Sunday, March 1, 2015

Game of Thrones Season 5 Speculation - Part 7 - Theon Greyjoy / Yara Greyjoy

THEON GREYJOY / YARA GREYJOY

While it's unlikely that we'll see Euron, Victarion or Aeron Greyjoy this week and any appearance by Balon Greyjoy would be a surprise, the Greyjoys (barely a factor in the past two seasons) will have a presence in Season 5, with Theon playing a significant role and Yara (Asha in the books) also having a place this season.


THEON GREYJOY

Unlike the stories taking place at the Wall, Theon's storyline is well into ADWD, with most of the first two chapters having been adapted in Season 4, with Theon being introduced as Reek and helping Ramsay Snow take Moat Cailin by "pretending" to be Theon Greyjoy, helping Ramsay to gain legitimization as a Bolton.  His story in Season 4 ended with the Boltons arriving at Winterfell, where they'll be spending Season 5.

In ADWD, the Boltons are in the ruins of Winterfell to marry Ramsay to Arya Stark and become the Lord of Winterfell, solidifying Bolton control over the Lords of the North.  The "Arya" in question actually Jeyne Poole, a friend of Sansa's who hadn't been seen since the chaos after the arrest of Ned Stark, when Littlefinger offered to "take care" of her.  The wedding is attended by the Freys and a number of important Northern Lords, most importantly Wyman Manderly of White Harbor and Lady Barbrey Dustin of Barrowton.  Tensions run high as the Northerners have little love for the Boltons and even less for the Freys as a result of the Red Wedding.  Theon is forced to vouch for the authenticity of the fake Arya (fArya), as he was the ward of Ned Stark and grew up with Arya.  The wedding goes down without a hitch, though Ramsay uses the bedding as another opportunity to torment both Theon and fArya.

While the Boltons turn their focus towards the impending battle against Stannis' army and keeping the Manderlys and Freys from killing each other, Theon has intriguing encounters with Lady Dustin and the washer women who accompanied the singer Abel to Winterfell.

Lady Dustin asks Theon to take her down to the Stark crypts beneath Winterfell, where she explains that she hates the Starks for the same reason that Theon does, because she always wanted to be one, but never could.  She also makes a point of noticing the swords that are missing from the crypts, which the reader knows were taken by Bran Stark and co. during A Clash Of Kings.

When Abel's washer women repeatedly take an unusual interest in Theon, he deduces that they are trying to escape from Winterfell.  When the washer women take Theon to meet with Abel, it's revealed that Abel is in fact Mance Rayder and the washer women are the spearwives that Melisandre sent with Mance to rescue fArya.  Theon, who had previously been "psychologically restored" in the godswood when he saw Bran's face in a weirwood tree and heard him whisper his name, agrees to help Mance and the spearwives with their plan.  Theon's final chapter concludes when the escape attempt is discovered and Theon leaps from the battlements with Jeyne in tow.  At the end of the final Asha chapter in ADWD, Theon surprises his sister at Stannis' camps (he's been taken prisoner by Umber soldiers allied with Stannis who were positioned outside the walls of Winterfell) and introduces himself as Theon, reclaiming his identity.


YARA (ASHA) GREYJOY

Asha's story in AFFC begins as she deals with the aftermath of the death of her father (Balon Greyjoy) and the return of her uncle Euron, who has crowned himself the King of the Iron Islands.  When her uncle Aeron calls a Kingsmoot to elect the rightful King, Asha and her uncle Victarion (among others) each make unsuccessful bids for the crown, eventually losing to Euron, who promises to conquer Westeros using Dany and her dragons.  Asha flees back to her stronghold in Deepwood Motte, where she plots a scheme to use Theon to overturn the results of the Kingsmoot, achieving her "Eureka" moment at the exact same time that Stannis' army arrives at Deepwood Motte.

In the ensuing battle, Asha is captured by Stannis, who treats her as a trophy to hold up as an example to Northerners that he's defeated the Iron-born and driven them from the North.  Asha acts as the POV character for Stannis' march on Winterfell, which ends at a Crofter's village in a potentially strategic location, where Stannis' army makes camp and waits for Roose Bolton to make the next move and start the battle.

