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Stannis: Is there life in the old boy yet?


Lollygag

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It seems like a foregone conclusion that Stannis isn’t long for this world because he's not being discussed at all anymore. But if so, then Stannis’ inclusion in the HOTU vision as a lie which she must slay seems a waste if he’s to die well before Dany reaches Westeros. It implies that Stannis will live past the point of Dany's arrival in Westeros. Any ideas?

 

Glowing like sunset, a red sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow. A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire. . . . mother of dragons, slayer of lies

 

Edit: I was questioning Stannis' longevity based on Jon being set up to leave the NW (making Stannis in Jon's way plot-wise?) and Stannis' condition in the books: too many shadow babies, Stannis is already thin and now he's been thoroughly starved by the trek from Deepwood Motte to Winterfell, and then having to survive the Battle of Winterfell. Finally! putting 2+2 together and thinking the HOTU vision implies that Stannis lives well beyond the Battle of Winterfell and past Dany's arrival. 

Edit #2: Keep in mind that slaying the lie does not necessarily mean slaying the person. It just means doing something to make people no longer believe the lie. 

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Stannis lives.   I think he's at his all time best in the Theon chapter from Winds.   There is still plenty of life in that guy.   He's got a lot to do and he's in top form to do it.  Lack of discussion stems from having already talked everything to death.    I promise we will all be talking and fighting and cursing and supporting Stannis as soon as we get some new material.  To the vision in the House of the Undying...Stannis as a blue eyed non shadow casting vision--Dany is to be the slayer of lies.    Stannis is not Azor Ahai.   Stannis is 100% iron Baratheon.   My interpretation is that Dany is Azor Ahai.  Then again, I'm not big on any of the prophesy for the sake of prophesy.  These visions are a guide.  The only magic about  Stannis is Mel and happily, he's left her at the Wall.    No Mel whispering to him to do everything he can to offend the North.   No Davos thwarting his plans at every turn for the sake of PR.    Read the chapter again and enjoy Stannis for the curt, clever, cunning, brilliant commander and player he is.  I've been hoping Stannis is that character GRRM was musing about changing the fate of.    Stannis is a boss.   I'm hoping he makes it to the end so I can see the character he began becoming in Dance come to fruition.    

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3 minutes ago, Curled Finger said:

Stannis lives.   I think he's at his all time best in the Theon chapter from Winds.   There is still plenty of life in that guy.   He's got a lot to do and he's in top form to do it.  Lack of discussion stems from having already talked everything to death.    I promise we will all be talking and fighting and cursing and supporting Stannis as soon as we get some new material.  To the vision in the House of the Undying...Stannis as a blue eyed non shadow casting vision--Dany is to be the slayer of lies.    Stannis is not Azor Ahai.   Stannis is 100% iron Baratheon.   My interpretation is that Dany is Azor Ahai.  Then again, I'm not big on any of the prophesy for the sake of prophesy.  These visions are a guide.  The only magic about  Stannis is Mel and happily, he's left her at the Wall.    No Mel whispering to him to do everything he can to offend the North.   No Davos thwarting his plans at every turn for the sake of PR.    Read the chapter again and enjoy Stannis for the curt, clever, cunning, brilliant commander and player he is.  I've been hoping Stannis is that character GRRM was musing about changing the fate of.    Stannis is a boss.   I'm hoping he makes it to the end so I can see the character he began becoming in Dance come to fruition.    

Well said! And I can't possibly agree more, TWoW Theon I is pure Stannis awesomeness! :thumbsup:

 

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Dany is shown many different visions that don't exactly have much to do with her. She also sees the Red Wedding, for example, which is completely unrelated to her. So a vision of Stannis as someone she has to "slay" could go either way. 

I don't care for Stannis, but I do hope he outlives his battle against the Boltons/Freys. Just anything to make it different than the slop the show gave us.

