This cut character from A Song of Ice and Fire changes everything you know about Ramsay Bolton

Anyone who has seen Seasons 3, 4, 5, and 6 of Game of Thrones loves to hate Ramsay Bolton. This psychopathic villain, played to perfection by Iwan Rheon, makes his debut in Season 3, Episode 2, "Dark Wings, Dark Words." Ramsay starts his Game of Thrones journey as a Snow, the bastard son of Roose Bolton, but soon, he becomes legitimized, adopting the Bolton name.

Ramsay's story in Game of Thrones' source material, George R. R. Martin's epic series of fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire, plays out differently. After briefly appearing in the second book in the series, A Clash of Kings, Ramsay receives far more focus in the fifth and most recently published entry, A Dance with Dragons. Ramsay's time on page has mostly been told through the perspective of Theon Greyjoy, aka Reek, his captive, and it's utterly harrowing to read Theon's thought process regarding his truly evil captor.

The biggest difference between Ramsay as he appears in the show and in the books isn't some drastic character choice, or a different storyline for the character altogether. One minor character from the books entirely changes Ramsay's backstory, making the already despicable character even more loathsome.

Ramsay butchers his baby Bolton brother

There's plenty of competition for the title of Ramsay's most evil deed in Game of Thrones. His torture and castration of Theon Greyjoy, his treatment of Sansa Stark, hunting innocent women for sport, and murdering Rickon Stark in front of his brother, Jon Snow, are all worthy contenders that would make the likes of Joffrey Baratheon, Walder Frey, and Euron Greyjoy squirm.

However, one particularly evil Ramsay moment comes when he learns that his father's new wife, Walda Bolton, has given birth to a baby boy. Despite Roose's assurance that Ramsay will always be his first born, and therefore rightful heir, Ramsay stabs his father to death, then feeds his newborn half brother, along with Walda, to his hounds. In this moment, Ramsay becomes the new Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North, without anyone to rival his claim.

Who is Domeric Bolton?

Ramsay's murder of his father, stepmother, and half-brother hasn't happened yet in the books, and may only ever happen on the show. However, Ramsay has still committed a similar atrocity in A Song of Ice and Fire. Before he even first appears on the page, Ramsay has killed his own brother.

In A Dance with Dragons, Roose tells Theon about his trueborn son, a boy named Domeric Bolton. A quiet boy who loved history and the harp, Domeric was a far cry from his father and bastard born brother.

Upon learning of Ramsay's existence, Domeric tries to seek out his half-brother, though Roose advises him against it. Shortly after meeting Ramsay, Domeric dies of a "sickness of the bowels." However, Roose is certain that Ramsay poisoned his brother.

How Does the Death of Domeric Change Ramsay's Character

Game of Thrones Season 6 already shows that Ramsay is capable of kinslaying. Killing a family member is one of the greatest sins someone can commit in Westeros, and many believe kinslayers to be cursed. For example, with his final words, Rickard Karstark warned his distant relative Robb Stark, who executed him for treason, of this curse, and a few short episodes later, Robb and his entire host were killed at the Red Wedding. It is worth noting that Ramsay's tenure as Warden of the North is relatively brief, as the Starks retake Winterfell, and Sansa feeds Ramsay to his own hounds after the Battle of the Bastards, so perhaps there is more to the kinslaying curse than meets the eye.

However, in Ramsay's mind, he needed to kill his baby brother. That boy, as a trueborn son of Roose Bolton, could have threatened Ramsay's position as Roose's heir. With him gone, Ramsay stays first in line for Winterfell, and killing off Roose speeds up the process. In that moment, to Ramsay, kinslaying was a necessity.

Killing Domeric, on the other hand, accomplished nothing for Ramsay. At the time of Domeric's death, Ramsay was not yet legitimized. As a bastard, Ramsay stood little chance of inheriting the Dreadfort. Removing Domeric from the picture didn't change Ramsay's placement in the Bolton line of succession.

As such, Domeric's death proves that Ramsay is willing to become a kinslayer just for the thrill of the kill. Knowing about the Westerosi taboos and superstitions, Ramsay killed his half-brother anyway, even without any immediate personal advancement. In killing his brother, Ramsay shows that he doesn't need any sort of incentive to commit one of the worst sins in Westeros.

To see more of George R.R. Martin's works adapted to television, check out A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms when it airs on Jaunary 18, 2026.