When did Stannis Baratheon become your favourite character?

[MostInterestingManWesteros]

Never....

lol

[RenlyIsNotRight]

My story with Stannis is an interesting one. To be honest, I watched the show before I read the books, and my initial show impression of Stannis was rather lukewarm. To me he just seemed like some stiff guy who was more or less aligning himself with what appeared to be a religous cult he himself seemed to have little interest in. The killing Renly thing didn't irk me too much because in addition to being fairly lukewarm on Renly, I kind of understood that if he hadn't done it Renly would have killed him in battle, but it still didn't exactly help my opinion of him. Of course Melisadre irked me bigtime, but I liked Davos for some reason I couldn't explain.

Of course all of this is very vague because imo the show did not do a very good job explaining Stannis' true character and motives...that is until the 8th episode of season 2. When he talked to Davos about how he had been essentially stiffed by Robert and Renly his whole life for doing his duty to them, and then demonstrated his belief in judging on merit rather than birth by naming Davos as his hand, I first caught glimpses of the Stannis I would grow to love. I finished that episode thinking "you know what, I would bend the knee to this guy". And then his complete and utter BAMFness in Blackwater just confirmed me as a big Stannis fan - I even got visibly and outwardly angry when he lost.

Then when I read ACoK, a lot of my initial misgivings about Stannis were pretty much immediately disspelled ("I burnt wood...", the nature of the Renly thing was different) and I loved him immeadiately. And then in ASoS, though he began it in a bit of a slump, when he eventually came around to his senses during his conversations with Davos, accepted his failure at Blackwater and vowed to help the realm he showed his true value. And towards the end of that book, with "STANNIS! STANNIS! STANNIS!"..."The king who cared..."...the ripping into Janos Slynt...coupled with my need for a new man to follow after the Red Wedding just affirmed Stannis as one of my absolute favorite characters in the entire series. And now with ADWD and Stannis poised to kick Roose Boltons turncloak ass...it's a good time to be a Stannis fan...lets just hope GRRM doesn't pull this one out from under us.

[Dark Rider]

Stannis, the hard winter march, the camp they've made where all seems lost. It's Valley Forge man. It's the Americans vs the tyrannical English. He's got to win and beat the Bastard.

[The Lord's Kiss]

When he nodded to Jon Snow after Lord Snow chopped Janos Slynt's jowls off. Oh and, "How fortunate. The boy commander agrees."

[Dark Rider]

When he nodded to Jon Snow after Lord Snow chopped Janos Slynt's jowls off. Oh and, "How fortunate. The boy commander agrees."

Yeah, he is funny. In that straight guy who never smiles, but still is funny kind of way.

[The Wild Wolf]

Although he is not my favorite, my admiration for Stannis definitely grew when he came to the Wall. He is the only king actually protecting the realm lol. I also loved the interactions between Stannis and Jon, as Jon is sort of like the son he never had. Stannis and Ned are actually quite similar.

[Elder Sister]

He hasn't yet.

I'm not going to hold my breath for it, either. :)

[Brony Stark]

For some reason when I heard the story of how he nursed the injured hawk back to health. It turned him from 'who the hell is this guy' into 'I'll give him a try.' Then he just started shooting up my favourite character list.

[Dark Rider]

What other King/Leader in Westeros would have welcomed the Wildlings? Who else could gain the respect of southern nobels and mountain northmen clans alike? He's the football coach, he's the grid iron leader. He's his little girl's Dad.

It just seems to me that Dany and Jon along with all the other leaders deal in a lot of B.S., but Stannis has no time for B.S. or those who spew it. He's not a schemer he's a doer. If only Jon could get out of his commitment to the Night's Watch and join him in his campaign I think he'd teach him a lot.

[Milady de Winterfell]

The more we saw of him, the more I liked him.

When you hear of people growing to love each other in arranged marriages, I think if I was some high-born maiden promised to Stannis, this would certainly be the case. He's not exactly charming or genial but the more I get to know him, the more I realize he is actually quite endearing... Selyse is just an awful person to everyone. :ohwell:

/fangirl

...the story of how he nursed the injured hawk back to health.

This kind of sealed it for me.

