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Why did Roose Bolton fear Wyman Manderly?


Brandon Ice-Eyes

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“Roose Bolton said nothing at all. But Theon Greyjoy saw something in his eyes that he had never seen before - an uneasiness, event a hint of fear.”

So in ADWD, Wyman Manderly and the Freys are at each other’s throats and it all comes to a head when Wyman Manderly drops probably my favourite quote ever:

Quote

“Though Mayhaps it was a blessing, had he lived, he would have grown up to be a Frey.”

What a guy. But in the first quote. Theon/Reek notices fear in Roose Bolton’s eyes, something not common for a man known to be emotionless. So my question is: Why? Why was he uneasy, even scared? I’ve pondered it for a while and still can’t come up with a satisfying answer for myself so I’ve taken to the forums to find out.

Leave your opinions down below on why Roose was fearful, Thanks :)

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2 hours ago, hodorisfaclessman said:

Any on of a mix of these

Because he understands how delicate his hold of the north really is and this incident rams it home thatt its prob worse than he imagined

Because it could decend into an uncontrollable 3 way slaughter at a pin drop

Because a man he thought of and measured as cowardly is  now openly showing backbone

Ah thank you, perhaps he doesn’t care, is he just playing the game because he enjoys it and doesn’t care about family legacy? What do you think? :)

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He doesn't fear Manderly, he fears open violence between the Manderlys and the Freys in the castle which could draw a lot of other people in, resulting in a situation at Winterfell that Stannis could take advantage of. A castle is only as strong as its defenders.

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10 minutes ago, Lord Varys said:

He doesn't fear Manderly, he fears open violence between the Manderlys and the Freys in the castle which could draw a lot of other people in, resulting in a situation at Winterfell that Stannis could take advantage of. A castle is only as strong as its defenders.

Ah, thank you for your reply :)

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1 hour ago, •Brandon Ice Eyes said:

Ah thank you, perhaps he doesn’t care, is he just playing the game because he enjoys it and doesn’t care about family legacy? What do you think? :)

Its hard to get a read on him..hes such an interesting character ,he has no seeming emotions at times other then self preservation and enrichment

He cared enough to move on robb but doesnt seem to care about a viable endgame for his legacy  its all soo odd

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11 hours ago, hodorisfaclessman said:

Its hard to get a read on him..hes such an interesting character ,he has no seeming emotions at times other then self preservation and enrichment

He cared enough to move on robb but doesnt seem to care about a viable endgame for his legacy  its all soo odd

Yeah, ADWD definitely saw him change a lot I think, I’m not sure if he’s banking on Ramsay winning then moving all the blame on him (Lady Hornwood, Winterfell sack etc,) and killing him to try ease tensions in the north but then he’d have to rely on fat waldas child, who’s a boy, and he did say boy lords are the bane of any house. Somethings incredibly off about roose, perhaps he’s accepted his fate and that his house is doomed wether he likes it or not but he doesn’t seem the type to go down so meekly.

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On 9/16/2018 at 6:21 AM, •Brandon Ice Eyes said:

Yeah, ADWD definitely saw him change a lot I think, I’m not sure if he’s banking on Ramsay winning then moving all the blame on him (Lady Hornwood, Winterfell sack etc,) and killing him to try ease tensions in the north but then he’d have to rely on fat waldas child, who’s a boy, and he did say boy lords are the bane of any house. Somethings incredibly off about roose, perhaps he’s accepted his fate and that his house is doomed wether he likes it or not but he doesn’t seem the type to go down so meekly.

I think this is pretty close to correct.  Roose is basically a nihilist; he knows his House is going down, but as long as he's not around to deal with the aftermath he doesn't care.

And he fears Wyman Manderly because he knows his hold on the North is extraordinarily tenuous, and Wyman Manderly is the wealthiest and most powerful noble in the North, and he has no political, economic, or psychological hold on Manderly.  Not to mention, I imagine White Harbor serves as the entrepot for a lot of food imports during Winter.  

Right now Roose is keeping control because his men, House Dustin men, and Frey men are enough of a plurality of troops left in the North that those three Houses can effectively keep control of a polity which has no other leader to rally around.  As everyone says, peace is kept more for the sake of Arya(/Jeyne) than because of fear or love of Roose.  The first person to stand up and do something is a powerful threat to him, because most Northerners blame the Boltons and Freys for the Red Wedding.  If Manderly rises, he's as powerful as anyone else and is a nigh-on unchallengeable rallying point for anti-Bolton sentiment.

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On 9/15/2018 at 7:25 PM, Lord Varys said:

He doesn't fear Manderly, he fears open violence between the Manderlys and the Freys in the castle which could draw a lot of other people in, resulting in a situation at Winterfell that Stannis could take advantage of. A castle is only as strong as its defenders.

In the books, it is shown that he only drinks or eats what Manderly is also drinking and eating. He is aware of the situation and I believe he has some fear, not because of Manderly but because he or his son could be the next victim. People were being secretly slain.

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