A Clash of Kings ÔÇö Theon VI

Bolton's bastard comes to Winterfell's rescue ÔÇö and sacks it: Ser Rodrik betrayed and cut down, the castle burned, and Theon clubbed senseless by his saviors.

The chapter retold

Ramsay Snow ÔÇö the Bastard of Bolton ÔÇö arrives at Winterfell under the banner of rescue, and instead sacks it. Ser Rodrik Cassel, having retaken the castle from Theon at terrible cost, is cut down under a peace banner by RamsayÔÇÖs men, betrayed at the exact moment victory should have been secured. What follows is a slaughter ÔÇö Winterfell burned, its garrison butchered, Theon beaten senseless by the very saviors his desperate gamble summoned to his aid.

ItÔÇÖs the bookÔÇÖs cruelest structural joke: the ironborn conquest that horrified the North all book long turns out to be a lesser tragedy than what replaces it. Roose BoltonÔÇÖs bastard doesnÔÇÖt take Winterfell to rescue the NorthÔÇÖs honor ÔÇö he takes it to erase it, and the castle that survived TheonÔÇÖs occupation does not survive RamsayÔÇÖs rescue. Ser RodrikÔÇÖs death under a peace banner marks one of the warÔÇÖs ugliest betrayals, and Theon, humiliated and battered, ends the chapter having lost everything his gamble was supposed to win him.

This movement: Valar Morghulis

• Tywin is Hand and savior; the Tyrells bring a queen and a rose-colored future; Sansa is quietly set aside.
• Winterfell is sacked ÔÇö by Bolton men under Ramsay's flayed banner, not the ironborn; Luwin dies at the heart tree.
• Bran and Rickon split shadows: Rickon east with Osha, Bran north with the Reeds toward the Wall.
• The Fist of the First Men: three horn blasts in the dark, and the dead come with the snow.

The fallen ÔÇö spoilers

• Ser Rodrik Cassel ÔÇö Cut down under a peace banner by the Bastard of Bolton's men.