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Why is Stannis an Appealing Character?


AugustusTheGreat

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There seems to be a strange liking for Stannis Baratheon from a lot of fans, almost to the point where people like him as their favorite character. As of re watching season 2, 3, and 4, I seem to have developed that liking as well, but I cant really explain it.

Tyrion, Littlefinger, Tywin, and Vary are all liked for their pure intellect, cleverness, and awesome egos. Dany and Jon are both pure, acting for the goodness of others and are textbook heros.

But Stannis is something completely different. In a way he is pure, but isnt graceful, clever, or funny at all. He is blunt and awkward, and is blind to his faults at times. He burns his daughter and has an affair with Melisande, and he really only acts as a hero once when he defeats the wildlings. 

Can someone explain what makes him appealing? I still cant figure it out. 

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Personal opinion : it's a matter of preference and taste, some people like realistic heroes and some like fantasy heroes, the good thing is that the story gave us the two types, he's one of my favourite characters because his story is realistic, he's a man on a mission, he get usurped and he did whatever he can to restore justice for him and his house, he is the only character who think about the smallfolks in his story, as a character I like his courage and his sense of justice.

and stannis is a one of the most human characters, he tried, he made mistakes and he died, this why his story is realistic

and his story doesn't contain elements of mary sueing like my four other mary sue characters

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49 minutes ago, Future Null Infinity said:

and stannis is a one of the most human characters, he tried, he made mistakes and he died, this why his story is realistic

Exactly. I like Stannis too, I really sympathize him. Stannis shows how determintaion and sence of duty can lead someone to a tragic end. He is similiar to Ned in his intentions, but kind of Ned without loving or being loved. And this lack of love makes  him really tragic figure.

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4 hours ago, Future Null Infinity said:

Personal opinion : it's a matter of preference and taste, some people like realistic heroes and some like fantasy heroes, the good thing is that the story gave us the two types, he's one of my favourite characters because his story is realistic, he's a man on a mission, he get usurped and he did whatever he can to restore justice for him and his house, he is the only character who think about the smallfolks in his story, as a character I like his courage and his sense of justice.

Daenerys and Jon certainly think about the smallfolk as well (Jon with Wildlings, Dany with her people).  Jaime also spends some time considering their fate in the book though he doens't go out of his way to try to change things for the better except on an individual level.  

4 hours ago, Future Null Infinity said:

and stannis is a one of the most human characters, he tried, he made mistakes and he died, this why his story is realistic

 

I like Stannis mostly for this reason, and also because I find him really funny at times.  He is not afraid to call out bullshit when he sees it.  

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20 hours ago, AugustusTheGreat said:

There seems to be a strange liking for Stannis Baratheon from a lot of fans, almost to the point where people like him as their favorite character. As of re watching season 2, 3, and 4, I seem to have developed that liking as well, but I cant really explain it.

Tyrion, Littlefinger, Tywin, and Vary are all liked for their pure intellect, cleverness, and awesome egos. Dany and Jon are both pure, acting for the goodness of others and are textbook heros.

But Stannis is something completely different. In a way he is pure, but isnt graceful, clever, or funny at all. He is blunt and awkward, and is blind to his faults at times. He burns his daughter and has an affair with Melisande, and he really only acts as a hero once when he defeats the wildlings. 

Can someone explain what makes him appealing? I still cant figure it out. 

I think it's his grumpiness that people find entertaining, I laugh out loud at some of the things he said even though everything he said was in complete seriousness. Think of him as Victor Meldrew from one foot in the grave meets Jack Dee if you are aware of them.

Some of the funniest things in the whole show outside of Tyrion and Bronn comes from his moody snarky comments especially correcting people's grammar

 

He's like that guy in his mid 40's with a shit job, his wife hates him, his kids hate him, he gets no respect at home or work and all he wants is to come home and sit on his chair after a long day only to find some other guy is sitting on it and it's rightfully his.

Meets a younger more beautiful woman at work who tells him he is special to her only to leave him when she has gotten all she can from him and finds a younger more attractive guy, and he loses everything because of her house, family..... you know the story

 

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13 hours ago, StoneColdJorahMormont said:

I think it's his grumpiness that people find entertaining, I laugh out loud at some of the things he said even though everything he said was in complete seriousness. Think of him as Victor Meldrew from one foot in the grave meets Jack Dee if you are aware of them.

Some of the funniest things in the whole show outside of Tyrion and Bronn comes from his moody snarky comments especially correcting people's grammar

 

He's like that guy in his mid 40's with a shit job, his wife hates him, his kids hate him, he gets no respect at home or work and all he wants is to come home and sit on his chair after a long day only to find some other guy is sitting on it and it's rightfully his.