It's unknown if the Theon chapter in Winds will be included in this season, but if it is, the story will pick up in the final prep stages of Stannis' attack as Stannis contemplates executing Theon for the sack of Winterfell and the murder of Bran and Rickon Stark.  When Asha's pleas to spare Theon fall on deaf ears, she settles for convincing Stannis to execute Theon in front of a weirwood tree, where it's strongly implied that something shocking will happen.


SEASON 5 ADAPTATION

Unlike the sets representing Braavos and Meereen, the Winterfell set has been airtight and the information that's been released from this storyline officially hasn't been particularly useful, consisting mainly of images of Theon as Reek and the Boltons greeting someone important, possibly Ramsay's bride-to-be.

There haven't been any major casting notifications that are significant to Theon's storyline, either.  Wyman Manderly hasn't been cast and neither has Lady Dustin (they'll be replaced by generally unruly and Frey-hating Northern extras), but the biggest question mark that needs to be resolved is the identity of fArya.

Since the first Season 5 trailer was released on January 29th, there's been a lot of theorizing that Sansa Stark will be traveling to Winterfell and marrying Ramsay Snow in place of her sister, Arya.  This is likely born out of the ambiguity surrounding Sansa's Season 5 storyline (she's almost completely caught up with the books) and the lack of information regarding the adaptation of the Winterfell storyline.  I'll be dealing with these rumors more during Sansa's essay, but suffice to say, I don't think that this is the direction that the show will go.

The next theory involves the character of Myranda, who was first introduced in Season 3, seducing Theon as psychosexual torture before he was castrated and mutilated by Ramsay.  She later appeared in Season 4 when it was revealed that she was having a sexual relationship of some nature with Ramsay.  She will be appearing in Season 5, which leads many to theorize that she'll be posting as Arya in place of Jeyne Poole, who was included in the first episode of Season 1, but not seen since.  I don't think that this will be the case, though, as Myranda is far too old to convincingly play Arya and seems to hold a prominent position within the Dreadfort, meaning that she would never be able to successfully pose as Arya Stark, even with Theon's endorsement.

There's always the possibility of a new character being created or the actress that played Jeyne Poole four years ago could return without an official casting announcement, but at this time, I can't determine exactly how this aspect of the story will be adapted this season, though I do think it will be adapted.

Theon's scenes with Lady Dustin will be left out of the show, as Jon Snow is aware that Bran and Rickon are still alive and can notify any Northern Lords of this fact as he pleases, eliminating the need for their survival (the reason she wanted to go into the crypts and inspect the statues) to be proven.  Wyman Manderly's epic trolling of the Freys will be replaced by general contempt displayed by Northern Lords.  I expect that Mance's role in this storyline, which is only a few scenes, will remain the same in the adaptation.


MY SEASON 5 PREDICTIONS FOR THEON GREYJOY'S / YARA GREYJOY'S STORIES:

Theon's S5 story will begin as the Boltons are establishing themselves in Winterfell and welcoming Northern Lords and armies to the castle for Ramsay's marriage to either an impostor Arya Stark or Sansa Stark.  Theon will vouch for the authenticity of Ramsay's bride at their wedding.  I can't say at this time whether or not the bedding scene will happen, as that will depend on who the bride is.  Theon will continue to be tormented by Ramsay and have small interactions with random Northerners and Dreadfort men.  While walking through the Godswood, Theon will see Bran Stark's face in a weirwood tree and hear him say "Theon", partially restoring his identity.  Theon will assist Mance Rayder in his plan to rescue fArya, leaping out of a window into the snow piling up around Winterfell.

Yara's S5 story will pick up in Deepwood Motte, which is held by Yara and her Ironborn soldiers until Stannis' forces arrive, capture Deepwood Motte and take Yara hostage.  Stannis' forces march on Winterfell in the midst of a blizzard that forces them to wait at the Crofter's Village, where Theon is brought after being captured by Northern soldiers allied with Stannis.  Theon will be held prisoner and have conversations with Stannis and Yara while Stannis makes the final preparations for the battle and Roose Bolton sends out his first wave of troops.

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