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When did Stannis Baratheon become your favourite character?


TheFlayedMan

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"'Then rise again, Davos Seaworth, and rise as Lord of the Rainwood, Admiral of the Narrow Sea, and Hand of the King.'

For a moment Davos was too stunned to move. I woke this morning in his dungeon. 'Your Grace, you cannot… I am not fit man to be a King's Hand.'

'There is no man fitter.' Stannis sheathed Lightbringer, gave Davos his hand, and pulled him to his feet.

'I am lowborn,' Davos reminded him. 'An up jumped smuggler. your lords will never obey me.'

'Then we will make new lords.'"

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I don't know why but when I first read Game of Thrones, I was really, really looking forward to Stannis in the next book. The way everyone spoke about him and how everyone saw him as a hard, just "Iron" guy who simply will not bend and cannot be corrupted. The way Twyin spoke about Stannis and was wary of him the most among all the rivals. The way people spoke about how Stannis wanted to outlaw brothels. All that made me somewhere cheer and await the guy.

Then came Clash of the Kings, and I was a bit taken aback by the harshness of Stannis in the Prologue. But still, the way Davos remained loyal to him and the way he and the maestar talked about Stannis made me feel that this guy "deserves" something good. I felt really frustrated and disappointed that Stannis lost the battle at the end of Clash of the King.

The next books I found him great at times and annoying at others. Though I saw the whole Stannis coming to save Wall right in the start of Storm of Swords, I was grinning all the way to glory when all the chants of "Stannis" were happening.

ADWD didn't have that much about him... but it was fine. Ofcourse, Theon sample chapter from WOW made me whistle and cheer for Stannis even more.

I think I became a true Stannis fan after this quote of his :-

You have always presumed on my forbearance,” Stannis warned Davos when they were alone. “I can shorten your tongue as easy as I did your fingers, smuggler.”

“I am your man, Your Grace. So it is your tongue, to do with as you please.”

“It is,” he said, calmer. “And I would have it speak the truth. Though the truth is a bitter draught at times. Aerys, if you only knew… that was a hard choosing. My blood or my liege. My brother or my king.” He grimaced. “Have you ever seen the Iron Throne? The barbs along the back, the ribbons of twisted steel, the jagged ends of swords and knives all tangled up and melted? It is not a comfortable seat, ser. Aerys cut himself so often men took to calling him King Scab, and Maegor the Cruel was murdered in that chair. By that chair, to hear some tell it. It is not a seat where a man can rest at ease. Ofttimes I wonder why my brothers wanted it so desperately.”

“Why would you want it, then?” Davos asked him.

“It is not a question of wanting. The throne is mine, as Robert’s heir. That is law. After me, it must pass to my daughter, unless Selyse should finally give me a son.” He ran three fingers lightly down the table, over the layers of smooth hard varnish, dark with age. “I am king. Wants do not enter into it. I have a duty to my daughter. To the realm. Even to Robert. He loved me but little, I know, yet he was my brother. The Lannister woman gave him horns and made a motley fool of him. She may have murdered him as well, as she murdered Jon Arryn and Ned Stark. For such crimes there must be justice. Starting with Cersei and her abominations. But only starting. I mean to scour that court clean. As Robert should have done, after the Trident.

:bowdown:

For me, it will be an epic ending if Stannis rules at the end of the series.

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When

"'Then rise again, Davos Seaworth, and rise as Lord of the Rainwood, Admiral of the Narrow Sea, and Hand of the King.'

For a moment Davos was too stunned to move. I woke this morning in his dungeon. 'Your Grace, you cannot… I am not fit man to be a King's Hand.'

'There is no man fitter.' Stannis sheathed Lightbringer, gave Davos his hand, and pulled him to his feet.

'I am lowborn,' Davos reminded him. 'An up jumped smuggler. your lords will never obey me.'

'Then we will make new lords.'"

This. I liked him when he showed up at the Wall to save the day. His dialogues with Jon were funny in ADWD and I appreciate that he's capable and willing to listen to good counsel. The gift chapter was the cherry at the top.

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At first he sounded like a tyrannt in the making to me. Inflexible and without mercy. However, by the end Clash he seems like he's been forced to adapt or die and become more flexible and more pragmatic. His appointment of Davos to Hand of the King swayed me and his arrival at the Wall and the manner in which he treats Jon won me over. I don't think he's a pig headed prick, I think he's just a guy trying to do the right thing the best way he can and I think he's grown a lot as a leader. Stannis is definitely introspective in that he's always comparing himself to Robert and trying to figure how how Robert and Renly were able to have certain traits that he doesn't, which I think now he recognizes some of them he needs to have.

Maybe it's just weird of me to say, but there is something very "American" about Stannis to me. Maybe I'm influenced by the fact that the guy who played Thomas Jefferson in HBO's John Adams will be playing Stannis next season though. :)

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Maybe it's just weird of me to say, but there is something very "American" about Stannis to me. Maybe I'm influenced by the fact that the guy who played Thomas Jefferson in HBO's John Adams will be playing Stannis next season though. :)

Oh wow I didn't realize Jefferson and Stannis were played by the same actor. Weirdly, Stannis reminds me of John Adams quite a bit. Have you read the David McCullough bio the miniseries was based off? Stannis and Adams are so similar.

I should say that Stannis isn't actually my number one favorite character- that's Davos. But depending on the day, Stannis is either a close second or a close third.

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He's definitely one of my fave characters, and he made it to my 'top ten' list in the prologue of ACoK. :)

And I cannot wait to see Stephen Dillane playing Stannis. He's going to be so brilliant... And cannot wait to see the exchanges between Stannis and Davos, because Liam Cunningham is just as awesome as Dillane!

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He is not my favorite (that honor belongs to Arya), but he has wormed his way into my list of favorites during my reread. For someone notoriusly lacking in humor, he has said some funny stuff. Even thought it is hard to bear sometimes, I totally respect his sense of right and wrong and his sense of justice. I hope he can take that huge chip off of his shoulder and crush his enemies with it! He totally rocked in TWOW of chapter.

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He's my second favourite, but bloody close to 1st and has been since...

"Within Storm’s End, the horses had long since been eaten, the dogs and cats were gone, and the garrison was down to roots and rats. Then came a night when the moon was new and black clouds hid the stars. Cloaked in that darkness, Davos the smuggler had dared the Redwyne cordon and the rocks of Shipbreaker Bay alike. His little ship had a black hull, black sails, black oars, and a hold crammed with onions and salt fish. Little enough, yet it had kept the garrison alive long enough for Eddard Stark to reach Storm’s End and break the siege. Lord Stannis had rewarded Davos with choice lands on Cape Wrath, a small keep, and a knight’s honors . . . but he had also decreed that he lose a joint of each finger on his left hand, to pay for all his years of smuggling. Davos had submitted, on the condition that Stannis wield the knife himself; he would accept no punishment from lesser hands. The lord had used a butcher’s cleaver, the better to cut clean and true."

After seeing him through Cressen, Davos, Cat and more recently Jon and Asha, all I can say is he just gets better. Tywin was right to be worried about him. :cool4:

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