Are things going to "good" for stannis?

[ToTheWolves]

I mean i know he's not exactly sitting with no worries or in the greatest position ever, but still things seem to be going a little too well for him and it worries me. Is GRRM setting us up again? Because i can't really tell at this point. The boltons plans seem to be coming apart,Davos is on his way to get rickon, you've got Wyman ready to switch sides at any moment(that may just be my thinking) I just want to know what are some negative or positive ways this could play out? What do you guys think will happen?

[JonSnow4President]

I mean i know he's not exactly sitting with no worries or in the greatest position ever, but still things seem to be going a little too well for him and it worries me. Is GRRM setting us up again? Because i can't really tell at this point. The boltons plans seem to be coming apart,Davos is on his way to get rickon, you've got Wyman ready to switch sides at any moment(that may just be my thinking) I just want to know what are some negative or positive ways this could play out? What do you guys think will happen?

Positive: Stannis the Mannis destroys Bolton. At which point, the Northern Lords turn on Stannis, and raise Jon or Rickon to KITN.

Negative: Stannis the destorys Bolton, at which point, the Northern Lords turn on Stannis, but he prevails.

Most negative: Ramsay kills his father and destroys Stannis.

Or did you mean positive for Stannis?

[Howlin' Howland]

I'm expecting major twist to happen during the battle in the ice.

My dream scenario would be for Stannis to succeed in luring some of the Bolton/Frey forces onto the ice and then for him to have managed a trap where he can make the ice break. Then the GNC starts to happen, all the Northern lords start to turn on the Boltons. And right when it looks like Stannis is about to win and the Boltons are about to get their just desserts the Others attack. A massive army of Others and wights is already south of the Wall and has been using the blizzard to move in secret. The only way for anyone to survive is for Stannis and Roose to form an impromptu alliance.

This would introduce the Others as a major force early in the story. And the dynamic between Roose, Ramsay,Manderley and Stannis would make for some great chapters.

[Slender Aimry Hill]

I approve of the above plan intensely.

[ToTheWolves]

Yea I always felt like the others would attack either during the battle of ice or during all the madness at the wall going in with jon.

[joluoto2]

They're not going terribly wrong at least. He seem to have a strategy how to win the upcoming battle. Of course things can yet go terribly wrong, but right now things seem to be going in the right direction for him.

[The Dragons Hand]

He's in a good position for a comeback.

[RainGhost]

To be honest I wouldn't say things are exactly 'good' for Stannis. He's the rightful king of the IT, yet he's stuck in the snow in the north. He has precious few loyal men. Some northmen have formed an alliance with him and he's done nothing yet to turn them against him but still, they will choose Rickon over him any day of the week. Even if he has the alliance or fealty of the north (and we all know he will accept only fealty), they cannot and will not march south with him because a) they have no men, b ) he's not a Stark and c) the Others (which is also a reason he should stay in the north too and not claim his throne yet but if he does that, (f)Aegon could reclaim the IT for House Targaryen). So, I would say he's still a long way off where he wants to be.

[Winterfell is Burning]

To be honest I wouldn't say things are exactly 'good' for Stannis. He's the rightful king of the IT, yet he's stuck in the snow in the north. He has precious few loyal men. Some northmen have formed an alliance with him and he's done nothing yet to turn them against him but still, they will choose Rickon over him any day of the week. Even if he has the alliance or fealty of the north (and we all know he will accept only fealty), they cannot and will not march south with him because a) they have no men, b ) he's not a Stark and c) the Others (which is also a reason he should stay in the north too and not claim his throne yet but if he does that, (f)Aegon could reclaim the IT for House Targaryen). So, I would say he's still a long way off where he wants to be.

Yeah, things aren't good, just they could be worse.

[JonCon's Red Beard]

To be honest I wouldn't say things are exactly 'good' for Stannis. He's the rightful king of the IT, yet he's stuck in the snow in the north. He has precious few loyal men. Some northmen have formed an alliance with him and he's done nothing yet to turn them against him but still, they will choose Rickon over him any day of the week.

I'd agree with you on this if his plans were to be King in the North. They aren't. Someone has to be in charge of the North, and he would likely have a Stark for that. In a way, Stannis is helping the North to recover the Stark ruling while dealing with the threat of the Others. And Rickon is returning with Davos.

[Light a wight tonight]

Doesn't the Pink Letter clearly state that Stannis is dead? Doesn't sound too great to me.

Seriously, his whole situation is unclear. He seems to lack the manpower to beat the Bolton alliance straight-up and we don't know how the Manderly/Frey conflict shakes out, though even if the Freys win they'll be seriously weakened. Roose is the master at sending other peoples' armies out to do his fighting and/or get killed so he will have his own men in Winterfell no matter what. If Stannis wins in the field does he have enough strength to set up a siege? WF is said to be short on food with no way to restock if Stannis controls the countryside. Or is there a cabal of Stark loyalists inside WF that can take Roose & Friends down?

There are a lot more questions than answers here.

[JonSnow4President]

Doesn't the Pink Letter clearly state that Stannis is dead? Doesn't sound too great to me.

Seriously, his whole situation is unclear. He seems to lack the manpower to beat the Bolton alliance straight-up and we don't know how the Manderly/Frey conflict shakes out, though even if the Freys win they'll be seriously weakened. Roose is the master at sending other peoples' armies out to do his fighting and/or get killed so he will have his own men in Winterfell no matter what. If Stannis wins in the field does he have enough strength to set up a siege? WF is said to be short on food with no way to restock if Stannis controls the countryside. Or is there a cabal of Stark loyalists inside WF that can take Roose & Friends down?

There are a lot more questions than answers here.

