After returning to Dragonstone to plot their return North, Theon and Jon have a long overdue conversation. Theon apologises to his surrogate brother for all the damage he did to the Stark family, and shares that he wants to be more like Jon. Jon can't forgive Theon for everything that he did, but he does tell Theon the one thing he's needed to hear since season one: he doesn't have to choose between being a Greyjoy and a Stark, because he'll always be both. This spurs Theon to admit that he needs to find Yara since she's the only one that came for him when he was being held by Ramsay Bolton.
With Jon's encouragement, he goes to rally the remaining Greyjoy men to sail with him in hopes of saving Yara from Euron. They're reluctant to follow Theon, and a fight ensues. It looks like Theon's going to lose until one of the men tries to knee him in the groin. Due to his status as a eunuch, he doesn't feel a thing, and his refusal to give up sways the Iron Islanders to join his cause.