Reel Disorders: Ramsay Bolton (Spoilers Season 6!)
Arguably the most hated character in television history, Ramsay Bolton was able to fill Joffrey’s shoes in ways few thought was possible. While many villains on television have a deeper motivation for their carnage, Ramsay seems to behave with only the act of inflicting pain as his goal. When Heath Ledger’s Joker made his on screen appearance, his enemies called him a mad dog, with no rhyme or reason in his actions, while the famous Alfred quote: “some people just want to watch the world burn”, has gone down in infamy as the perfect description of the Joker’s chaotic nature. It should then be no surprise that Iwan Rheon (the actor who portrays Ramsay) admits to drawing influence from Ledger’s adaptation in his own performance.
However, the diagnosis of Ramsay’s character is not that of a psychopathic anarchist, but instead the culmination of humanities darkest desires. Unlike the character of the Joker, Ramsay makes plans not with chaos in mind, but instead to better his position. What started as an obsession with hurting others, Ramsay’s motivations began to evolve as the show continued. By delving deeper into the mind of this psychopathic individual and discovering what truly motivated his actions, we may be able to accurately evaluate the character of Ramsay Bolton.
The show provides us with a short, yet horrific, background for Ramsay. Conceived through rape under a hanging corpse, Ramsay was born a bastard to Roose Bolton (lord of House Bolton). One can only imagine what it was like growing up under a banner whose sigil is a man being flayed upside down, yet Ramsay seemed to embrace this method of torture more than anyone else.
“Bet you missed me, didn’t you?”
During one scene in particular, Ramsay recounts how everyone feared him when he was growing up (even the adults in his life). As children grow, they hit pivotal psychosocial developmental phases in their lives in which the manner they socialize with others can forever be altered based upon their experiences. If Ramsay grew up feared and alone, it could be that he embraced that fear and devised other methods to acquire the attention he desired.
Being the Bastard of Lord Bolton, Ramsay perhaps was not allotted the degree of respect he believed was his right. In order to acquire the obedience of others, he reverted to the best tool he had: fear. As Ramsay grew up under the flayed man’s sigil and witnessed the heinous acts of his father he learned that fear was a powerful method for acquiring allegiances. This fascination would then grow as Ramsay tortured others and learned that his satisfaction came from not only the end results, but in the actions that made them possible. Through his enjoyment of torture Ramsay demonstrates all the qualities of a sadist: someone who obtains pleasure from inflicting pain on others.
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We learn a bit more about his background in the books where Ramsay had a childhood friend named “Reek” whom he would manipulate into carrying out his savage deeds. One of the most telling attributes of a psychopath is that they can often convince others to carry out the crimes for them. This was apparent for the cult leader Charles Manson, who would frequently get his followers to kill in his name. The ability for a psychopath to manipulate others fulfills multiple goals. For starters, it keeps the psychopathic individual safe, as there is no evidence to link them to the crime. Secondly, it fulfills the strong desire of controlling others. The obedience others demonstrate towards a psychopath stimulates these individuals’ grandiose personalities, often found in narcissistic personality disorders. It would seem that the concept of obedience carries into Ramsay’s adulthood as he puts a large emphasis on training dogs to obey his every command. Even the reason he breaks down Theon Greyjoy reflects his desire for control, as Theon becomes a ghostly reflection of Ramsay’s childhood puppet.
One method that psychopaths achieve the obedience of others is through their charisma and good looks. Similar to the anglerfish drawing in its prey with a vibrant light, Psychopaths too acquire followers through their charm and insight into the motivations of others. A psychopath will often uncover a person’s desires and then service them, whether through blackmail or extortion, so that the other will comply with the psychopath’s request. While Ramsay’s character will sometimes utilizes his looks and stature to his benefit, he most frequently reverts to pain and fear as being his primary tools for obedience.
You really shouldn’t cook spaghetti sauce in the dark
Since Ramsay enjoys causing pain so much, it is a guarantee that he will begin any interrogation with it. It’s not until the pain has already begun that he begins to ask his questions. This method of conditioning is called Negative Reinforcement, as he is removing an unpleasant stimulus (pain) in order to increase his desired result (compliance). This type of learning has been well documented to be effective in acquiring immediate results as basic motivations such as pain or hunger tap into evolutionary survival tactics. However, this degree of negative reinforcement has also been associated with many other unwanted side effects (such as false testimonies, conditioned fear response, and fear generalization). Yet, A man like Ramsay who only cares to inflict pain would not care in the least about the side effects of his methods, as long as they produced immediate results.
To increase his success, Ramsay spent much time researching what men feared. We see a good deal of this in season 3 as he devotes much of his screen time to breaking down Theon’s character through the use of physical, emotional, sexual, and psychological torture. As he perfected the art of breaking men down, he began to focus his skills towards controlling those nearest him. One of the best methods for doing this was to acquire power.
It’s not until later in his life that we see Ramsay start to acquire power in the form of position. As he becomes the rightful heir to the Bolton House and marries Sansa, he learns how alluring titles can be and his desire for power begins to grow. As another method to control those around him, it would make sense that he would do whatever it took to keep his newfound status. Even as his family began to threaten it, we saw just how far he would go to protect what is his.
In summation, Ramsay Bolton’s character demonstrates a hedonistic growth as his screen time runs on. He started as a sadist who enjoyed the simple act of torture, but then turned to a man who would utilize his skills to acquire power for himself. When anyone threatened his power, including his own father or brother, Ramsay would dispose of them to protect what he believed was his. Although his motivations seemed to shift as he was granted status, his ultimate desire for obedience and control never wavered. This, along with many other reasons, is why his death was so fitting. After Sansa’s speech about how everything he had built would fade out of memory, it was the final blow that inevitably proved her point as those most loyal to him were the ones to kill him.
Ramsay Bolton meets far more than the mandatory 3 out of 7 minimum symptoms for Antisocial Personality Disorder 301.7 (F60.2)
Failure to conform to laws and often breaks them
Often deceiving others for personal profit or pleasure
Demonstrates impulsivity and failure to plan ahead
Prone to violence and aggression
Reckless disregard to safety of others
Consistent irresponsibility
Lacks remorse or guilt in his actions
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