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Absolutely. I think there's a 95% chance he ekes out a victory against the Boltons, and I think he's destined for a more complex end with higher stakes on the table. I don't think he wins the Iron Throne, as much as I'd love him to, and I think that a lot of the tragic elements of the show's portrayal will have some form in the books, just later on and with more at wager than simply a lot of snow on the ground.

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12 hours ago, Lollygag said:

It seems like a foregone conclusion that Stannis isn’t long for this world because he's not being discussed at all anymore. But if so, then Stannis’ inclusion in the HOTU vision as a lie which she must slay seems a waste if he’s to die well before Dany reaches Westeros. It implies that Stannis will live past the point of Dany's arrival in Westeros. Any ideas?

 

 

 

Glowing like sunset, a red sword was raised in the hand of a blue-eyed king who cast no shadow. A cloth dragon swayed on poles amidst a cheering crowd. From a smoking tower, a great stone beast took wing, breathing shadow fire. . . . mother of dragons, slayer of lies

 

 

 

Stannis is live and breathing.  Don't let the tv show fool you.  They killed him off to make room for Jon.  I guess HBO polled reddit like they seem to do and concluded Jon is more popular than Stannis so they killed off the old boy to give more plot time to the young boy.   The show basically has gone its own way to please Jon's supporters.  It's a pity.  They should have stuck to GM's story. 

Don't let hbo discourage you.  The Gods are not yet done with Stannis.

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Hope so.  There is a path to reuniting the kingdoms under Stannis that I can still see when I squint.   Or is he stuck in the north to finish off that Others plot by going zombie to fight the dead with deathly transformation.    If all the other crowd favorites die tragically, Stannis may be left to inherit what's left, and if Danny and Stannis and Jon all go up in smoke what would it matter that the Blackfyre Boy is a "lie"??   Wasn't the whole point of his story thus far to show us he's got good instincts and listens to wise counsel?   I don't discount him, given the quirks of the other contenders.

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1 hour ago, HoodedCrow said:

They have both shown their willingness to marry for peace or alliance reasons. They are both favored by R'hllor followers. They both take their responsibilities seriously.

There is a potential there to build a good alliance except Stannis might refuse to give up his ambition to take the throne. 

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he will roll over the freys in the upcoming battle, of that i'm sure, but how he takes winterfell will be truly interesting. and if he takes the dreadfort too... omg what a lad.

 

i need to check up on all of melisandre's visions of him...

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12 hours ago, PCK said:

His army is outnumbered, starving, and in the freezing cold. Those are all major disadvantages. Maybe the question should be, how can he win? 

He can win because despite those disadvantages his whole army is fundamentally loyal to him, whereas the Bolton's are struggling to keep the Northmen from slaughtering the Frey's. Because while Stannis is a clever, cunning and all around brilliant commander he's facing two incompetent and possibly stupid commanders in Ramsay and Hosteen. Because there's every chance the Nightlamps theory is true and because the Frey's soon won't have any leverage over the other Northmen. Because the Iron Bank just gave him a massive loan and Justin Massey may soon be returning with a rather large army of sellswords.

I don't think Stannis will take the Throne, much as I think he may be the best candidate for it. But I am 95% sure he will defeat the Frey's and the Bolton's. Most likely, Dany will slay the lie that Stannis is Azor Ahai; not necessarily slaying him; and that he'll bend the knee to her without much of a fight (But a lot of teeth grinding). Personally, I think he's either going to survive or die doing his duty fighting the Others which would be a far more fitting end than the BS we got in the show.

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13 hours ago, PCK said:

His army is outnumbered, starving, and in the freezing cold. Those are all major disadvantages. Maybe the question should be, how can he win? 

He has a plan, we just don't know it yet. Stannis is confident in his victory, since he is the best general Westeros has to offer, I am confident in his victory too. 

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6 hours ago, LordImp said:

Stannis lives. Though I doubt he will ever meet Dany. Dany has Euron and Aegon to deal with in Westeros , so no Dany vs Stannis I'm afraid. 

Dany has time for all three of them.

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