Game of Thrones’ seventh-season finale, “The Dragon and the Wolf,” has been roundly praised, hailed as a satisfying conclusion to a season that started off strong and slumped toward the end.
I couldn’t agree more with that assessment. The finale shirked the accelerated pace and questionable plotting that dogged the two episodes preceding it. Seeing that alarming trend bucked before season’s end did a lot to restore my faith in the show as it enters its homestretch.
While the finale was well-received, I’ve noticed that two scenes in particular didn’t go over as well with viewers as the rest of the episode did. Those scenes? The ones where Theon Greyjoy takes center stage: First, during his conversation with Jon Snow in the Dragonstone throne room, and second, when he fights, and ultimately beats, the remaining Iron Islanders’ de facto leader on the beach after trying to enlist their help in rescuing Yara from Euron.
Most viewers’ reactions to these scenes seem to fall somewhere between indifference and annoyance. Why was a secondary character like Theon taking up valuable screen time in the finale? Who honestly cares about his redemption now that the Great War between the living and the dead is upon us?
At face value, those aren’t bad questions. It’s true that as the series hurtles toward its conclusion, there are several other storylines that are of far greater importance to the show’s final outcome.
And yet…
I think Theon’s redemption arc will have an important role to play in the series’ final six episodes. It’s going to be a stretch of episodes dominated by scenes of humanity warring with the White Walkers and their zombie army and discussions of who will sit upon the Iron Throne when all the dust finally settles. (Those discussions, of course, could all be rendered moot if humanity loses the war. And because this is Game of Thrones, that’s not out of the question.) Given the massive scale and stakes of those subjects, the change of pace offered by Theon’s comparatively modest quest to save his sister and redeem himself will be welcome.
Let’s not forget: Epic battles haven’t been the only reason why Game of Thrones has been smashingly successful. The show has done a terrific job over the course of its run focusing on the characters, refusing to let them get overshadowed by the spectacle they so often find themselves in. Simply put, you remember the small moments on the show as much as you remember the big ones.
For instance, I’ll never forget the horror I felt watching the Red Wedding unfold in Season 3. However, I’ll also never forget the satisfaction I experienced watching Jaime Lannister grow as a character just two episodes prior, when he refused to accept that Brienne of Tarth was going to die and rode off to her rescue, committing one of the most heroic acts of the series.
There’s enough room in Game of Thrones, even as we approach its end, for Jon to be battling the White Walkers and Theon to be battling his demons. Saving Yara might not be as important as saving humanity – but to Theon, it is. And winning his sister’s respect means just as much to him as winning the Iron Throne means to Daenerys Targaryen. That’s a juxtaposition I look forward to seeing.
And also, there’s this: I’m dying to see Theon redeem himself.
His moment of cowardice early in the season that led him to turn tail when Euron captured Yara, amidst a scene of widespread torture aboard the latter’s burning ship, was a painful reminder that the mental wounds he sustained during his time with Ramsay Bolton have yet to heal. The unceasing fear that came to grip him as a prisoner of Westeros’ most notorious psychopath reared its ugly head once more. And Theon, predictably, extricated himself from that situation with haste.
This is why I think it’s a powerful moment when Theon stands up for himself on the beach. For the first time in a long time, he faced a challenge head-on, rather than backing down from it. It showed that maybe there’s a chance he can undo some of the damage that Ramsay did.
And here’s the thing: We may all have seen Roose Bolton’s bastard get eaten alive by his own dogs, courtesy of Sansa Stark, but as long as Theon remains haunted by the things Ramsay did to him, he remains a part of the show, spectrally.
Frankly, there’s no character in television or film that I hate more than Ramsay. There are scenes of him torturing Theon in the show’s third season that I wish I’d never seen. (While we’re on the subject, I think we can all agree that the Theon torture storyline that year was unnecessarily long and gruesome and stands as a series lowlight.) He is, without question, the most malevolent character to ever appear on the show, even over Joffrey or the Night King. Watching his downfall in “Battle of the Bastards” was the most invested I’ve ever been in an episode of television.
So, given that, I’m really rooting for Theon to expel the last vestiges of Ramsay from the series. Seeing Ramsay lose his life was satisfying. But it won’t compare to seeing Theon regain his life – the one that Ramsay tried, and failed, to take.
Ultimately, like all of my fellow fans, I’m intently focused on the Iron Throne as the series marches toward its conclusion. However, I’m not ashamed to admit that I’ll be keeping an eye on the Iron Islands, too.
(Final thought: I think Theon’s character arc will ultimately be remembered as one of the finest of the series. Also, if you’re an actor, Theon has sneakily been one of the best roles on the show to play. Just look at the range of material Alfie Allen has gotten to play over the course of seven years! He’s done it with aplomb, too. His pop star sister, the ravishing Lily Allen, once wrote a song in which she good-naturedly ribbed him for being lazy and apathetic. You have to think she doesn’t feel that way anymore.)
EVE OF STEVE 