure getting power is easy enough but as Cersei figured out ruling and keeping it are different things. Roose shrewdly grabbed power for himself but just like all over reaching jerks didn't realize being the boss is about more than threats and fear. He could have warned Robb of the Freys upcoming betrayal and endeared himself to Robb and the North, and been seen as a hero. Not exactly as good as being Warden or king but incredibly useful long term, especially in the North, but he chose to elevate himself at everyone's expense. Never a good idea, especially when everybody knows what you did.

:agree:

It took 5 pages for someone to finally point it out. You should all wait till the end of the series before you crown the master-villain. My money is on Littlefinger.

[The Broke Howard Hughes]

The conversations between Roose and Ramsay show well enough that Roose understands exactly how precarious his situation is, that he knows that most of the Northern lords despise him but stick with him anyway for various compelling reasons, reasons that may not last forever and thus he has to tread carefully, and most importantly of all, keep Ramsay from alienating them further.

Unlike Cersei who inherited the best position House Lannister had ever had, and managed to alienate pretty much everyone who mattered, few of which had initially any reason to oppose her.

My point is he couldn't have possibly made the decisions he did knowing he'd be put in this situation. People defend Roose by saying he was picking the lesser of two evils but that isn't remotely true. He wanted to be Warden of the North, took his shot and condemned himself to death. All his decisions stemmed from Tywin having his back, the moment he died Roose's whole world fell apart. He sees the writing on the wall and no doubt realizes he made a mistake now, but its already way too late to save himself.

[Erkan12]

Normally I understand it when they have to cut things from the show, but under developing Roose I will not forgive. He receives blind hate because he killed the King Who Lost The North. Roose is the man I aspire to be like.

He has part on that by the way.

[Grip]

:agree:

It took 5 pages for someone to finally point it out. You should all wait till the end of the series before you crown the master-villain. My money is on Littlefinger.

Yeah, Roose is certainly not the master-villain (imo). Still he will do, in the same vain as say Tywin while not exactly being the "Dark Overlord". That's what makes him even more likeable, he is in many ways only a minor "villain".