Current Events > Dude WTF Theons torture in the books is beyond brutal

(+) Yeah! (+)

Way worse than the show. He was covered and forced to wallow around in shit for months. (which is why he was called Reek in the book) Teeth smashed. Starved down to basically a skeleton. Several fingers and toes flayed and amputated (only after being left to fester and begging to be cut off). His penis might have been removed. It's not stated clearly.

Drogo got majorly fucked up by an infected arrow wound and he was well fed and largely healthy. Theon endures several infections for months on a starvation diet. The realism kinda gos down as magic becomes more common place.

deathproof12 posted...

Way worse than the show. He was covered and forced to wallow around in shit for months. (which is why he was called Reek in the book) Teeth smashed. Starved down to basically a skeleton. Several fingers and toes flayed and amputated (only after being left to fester and begging to be cut off). His penis might have been removed. It's not stated clearly.

Drogo got majorly fucked up by an infected arrow wound and he was well fed and largely healthy. Theon endures several infections for months on a starvation diet. The realism kinda gos down as magic becomes more common place.

Already sounds a little better, possibly...

he was called Reek because Ramsay had him be a stand-in for his personal servant of the same name, who likely had Trimethylaminuria

Reek, Reek, it rhymes with freak....

and yes, it was removed

The show also kept him relatively the same. The book he's like a crippled little old man from pure stress. The show is so stupid.

DoesntMatter posted...

he was called Reek because Ramsay had him be a stand-in for his personal servant of the same name, who likely had Trimethylaminuria

Reek, Reek, it rhymes with freak....

and yes, it was removed

Yeah they let him wallow in shit to make him stink 24/7 like his old servant

Kaldrenthebold posted...

The show also kept him relatively the same. The book he's like a crippled little old man from pure stress. The show is so stupid.

Certain permanent physical transformations (like Theon basically being reduced to an emaciated old man) were outside the realm of plausibility for a years-long television production, even one as big as GoT. Similar situation with Tyrion's nose getting cut off in the books - it would have been a considerable logistical burden to maintain that effect for six seasons of the show, all for a detail that honestly wouldn't have been that important in the grand scheme of things.

indica posted...

Already sounds a little better, possibly...

He def lost his dick in the book

masterpug53 posted...

Certain permanent physical transformations (like Theon basically being reduced to an emaciated old man) were outside the realm of plausibility for a years-long television production, even one as big as GoT. Similar situation with Tyrion's nose getting cut off in the books - it would have been a considerable logistical burden to maintain that effect for six seasons of the show, all for a detail that honestly wouldn't have been that important in the grand scheme of things.

and Beric Dondarrion walking around with half his skull caved in

I have no doubt that modern CGI would have been easily doable for Tyrion and Berric. Or makeup for Theon. The show was one of the most expensive ever, and Tyrion being given just a mild scar is whatever, but Theon I think should have been like the books. The show literally treats him like he's fine, even the last battle has him shooting bows that he SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO.

It's just that kind of sloppiness that the show reflects. Okay, don't make him an emaciated old man, but do SOMETHING to him.

Kaldrenthebold posted...

I have no doubt that modern CGI would have been easily doable for Tyrion and Berric.

That's fine if you want to believe that. But realistic facial CGI is still very difficult and time-consuming; plenty of people were complaining and nitpicking about King Viserys' leprosy CGI in his last appearance on House of Dragons, and that was only for a single episode. I think you greatly underestimate the time, effort, and money that would need to be spent animating every second of Tyrion's screentime for a full six seasons with a realistic, believable gaping nose hole. Not to mention how much it would have distracted from Peter Dinklage's acting, even if the CGI work had been beyond reproach; in the books it's a detail that your brain can forget about, but on film that gaping nose-hole would be tremendously difficult to look past.

oh, it was easily doable, they just didn't care enough to do it. because it would cost money, and they would rather spend all the money on the big spectacle scenes.

masterpug53 posted...

That's fine if you want to believe that. But realistic facial CGI is still very difficult and time-consuming; plenty of people were complaining and nitpicking about King Viserys' leprosy CGI in his last appearance on House of Dragons, and that was only for a single episode. I think you greatly underestimate the time, effort, and money that would need to be spent animating every second of Tyrion's screentime for a full six seasons with a realistic, believable gaping nose hole. Not to mention how much it would have distracted from Peter Dinklage's acting, even if the CGI work had been beyond reproach; in the books it's a detail that your brain can forget about, but on film that gaping nose-hole would be tremendously difficult to look past.

I said that was whatever, seems a bit silly to just make it a small scar but it is what it is. But what about making Theon basically fine again? Some prosthetics and him being hunched over in a robe is too much? He specifically had his bow shooting fingers removed but I guess the show just took off his dick and called it a day. Oh and he had a bit of a limp.

A lot of things from the books are dumb, to be fair.

For some reason he became my favorite character by the end of ADWD. Starting to see the beginning of his redemption arc after all that got to me a bit.

That plotline was so shit in the show. If they go even heavier into the torture porn angle in the books, I'm less interested in reading them.

lilORANG posted...

That plotline was so shit in the show. If they go even heavier into the torture porn angle in the books, I'm less interested in reading them.

They dont really show the torture in real time. Its more explained after the fact.

deathproof12 posted...

Drogo got majorly fucked up by an infected arrow wound and he was well fed and largely healthy

I believe the witch poisoned him. Think about it, she just watched her home burn and her friends and family be raped and killed, was raped repeatedly herself, and at best would spend the rest of her life as a slave.

There's no fucking way she intended to heal him

lilORANG posted...

That plotline was so shit in the show. If they go even heavier into the torture porn angle in the books, I'm less interested in reading them.

I think it skips from Ramsay capturing straight to the aftermath of his imprisonment. It doesn't dwell on it the way the show does. Ramsay is also portrayed far less impressively if that makes it more palatable for you. No being awoken in bed with a beautiful woman and fighting off an invading force shirtless, he's a pudgy, ugly little bastard with zero sword-fighting ability.

PoundGarden posted...

I believe the witch poisoned him. Think about it, she just watched her home burn and her friends and family be raped and killed, was raped repeatedly herself, and at best would spend the rest of her life as a slave.

There's no fucking way she intended to heal him

I think the story works better if she meant to heal him, he just disregarded her and did some dumb dothraki shit to try and fix it. The poultice she gives him itches, so he rips it off and packs the wound with mud. The wound is also a bit more serious in the book. I believe it's just a scratch in the show, but he loses a whole nipple in the book.

The main difference between the two is that, as I said, Drogo literally threw dirt on it while Ramsay is a fucked-up little turd with an active interest in keeping Theon alive. The simple act of amputating the infected digits was more treatment than Drogo got.

Actually, the leaders of the Mexican Revolution were flayed by some accounts.

Ramsey was let off too easy in the show alone. I hope they keep him alive in the book and inflict 10x as much torture on him as he inflicted on Theon. Theon might have been an asshole but I think Ramsey is the most inhumane human I've ever heard about in all of fiction.