It's soooo good to come to a sympathetic Theon post! Yes, there is a lot of hate around...even on my flist made up of fans who usually like complex conflicted 'villain' characters. I feel your pain. Several of my favourite BSG characters ended up being 'traitors' for very tragic reasons and fandoms do seem to reserve a special hatred for formerly trusted characters who turn against the 'good guys' of the show.
I was talking to Lenina (where is she?) recently comparing Theon's childhood situation to Sansa's. Both taken hostage as children by families who killed members of their family. Both seemingly treated well by their captors, well fed, well dressed, etc. Yes, Sansa's life was threatened over Robb's rebellion but it's my understanding that if Balon had rebelled again then Theon's life would've been under threat too. As honorable as Ned was, he was still a soldier. I don't think he'd have taken Theon hostage if he wasn't prepared to use him as a hostage if needs be.
Now, if Sansa were sent back to the Starks and then helped them overthrow Kings Landing and take all the Lannisters prisoner I don't think Sansa would be viewed as a traitor even though several of Team Lannister (the Hound, Tyrion, etc) have been kind to her. Of course the big difference here is Theon is not a girl. It's acceptable for a girl to be a helpless hostage. A boy is expected to avenge his father and brothers. Theon was an innocent pawn when he was taken prisoner by the Starks. I was rewatching some S1 scenes and he really seemed to be in denial about his situation, calling himself a 'ward' and cutting anyone off if they tried to call him anything else. Theon had no choice yet his father seems to blame him for being taken hostage and his sister mocks him him for it. Just like Robb and Jon, Theon is at an age where he is trying to prove himself as a man but he's already had so many people emasculate him for a situation in which he was a powerless child prisoner. And not just his father and sister - in S1 both Tyrion and Ros mock Theon for his 'loyalty to his captors' so he's scorned on both sides for a hostage situation in which he was the victim. That's harsh!
As I've said on another LJ I think Theon had imagined he could be a kind merciful captor in Winterfell as much as Ned Stark was a kind merciful captor to him. It's interesting how Theon is vaguely friendly to Bran, like nothing much has changed, it's just Bran is going to be the prisoner now not Theon. But of course the Iron born are a ruthless bloodthirsty gang so Theon must do things their way to prove whose side he's really on. Theon really doesn't know what he's doing. The confused panic in Alfie Allen's eyes (even as he tries to sound commanding) was so perfect. Another great actor in this stellar cast.
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Date: 2012-05-07 10:25 pm (UTC)I was talking to Lenina (where is she?) recently comparing Theon's childhood situation to Sansa's. Both taken hostage as children by families who killed members of their family. Both seemingly treated well by their captors, well fed, well dressed, etc. Yes, Sansa's life was threatened over Robb's rebellion but it's my understanding that if Balon had rebelled again then Theon's life would've been under threat too. As honorable as Ned was, he was still a soldier. I don't think he'd have taken Theon hostage if he wasn't prepared to use him as a hostage if needs be.
Now, if Sansa were sent back to the Starks and then helped them overthrow Kings Landing and take all the Lannisters prisoner I don't think Sansa would be viewed as a traitor even though several of Team Lannister (the Hound, Tyrion, etc) have been kind to her. Of course the big difference here is Theon is not a girl. It's acceptable for a girl to be a helpless hostage. A boy is expected to avenge his father and brothers. Theon was an innocent pawn when he was taken prisoner by the Starks. I was rewatching some S1 scenes and he really seemed to be in denial about his situation, calling himself a 'ward' and cutting anyone off if they tried to call him anything else. Theon had no choice yet his father seems to blame him for being taken hostage and his sister mocks him him for it. Just like Robb and Jon, Theon is at an age where he is trying to prove himself as a man but he's already had so many people emasculate him for a situation in which he was a powerless child prisoner. And not just his father and sister - in S1 both Tyrion and Ros mock Theon for his 'loyalty to his captors' so he's scorned on both sides for a hostage situation in which he was the victim. That's harsh!
As I've said on another LJ I think Theon had imagined he could be a kind merciful captor in Winterfell as much as Ned Stark was a kind merciful captor to him. It's interesting how Theon is vaguely friendly to Bran, like nothing much has changed, it's just Bran is going to be the prisoner now not Theon. But of course the Iron born are a ruthless bloodthirsty gang so Theon must do things their way to prove whose side he's really on. Theon really doesn't know what he's doing. The confused panic in Alfie Allen's eyes (even as he tries to sound commanding) was so perfect. Another great actor in this stellar cast.