Stephen Dillane on Stannis in Season 4 (Spoilers)

[Thelastactionhero]

An article was just released where Dillane was asked about his role in Season 4. When questioned on whether or not we would see more of him this season, his answer was a resounding: "More? No." While I am disappointed that the character won't be seen quite as much as some of us had hoped, this doesn't neccessarily mean the portrayal itself is going to continue the unfortunate trend its been following throughout Season 3. As we all know, Stannis remains absent for quite a period of time before his badass arrival at the Wall at the end of SoS. I might be too opitimistic here, and this article really doesn't add much to my hopes that we'll finally see the Mannis emerge in the television adaptation, but I think perhaps we should reserve judgement, and not jump to too many conclusions based on this interview and the trailer regarding how he'll be portrayed in Season 4.

The link to the article can be found here: http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/stephen-dillane/28822/stephen-dillane-on-the-tunnel-and-game-of-thrones

[The Drunkard]

Heh, the interviewer wasn't lying when he said SD didn't equivocate.

Anyway, his screen time not increasing much doesn't really bum me out. The only book content he had left would be the burning of Alester, which does seem to be happening in a way, but after that everything else from Dragonstone to the Wall would be improvisation, which hasn't been good in the past. I hope at least that the majority of his involvement occurs at the tail end of the season, a bit like with season 3, so we get Wall shenanigans.

[titanx5]

On the denofgeek interview "he said will we see more of Stannis?" and he said no. So it doesnt mean we will see less of him, probably see same amount as s3 (not very encouraging), But we will see him burn few Florents or some kind of traitors I think at DS, set sail, visit IB of Braavos, perhaps capture Yara, and save the day at the wall. Perhaps Stephen was being modest (hopefully). But I think we pretty much should expect this, as it is the Tyrion, Arya, Dany show after all. But Stannis does have very little chapters in book 2 of SoS, but I guess we can hope

[King Tommen]

If they were going strictly by the books, he wouldn't even appear this season until the final few minutes of E9 and for a few scenes in E10. They found a way to at least keep him involved in other parts of the season which his fans should be happy about (but I'm guessing they'll find something to be outraged about because that's their thing.)

[The Drunkard]

If they were going strictly by the books, he wouldn't even appear this season until the final few minutes of E9 and for a few scenes in E10. They found a way to at least keep him involved in other parts of the season which his fans should be happy about (but I'm guessing they'll find something to be outraged about because that's their thing.)

Pettiness aside, if they were going by the books he wouldn't have yet decided to go to the Wall. Right about now Davos would be telling Melisandre how to count onions and Stannis would be laughing.

[( Bloodraven )]

That interview was awesome. I just love how Stephen's replies were mostly short and to the point, no sugar coating it for the fans. You cant get anymore Stannis than that :D

Anyway, I'm not expecting more Stannis screentime... I certainly prefer quality over quantity, I hope we get it this season.

[DaveyJoe]

After they were finished Stephen made the interviewer bend the knee.

[titanx5]

As long as Stannis says sometime during season 4 "I was trying to win the throne to save the kingdom, when I should have been trying to save the kingdom to win the throne" I'll be happy

[( Bloodraven )]

We have another interview:

You play Stannis Baratheon in Game of Thrones but you never seem to talk about it. Is there a reason?
I tend not to want to talk to the press all that much. If you play a part like this one in The Tunnel you understand you’ll be obliged to put yourself out there to sell the thing but there are plenty of people on Game of Thrones better qualified and better able to do the chat than I am.

Do you film in Northern Ireland or get to go somewhere more exotic?
There’s nowhere more exotic than Northern Ireland! What are you saying? I like Northern Ireland very much actually but the answer is yes I only film in Northern Ireland. But that’s by no means a trial. It’s a really beautiful part of the world, especially in some of the places we film up on the north coast. It really is special.

Is the setting part of what makes it so successful?
I guess it must be an ingredient. It’s the storytelling, the extraordinary world that’s created and the way it reflects our actual world – a naked, ruthless pursuit of power in all its forms.

Fan forums debate whether Stannis is the moodiest character in Westeros. Could that mean he’s the last man standing?
I don’t know. To be honest I haven’t seen the last series. I’ve only seen series two so I’m not really up on what everybody’s doing, but fom what I have seen Jon Snow is pretty moody. Is moody the right word? Serious, grumpy, bad tempered… There are plenty of those around. Last man standing? Your guess is as good as mine.

LOL @ Stephen thinking Jon Snow is the moodiest. He's so Stannis :lol:

[DaveyJoe]

That's hilarious, thanks for sharing!

[binhorde]

Stannis Baratheon plays Stephen Dillane really well.

[( Bloodraven )]

Stannis Baratheon plays Stephen Dillane really well.

