What's the point of the reintroduction of Reek?

[Frances Bean Corbray]

4 hours ago, Ashes Of Westeros said:

I think this scene was out of the character for the show, that's why it left many viewers confused. GoT has a long record of totally forgetting character's traumas when it's no longer serves an immediate plot development. Sansa doesn't show any PTSD, Cersei doesn't grieve for her son, Jaime is fine with his one hand, Sandor doesn't show any fear of fire.

Theon's character is unusually consistent for the show.

It's because Theon having no dick still seems like "LOL" material for this show (in juxtaposition with Grey Worm, where the lack of dick is presented for pathos and thus his scene in this episode is a triumphant moment where he recovers as much of his humanity as is possible and enjoys the physical intimacy with Missandei that he and she have clearly wanted for a long time.  The bit where he finally shows himself and what he's missing to her, and her affirming she's okay with it and accepts him as is, is powerful shit.  I would LOVE this story arc if it didn't get such a disproportionately high share of the screen time to the detriment of other elements of the show.)  The stuff you mention gets forgotten for the sake of their narrative convenience.  Theon losing his penis is remembered for that same reason.  They've got "no dick" jokes to tell. 

Again, it's not the horror of battle and dudes getting cut up in front of him in that battle that gets to Theon; he fights well.  It's specifically the moment where Euron calling him "Cockless Wonder" that triggers his PTSD.  It's why he averts his eyes and starts walking away in scenes where Yara makes out with other chicks in front of him (AWKWARD! GET IT SHE CAN HAVE SEX AND HE CAN'T LOL).  He's shaken off most of the Ramsay treatment (hell, for how well he fought maybe his finger grew back ) but pointedly not losing his dick and his sense of being a man along with it.

Possibly because it's a thing that's to be resolved soon (ONLY TEN TOTAL EPISODES LEFT ITS TIME TO START).  But also because Theon being completely whipped is one of the places where the show gets its lulz and as many of us on these forums lose confidence in the show's producers as they proceed without original source material as a guide my personal hill to die on is Theon's identity quest to finally be his own man instead of somebody else's lackey, in the face of having no dick in a world where fathering children to further your bloodline is a central pillar of Manhood.  I think it can be - should be - as poignant as what they're doing with Grey Worm.  I worry it's just gag material to them.  Also I worry that past a certain point it'll be too late to make the switch from "laugh at Theon" to "okay root for him now" and have the audience accept it if that's what they're planning.  Some online reactions I read in certain places, I sometimes think it might even be past that point.

Now hopefully they are eventually going to pay this off by having him come to terms with it somehow like Varys and GW have (though at this point in the show's run he's going to have to be rushed through it for find the magic key to just flip the switch) so he can at last complete his quest to be his own man and fulfill whatever his narrative destiny is.  In my opinion Yara doesn't necessarily have to suffer a horrible fate in order to get out of his way for this to happen and from a pure personal preference standpoint I'd rather she didn't (and it's going to be pretty disappointing for me if his ascent only comes after it's too late for her and after we're subjected to more "Women Get Tortured/Raped! GRIMDARK!" scenes, if you're gonna make the show fan service then give me my fucking fan service and let the dude save his sister), but it's certainly plausible, could be done in a really poignant way, and I have a nagging feeling -- especially as I browse these forums again -- it's likely and most obvious of all it's not my call to make.

Or they'll just keep playing it for laughs culminating in a scene in the final battle where Dany steps on his white-walker-raised dick or something I dunno.

A lot of it depends on how they proceed starting with the next episode.

[A Ghost of Someone]

11 hours ago, pinoyathletics said:

I dunno Dinklage best moment was the speech about being the monstrous crime of being a dwarf during his trial.

Different season.

[Future Null Infinity]

Maybe D&D gave Theon the gendry treatement? the possible death of Yara by Cersei is the end of the ironborn plot and Theon is veteran character in the show and can't simply be killed

Or is it a preparation to make him the king of the iron island after the death of Euron?

[The Sunland Lord]

Theon turned into Reek mode because it was the only way he'd survive. Pre-Reek Theon would've went straight into death by running towards Euron.

The latter is a man who enjoys playing mind games and mental torture (like Ramsay did), so that way both Yara & Theon would've died. With Theon jumping ship (literally), Euron saw no fun in killing Yara (at least for what we saw on-screen) so he'd keep her hostage for now. 

However, Yara being still alive or not, Theon saved himself and that was the main point of the Reek comeback.

[ShadowKitteh]

On 7/24/2017 at 5:58 AM, Sand11751 said:

PTSD doesn't just disappear overnight or because a person forces themselves through each day. Right before Theon jumps, he's got the triggers of his uncle's men mutilating people. Just like Ramsay did to Reek. Then Euron's complete control over Yara. Just like Ramsay with Sansa. I'm surprised Theon managed a fight at all up until that point. And while I hate that old hipster, interesting to see Euron isn't full of shit and can actually terrify people.

Because if he didn't snap while witnessing human torture within arm's reach, everyone would have complained that D&D were lazy writers and Theon's PTSD magically healed itself.

[Edward Riley]

Because these are Hollyweird writers. Hollyweird: Where original ideas are shot, burned, spat upon, shat upon, pissed on, then the ashes scattered somewhere into the Pacific Ocean. They rehash because that's all they know.

[Cas Stark]

Maybe they just needed a tool to put him back in his actual plot........

Same with "Yara"....I doubt she ends up in KL, so perhaps Theon will find a way to save her and they will both go back North where their stories are going.

[The Bear Who Knocks]

Because they're clearly making it up as they go wrt to the iron born story and especially Theon who has been treated like a minor character for a while now.

[Dragonsbone]

Theon has serious psychologic problems, today we would diagnose it with PTSD,  which won't heal within a moment. He will allways be Reek to some degree. Sometimes the symptoms are bigger sometimes smaller. It depends on the situation. In case of the last Episode, when he saw that Euron could capture him, he was send back psychically to the time he was captured by Ramsay so the symptoms came back. If you expect that he is now old Theon, therefore he should fight, you obviously miss the point of his whole arch and also expect something completely unrealistic. 

[Ser Snowflake]

 Brienne of Tarth?.

Show Brienne is top 5 alive.

 

[SerDuncanTheShort]

It made complete sense to me that Theon would run at that moment. Maybe not from a storytelling standpoint but from a realistic standpoint. The thing I don't really understand is how that would actually help him survive. I mean he was pretty much the third most important person on that ship after Ellaria and Yara, Euron easily could've and would've just sent someone to fish him up, no?

 

I also really hope nothing depressing happens to Yara/Asha