Theon Greyjoy
| House / Order | House Greyjoy |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Ironborn |
| Status | Alive (as of A Dance with Dragons; broken and renamed "Reek") |
| Origin | The North; the Iron Islands |
| Born | 278 AC, Pyke |
| Died | |
| Weapon | A bow |
| Fate | Tortured and maimed by Ramsay Bolton into the broken thrall "Reek"; he helps "Arya" escape and falls into the army of Stannis Baratheon |
| Portrayed by | Alfie Allen |
Theon Greyjoy is the only surviving son of Balon Greyjoy, Lord of the Iron Islands, and a viewpoint character in A Clash of Kings and A Dance with Dragons. Raised as a ward and hostage of House Stark, he is a man torn between two identities, neither truly ironborn nor truly a Stark, and his attempt to resolve that divide leads him to betrayal, ruin, and one of the most harrowing arcs in A Song of Ice and Fire.
Theon's seizure of Winterfell and his subsequent destruction at the hands of Ramsay Bolton transform him from an arrogant young lord into the broken creature called "Reek."
Background
Theon was taken as a hostage by Eddard Stark after Balon Greyjoy's failed rebellion, a guarantee of the Iron Islanders' good behavior. He grew up at Winterfell as Robb's companion and friend, treated decently but always aware he was a captive whose life hung on his father's conduct. This left him resentful and insecure, craving the respect of both the Starks who held him and the ironborn family who had effectively abandoned him.
Biography
A Clash of Kings
When the war begins, Robb sends Theon to the Iron Islands to win his father's alliance. But Balon scorns his Stark-raised son and plans his own war, sending Theon a lesser command. Desperate to prove himself a true ironman, Theon overreaches: he captures Winterfell itself, betraying Robb and the family that raised him. Unable to find the escaped Stark boys Bran and Rickon, he murders two miller's boys and passes off their tarred corpses as the princes to mask his failure, an act that haunts him. He holds Winterfell with too few men until a Bolton host, led by Ramsay under a false flag, sacks the castle, burns it, and takes Theon captive.
A Dance with Dragons
Years later, Theon reappears utterly destroyed. Ramsay Bolton has tortured him for an unspeakable length of time, flaying fingers and removing teeth, breaking his mind and body until Theon believes he is nothing but "Reek," Ramsay's cringing servant. Forced to assist in Ramsay's schemes, Reek is made to coach Jeyne Poole, a steward's daughter being passed off as Arya Stark, for a marriage that will cement Bolton rule over the North. Amid the brutality at the Boltons' Winterfell, a flicker of Theon's old self returns; he helps "Arya" leap from the castle walls to escape, and the two flee into the snows toward the army of Stannis Baratheon.
Character
Theon is defined by his fractured identity and his hunger for belonging. Arrogant and reckless in his pride, he commits his great betrayal less out of malice than out of a desperate need to be accepted as a true Greyjoy. His arc is one of catastrophic comeuppance and slow, agonizing reclamation: stripped of everything, including his name and his self, the broken Reek must claw back fragments of the man Theon was in order to do one decent thing.
Relationships
Theon's bond with Robb and the Stark household is the relationship he betrays and forever mourns. His desperate desire to please his father Balon and to be claimed by his sister Asha Greyjoy drives his ruin. His captivity under Ramsay Bolton is the central torment of his later chapters, a study in the destruction of a human being.
Quotes
What is dead may never die, but rises again, harder and stronger. (the ironborn prayer)
My name is Theon. You have to know your name.
In the television series
In HBO's Game of Thrones, Theon was portrayed by Alfie Allen. His arc follows the novels closely through his capture of Winterfell and his torture by Ramsay (called Reek), then continues beyond them: he helps Sansa Stark (substituted for Jeyne Poole in the show) escape, reconciles with his sister Yara, and dies defending Bran at the Battle of Winterfell. These later events have not occurred in the books.