In the first season of Game of Thrones Jaime Lannister threw Bran Stark off a tower, brawled with Eddard in the street and generally acted like the spoiled rich kid villain in a college comedy. Who (other than those pesky A Song of Ice and Fire readers) could have guessed that Jaime would become such a focal point for audience sympathy in subsequent years? Burdened with the expectations of his father, torn between a brother and sister plotting against each other, hated for betraying a code of honor that’d keep a murderous monster in power, Jaime must keep his own counsel, developing an ad hoc morality that’s mostly self-serving, but occasionally quite humane. Over the seasons we’ve explored Jaime’s forbidden love, his sense of duty and the tatters of Kingsguard honor he still nurtures as the Seven Kingdoms fall apart around him.
Can Game of Thrones Season 6 do the same for Ramsay Bolton? According to a new Entertainment Weekly interview with Ramsay actor Iwan Rheon, the next season of Game of Thrones is going to give it a shot.
“We’re trying to play against what you know,” Rheon said to EW, “and show sides to Ramsay that you haven’t seen before. This season fills him out a bit.”
The end of Season 5, with both Reek and Sansa escaping from Winterfell, put Ramsay in a vulnerable position. “He’s sheepish. His father is obviously not pleased. Without Sansa, he doesn’t have as much power as having a Stark and an heir. Without her, he is not what he was … we start by finding out how Ramsay really felt about Myranda.”
Ramsay, with his torture chambers, rapes and serial killer sadism makes Jaime look like Aragorn son of Arathorn in comparison, so Season 6 won’t be able to pull a complete Lannister-style turnaround. “ He’s a complete scumbag,” Rheon said, “The audience knows about Ramsay now, so you don’t need to always be doing evil stuff. You can be really nice and that makes it more sinister – and that’s the fun thing to do with Ramsay.”
In Season 6, Ramsay will deal with the consequences of taking his sadism too far yet again. “You’ll see him change a bit, and take his responsibilities more seriously.”
While it seems unlikely that we’ll end Season 6 caring about Ramsay as much as audiences have taken to Jaime, but it looks like this year will bring a more fully rounded villain to Game of Thrones.