TWOW spoilers:

We see Stannis alive in one of Theon's sample chapters. So unless the books aren't in chronological order, the letter is at least a partial lie from whoever sent it.

[Northernmonkey]

Up until this point things have been going too well for Roose. He's successfully managed to control the North and at this point it's him who's due a fall.

Stannis will lose eventually (I love him but he's clearly not destined to end up on the throne) but I think it's inevitable that he'll triumph in the battle of the ice. I think the twist will involve Rickon. Manderly and Davos' plan all seems a little too neat and tidy. I think the reader is in line for a big shock there.

[RainGhost]

I'd agree with you on this if his plans were to be King in the North. They aren't. Someone has to be in charge of the North, and he would likely have a Stark for that. In a way, Stannis is helping the North to recover the Stark ruling while dealing with the threat of the Others. And Rickon is returning with Davos.

He doesn't want to be King IN the North but he does want to be King OF the north (and the other 6 kingdoms). When/if Rickon returns and is accepted as Robb's trueborn and rightful heir, he will be KitN, not merely Lord of Winterfell and this will be the sticking point. Stannis won't acknowledge that and Rickon will almost certainly not be as pliable as Stannis would expect a 5 year-old to be. The north will surely recognise Rickon as their king unless/until he bends the knee to Stannis. This could rupture the alliance if Stannis doesn't tread carefully.

[The Fresh PtwP]

He's outside in a blizzard with less troops than his opponent, I don't know why everyone on these forums thinks he's "good" and is going to defeat the Boltons so handily. As a Baratheon fan I'm shitting bricks over here!

[Super Daario]

Yes, this topic confuses me. Things couldn't possibly be worse for Stannis right now. Which has pretty much been Stannis's status for most of the series already.

[Beorn Snow]

Suppose Stannis wins the battle.

Then and only then can his position be considered good.

Right now it´s terrible, but Stannis is used to terrible conditions. (I worry about his health mostly, fire magic seems to be taking it´s toll).

Stannis is the right guy for the north. Even if the northmen prefer a Stark king, they´ll make do with Stannis, because Rickon is too young to become a king in his own right already.

If I was a lord in GNC, I´d go:

Hey, guys... why don´t we help this guy. What he really wants to do is go south anyway. We´ll help his army to go straight south with Wildlings and Sellswords and if he loses we fortify Moat Cailin, and if he wins we fortify Moat Cailin. No reason to backstab him before he has dealt with the Lannisters and Freys really.

[ToTheWolves]

Up until this point things have been going too well for Roose. He's successfully managed to control the North and at this point it's him who's due a fall.

Stannis will lose eventually (I love him but he's clearly not destined to end up on the throne) but I think it's inevitable that he'll triumph in the battle of the ice. I think the twist will involve Rickon. Manderly and Davos' plan all seems a little too neat and tidy. I think the reader is in line for a big shock there.

Exactly this, that whole thing seems a little to neat and tidy. And for the ppl who didn't read what I stated already I said he's actually NOT in a really good situation. Just things were kind of a little TOO in his favor going by ASOIAF standards compared to roose bolton, Things could obviously go either way...

[Ferocious Veldt Roarer]

I mean i know he's not exactly sitting with no worries or in the greatest position ever, but still things seem to be going a little too well for him and it worries me. Is GRRM setting us up again? Because i can't really tell at this point. The boltons plans seem to be coming apart,Davos is on his way to get rickon, you've got Wyman ready to switch sides at any moment(that may just be my thinking) I just want to know what are some negative or positive ways this could play out? What do you guys think will happen?

That's what I've always assumed. Jon's "with this loan, Stannis may have just won the war"? A phrase like this is a kiss of death for a character. Stannis is just as dead as an old cop who shared with you his retirement plans.

ETA: the exact line is actually "Unless Stannis is lying dead beneath the walls of Winterfell, he may just have won the Iron Throne". A tad ominous, maybe?

TWOW spoilers:

The books, in fact, aren't completely chronological, there's some overlap. There's an SSM somewhere addressing precisely this issue.

[three-eyed monkey]

He's outside in a blizzard with less troops than his opponent, I don't know why everyone on these forums thinks he's "good" and is going to defeat the Boltons so handily. As a Baratheon fan I'm shitting bricks over here!

Have faith.

Yes, this topic confuses me. Things couldn't possibly be worse for Stannis right now. Which has pretty much been Stannis's status for most of the series already.

Have faith.

If I was a lord in GNC, I´d go:

Hey, guys... why don´t we help this guy. What he really wants to do is go south anyway. We´ll help his army to go straight south with Wildlings and Sellswords and if he loses we fortify Moat Cailin, and if he wins we fortify Moat Cailin. No reason to backstab him before he has dealt with the Lannisters and Freys really.

I agree 100%. To stab him in the back at Winterfell would be shortsighted.

TWOW spoilers:

We see Stannis alive in one of Theon's sample chapters. So unless the books aren't in chronological order, the letter is at least a partial lie from whoever sent it.

GRRM has said that some of the events at the end of ADwD take place after the Theon chapter, (which I believe was originally supposed to be part of ADwD), and by events at the end of ADwD I take it he means Jon XIII. Could be in the SSM section or it might have been on his website. I remember reading it but can't remember where, sorry.

As to the OP, I think GRRM has written Stannis into a bad position on first read. It's really only after a lot of analysis that we see that he is in a position to turn it around. I think he will win the battle of ice and take Winterfell back but after that... I love Stannis and would be perfectly happy if he achieved the Iron Throne, but alas, I don't think it's going to happen. Maybe I should take my own advice and have faith. Nah, not gonna happen. Damn you George!