It was unfortunate he went down, because he was basically Tywin of the North: cold, calculating, hyper-rational (and in a position of real power). That sort of character will be sorely missed in the series. We have Littlefinger, but that dude is still grinding, he ain't with the big boys just yet.


(As an aside: the nature of Roose's death makes me think of that reddit post in the bookreader's thread... hmmmmmmmm)