Okay, you have to understand that I read the first book and then watched the first season of the show. I read the second book and the third, then watched the second season of the show. I got through the next two books before the third season and went into the third season with my love for Theon Greyjoy firmly in place.
When the books started, I hated him. Theon, from the perspective of Jon and Bran, was an arrogant prick who was too hot for his own good. He was lustful, cocky, and brash. Even though Robb seemed to adore him, everyone else found him annoying. And I found him annoying.
As I began to watch the first season, my perceptions of Theon began to change due to Alfie Allen's portrayal of him. I didn't like the casting at first. Theon, as I mentioned, is tall, darkhaired, and beautiful. Alfie is shorter, odd looking, and has lighter colored hair. His face is very animated and it just didn't suit the Theon I had in my head, the one, you will remember, I still hated at this point.
But Allen added a depth to the role than I wasn't expecting. In my head, whenever people would make comment about how Theon wasn't really part of the family, he just sneered and went on with his life. On the show, you see the depths to which this really tortures Theon. You witness his pain, so everything he does as the story continues begins to make more sense. He doesn't see himself as a Stark. He doesn't get a wolf puppy. When he returns to his family, he is rejected by them as well, but at least he has a chance to prove himself.
Theon fails so badly in the second book. He helps to ruin the North's chances and sets things up to where people will die. He kills people he grew up with and he helps to almost destroy the Stark name . . . all the while leading himself deeper and deeper into a place of horror.
I'm posting Theon's last scenes from Season Two. These scenes capture so much about Theon. His anger, his pain, his despair, even his humor. They also capture how charismatic he could be if he'd been trained in the right way. Moreover, you see his hopelessness and his growing sense of failure. It's beautiful and painful all at once.
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