Meets a younger more beautiful woman at work who tells him he is special to her only to leave him when she has gotten all she can from him and finds a younger more attractive guy, and he loses everything because of her house, family..... you know the story

 

This exactly. 

Though I think of him as a hypocrite who will talk about duty only when it suits him, I like him. I find this nature of him interesting also his humour. I do not like him because of the same reasons his cult likes him but I find him a fascinating character because of his flaws and uniqueness. 

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1 minute ago, khal drogon said:

This exactly. 

Though I think of him as a hypocrite who will talk about duty only when it suits him, I like him. I find this nature of him interesting also his humour. I do not like him because of the same reasons his cult likes him but I find him a fascinating character because of his flaws and uniqueness. 

In the space of one day, he murdered his daughter, his wife killed herself because of the guilt and the woman that convinced him he was the chosen one  left him after promising him if he did all these things he would get his throne.

You gotta think just how fcuking stupid did he feel the next day !

He rode into battle knowing he was pretty much fcuked but i think by this point he just wanted to go out in battle rather than withering away alone in his castle thinking about just how gullible he had been.

He is very flawed and as you say and that makes him more human in an un relatable world/story, i guess it's also why I love Jorah as he too is flawed in different ways.

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9 minutes ago, StoneColdJorahMormont said:

In the space of one day, he murdered his daughter, his wife killed herself because of the guilt and the woman that convinced him he was the chosen one  left him after promising him if he did all these things he would get his throne.

You gotta think just how fcuking stupid did he feel the next day !

He rode into battle knowing he was pretty much fcuked but i think by this point he just wanted to go out in battle rather than withering away alone in his castle thinking about just how gullible he had been.

He is very flawed and as you say and that makes him more human in an un relatable world/story, i guess it's also why I love Jorah as he too is flawed in different ways.

Agreed.

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Book Stannis is much better, which is where most of the love for the character comes from, but they did well enough with him in the show as well, to a certain point then everything just fell apart imo because like most people I believe D&D have a bias against the character. They vilified him more in the show as well. Everything from that stare of his to the musical scores they gave him almost painted him as a villain in a sense, when he wasn't a villain (in my eyes anyway)

In the show Stannis willingly sacrifices his daughter but...

Book spoilers below

Spoiler

Though George has said otherwise I believe in the books Melisandre will sacrifice Shireen at the wall behind Stannis' back as Stannis is currently marching to Winterfell.

 

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9 hours ago, Adam_Up_Bxtch said:

Book Stannis is much better, which is where most of the love for the character comes from, but they did well enough with him in the show as well, to a certain point then everything just fell apart imo because like most people I believe D&D have a bias against the character. They vilified him more in the show as well. Everything from that stare of his to the musical scores they gave him almost painted him as a villain in a sense, when he wasn't a villain (in my eyes anyway)

I don't know about you but Stephen Dillane / Stannis staring at anything is very far from villainous in fact it's so complex that I can't stop staring. He conveys like 10 emotions at once, brilliant actor.

9 hours ago, Adam_Up_Bxtch said:

In the show Stannis willingly sacrifices his daughter but...

Book spoilers below

  Reveal hidden contents

Though George has said otherwise I believe in the books Melisandre will sacrifice Shireen at the wall behind Stannis' back as Stannis is currently marching to Winterfell.

 

George may change his mind of course, but as far as the show runners go they say George told them how he intended Shireen to go.  I really doubt they'd lie and say that if it wasn't true.  

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3 hours ago, A spoon of knife and fork said:

I don't know about you but Stephen Dillane / Stannis staring at anything is very far from villainous in fact it's so complex that I can't stop staring. He conveys like 10 emotions at once, brilliant actor.

I think that the word that we are looking for is anti hero. At first glance, he looks like a villain, and you have to really break him down to figure out that he is just doing what he believes is rightful. 

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6 hours ago, AugustusTheGreat said:

I think that the word that we are looking for is anti hero. At first glance, he looks like a villain, and you have to really break him down to figure out that he is just doing what he believes is rightful. 

I think he might technically be an "anti-villain" (the guy who is placed in the role of a villain but actually has some heroic intentions or actions).  But it's all silly tropes at some point.  

Anyway, Complex character FTW! 

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Show Stannis and Book Stannis are two different stories, but both are my favourites.

From his music (the stern horn theme that combines with Melisandre's theme) to his relationships with Mel, Davos, Selyse and Shireen, to the way he's acted by Dillane, to the settings he visits/rules in (Dragonstone, Stormlands etc), he just did it for me as a character.

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