Also, when he remembers Renly's damn peach it's equally as heartbreaking for me.

What other King/Leader in Westeros would have welcomed the Wildlings? Who else could gain the respect of southern nobels and mountain northmen clans alike? He's the football coach, he's the grid iron leader. He's his little girl's Dad.

It just seems to me that Dany and Jon along with all the other leaders deal in a lot of B.S., but Stannis has no time for B.S. or those who spew it. He's not a schemer he's a doer. If only Jon could get out of his commitment to the Night's Watch and join him in his campaign I think he'd teach him a lot.

:agree: Stannis! Stannis!

It takes time, but once he's won your loyalty, you stay with him for good.

I think this is the reason most Lords have such a flat view of him. He is certainly someone who needs some getting used to, but once you look past the stereotype of his hardness/humorlessness you realize he not only possesses true virtue (that inspires lasting loyalty) but a unique sort of likeability as well.

[House Mauldania]

It just kind of crept up on me.. and all of a sudden Stannis was one of my favorite characters... Still love me some Petyr and Jaime too.

[Tony Soprano]

Well, he started growing on me ever since Davos' first POV in ACoK. But what really sold him to me was the Proudwing story. It made him...more human to me.

And also, later in the story where he talks about Renly to Davos, about how he always loved him.

[LuisDantas]

Whose, mine?

When the dragons began to eat only grass. When the Wall was bathed by thermal fountains. When Stannis produced actual proof of his claim, sought redemption from his many and bloody hubris-induced mistakes. When he became worthy of his enormous fandom.

[olavtheking]

Well everytime I start to like him he says one sentence "I had no love for your husbad" ( meaning Ned), I disagree with that sentence so much I almost have a grudge against Stannis. Poor old Ned never mocked Stannis, wrote letters to him asking to return to the council and lost his head supporting him and Stannis acts like Ned is a dead neighbour he didn't really like or cared about. As long as Ned-fanboyism can't be combined with Stannis-fanboyism I will go with Ned.

[Milady de Winterfell]

Well everytime I start to like him he says one sentence "I had no love for your husbad" ( meaning Ned), I disagree with that sentence so much I almost have a grudge against Stannis. Poor old Ned never mocked Stannis, wrote letters to him asking to return to the council and lost his head supporting him and Stannis acts like Ned is a dead neighbour he didn't really like or cared about. As long as Ned-fanboyism can't be combined with Stannis-fanboyism I will go with Ned.

I honestly think he was just jealous because Robert liked Ned better than his own brother :'(

[Jon's Queen Consort]

When I read what Varys said about Stannis

There is no creature on earth half so terrifying as a truly just man

I thought "I am gonna like him. A lot" and I did.

Davos and Proudwing sealed the deal for me.

ETA: Not to mention that he was 17 and he hold Storm's end for a year! What a leader!

[Jon Mark Selmy]

These lines made him my favorite: "Few of the birds Maester Aemon had returned as of yet. One found Stannis, though. One found Dragonstone, and a king who still cared."

[Lady Meera Reed]

Well everytime I start to like him he says one sentence "I had no love for your husbad" ( meaning Ned), I disagree with that sentence so much I almost have a grudge against Stannis. Poor old Ned never mocked Stannis, wrote letters to him asking to return to the council and lost his head supporting him and Stannis acts like Ned is a dead neighbour he didn't really like or cared about. As long as Ned-fanboyism can't be combined with Stannis-fanboyism I will go with Ned.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think Stannis knew that Ned supported his claim before he died? And why should Stannis have personal feelings for him (he rarely has, for anyone :P)?

“I am sorry for your lord’s death,” he said, “though Eddard Stark was no friend to me.” [...]

“Still, I give you my word, you shall have justice for his murder.”

[The Promised Prince]

He's not my favorite but certainly one of them. Started during my first re-read, a part where he's dictating the contents of his letter for the realm about Cersei and Jaime and he can't decide which terms he'd use, I always imagine that letter's full of scribbles.

[Axrendale]

As quite a few other posters have mentioned thus far, one line in particular instantly made me a huge fan:

... but when the trumpets blew again and the knights charged, the name they cried was "Stannis! Stannis! STANNIS!"