Roose would have only betrayed Robb if he sensed he could succeed. He was always the cunning and traitor type. Ned never trusted him. But Roose didn’t have the courage, nor the strength to oppose a united North under the command of Ned. Roose held back his men in the Neck whilst sending the rest of the Northmen to die. He always looked after his own men, the Dreadfort men.
He only managed to betray Robb as the North was weak and divided. He could have never overtaken the North if the North was united.
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His plans bore fruit for a few reasons:
The Ironborn were running rampant in the North and destroyed the stronghold of Starks.
His bastard helped take Theon captive and push the Ironborn out of Moat Cailin.
The Freys held GreatJon Umber and Manderly’s heir which meant the Umbers and Manderlys wouldnt oppose Roose openly.
Roose made a deal with Tywin and had his backing against a weak and divided North.
If Robb still had Theon with him, the Karstarks loyal and his bannermen still alive, then Roose would have had no chance to betray Robb. He could not take on the whole North. That is why the North will prevail and finally eliminate the Bolton line.
Walder may still have tried to betray Robb, but Roose was smarter than that. He would have stayed loyal or waited for a better time. Roose only acted when success was guaranteed. Roose was betraying Robb way before Walder ever tried. At Harrenhal, Roose was betraying the North by sending the Northerners to their death at Duskendale and blaming it on the Glovers. He was already trying to move up and eliminate rival houses. He eventually succeeded in overtaking his king too.
Roose didn’t set out to betray Robb Stark. Had the war gone well for Robb then Roose would have remained loyal. He’s an opportunist. He also only betrayed Robb because at the point of the Red Wedding, Robb was believed to be the last male Stark still alive. Kill Robb and there are no more Starks. Someone else has to rule the North and who better than Roose Bolton? That’s basically what he was thinking.
Had Theeyon not taken Winterfell, and Bran & Rickon remained safe in the castle, then no, Roose wouldn’t have betrayed Robb like that. Well, he might have done something but certainly not the Red Wedding, as that only worked because Robb was believed to be the last male Stark.#gameofthrones #housestark #housebolton #roosebolton #robbstark #redwedding
