10 Game of Thrones dads who give Father’s Day a bad name

Roose Bolton

Roose Bolton is toxic in a much more traditional way. To sum up why he’s the worst, look no further that the pep talk he gives his bastard son Ramsay when he learns Ramsay is nervous about being replaced in the line of succession. This was back in season 5, in “Kill the Boy.”

The story is about Ramsay’s mother, a peasant girl. The miller married her without the knowledge of Roose, the local lord, so Roose had the miller hanged and raped his bride under his swaying body. Later, the mother showed up at the Dreadfort, an infant Ramsay in her arms. Roose nearly had the mother whipped and had the child thrown in the river. “But then I looked at you. And I saw then what I see now: you are my son.”

Remember: this is Roose’s way of reassuring his son. In any other father-son relationship, this story would scar both parties for life. For Ramsay and Roose, it’s a bonding moment.

Ramsay has always wanted his father’s approval. To do that, he imitated his dad, which is a big problem when your dad is a treacherous murdering rapist. This twisted relationship came to a head with Ramsay killing his own father, stabbing Roose in the same way Roose stabbed Robb Stark during the Red Wedding. Ramsay had become what his father raised him to be, and he was a monster.

Of course, none of this absolves Ramsay of any of the terrible things he’s done. He was psycho enough for any dad. But Roose’s cruelty and coldness made a bad situation much, much worse.