:lmao: ITA :bowdown:

[Overlord of Skagos]

As long as Stannis says sometime during season 4 "I was trying to win the throne to save the kingdom, when I should have been trying to save the kingdom to win the throne" I'll be happy

I'm scared they will change it to something like "I was trying to win the throne to save the kingdom, But Melisandre told me I should have been trying to save the kingdom to win the throne" :P

[Thelastactionhero]

If they were going strictly by the books, he wouldn't even appear this season until the final few minutes of E9 and for a few scenes in E10. They found a way to at least keep him involved in other parts of the season which his fans should be happy about (but I'm guessing they'll find something to be outraged about because that's their thing.)

I think that's pretty unfair to dismiss criticisms of the portrayal, even if the massive fanfare which surrounds the character annoys you. There are many valid reasons to take issue with the television adaptation of Stannis that isn't clouded by fanboy goggles. Personally I think its abudently clear that he's been portrayed in an overwhelmingly negative light in comparison to his book counterpart, making him feel rather cheap and shallow. Hell, even the biggest turning point in his character development, namely saving the Wall, is now colored differently as a result of Melisandre's influence. HBO's interpretation isn't all bad, but it certainly has its fair share of failings.

[King Tommen]

I think that's pretty unfair to dismiss criticisms of the portrayal, even if the massive fanfare which surrounds the character annoys you. There are many valid reasons to take issue with the television adaptation of Stannis that isn't clouded by fanboy goggles. Personally I think its abudently clear that he's been portrayed in an overwhelmingly negative light in comparison to his book counterpart, making him feel rather cheap and shallow. Hell, even the biggest turning point in his character development, namely saving the Wall, is now colored differently as a result of Melisandre's influence. HBO's interpretation isn't all bad, but it certainly has its fair share of failings.

I just think these perceived slights are so minor that they are being noticed by nitpicky book fans only. It's a slightly different interpretation of the book character (as most of the characters on GoT are) but not really by that much, the essence of the guy is very much right there.

It just reminds me so much of the uproar over the show's portrayal of Jaime in S2 when they had him kill Alton for example. The wailing and gnashing of teeth that went on here for months and months about how the "real" Jaime would never be a "kinslayer" and how they would never be able to bring him back from that and how the audience would hate him and always believe him to be the villain. The argument that I gave at that time and has I think, been proven over time is that the killing of Alton was not nearly the "big deal" for the television audience that the book readers believed it to be and that once he got into the material that gave the audience a reason to get behind him, then the general opinion about him would align much more closely with how the readers (with 5 books worth of context) felt.

The same will be true of Stannis. Once he actually does the stuff that got book readers to get on board with his character, then you'll start to see some of the love for the character come out.

It's not like the show has made Stannis into an ultra villain either. He's done things like make Davos (who the audience has extreme sympathy for) his Hand based on their history and loyalty. He led the troops into the Battle of Blackwater from the front and had to be dragged away by his men kicking and screaming from the battle even when all was lost. That's some heroic shit. He had a great conversation with Davos in the cells in S3 that gave more insight into their relationship and showed a reasonable side to the character that still maintained his unyielding persona.

The show plays up the "Davos as the angel and Melisandre as the devil" on Stannis' shoulder angle. I think the audience very much understands this. The changes that many here are referencing do not amount to nearly the "character assassination" you believe they do. It's a character you really like so you're focusing unnecessarily on every little thing that happens there while losing perspective on the entire arc of his story within this universe.

As an unbiased observer who likes Stannis plenty, let me assure you that it's all going to be ok, I swear.

[Thelastactionhero]

I just think these perceived slights are so minor that they are being noticed by nitpicky book fans only. It's a slightly different interpretation of the book character (as most of the characters on GoT are) but not really by that much, the essence of the guy is very much right there.

It just reminds me so much of the uproar over the show's portrayal of Jaime in S2 when they had him kill Alton for example. The wailing and gnashing of teeth that went on here for months and months about how the "real" Jaime would never be a "kinslayer" and how they would never be able to bring him back from that and how the audience would hate him and always believe him to be the villain. The argument that I gave at that time and has I think, been proven over time is that the killing of Alton was not nearly the "big deal" for the television audience that the book readers believed it to be and that once he got into the material that gave the audience a reason to get behind him, then the general opinion about him would align much more closely with how the readers (with 5 books worth of context) felt.

The same will be true of Stannis. Once he actually does the stuff that got book readers to get on board with his character, then you'll start to see some of the love for the character come out.

It's not like the show has made Stannis into an ultra villain either. He's done things like make Davos (who the audience has extreme sympathy for) his Hand based on their history and loyalty. He led the troops into the Battle of Blackwater from the front and had to be dragged away by his men kicking and screaming from the battle even when all was lost. That's some heroic shit. He had a great conversation with Davos in the cells in S3 that gave more insight into their relationship and showed a reasonable side to the character that still maintained his unyielding persona.

The show plays up the "Davos as the angel and Melisandre as the devil" on Stannis' shoulder angle. I think the audience very much understands this. The changes that many here are referencing do not amount to nearly the "character assassination" you believe they do. It's a character you really like so you're focusing unnecessarily on every little thing that happens there while losing perspective on the entire arc of his story within this universe.

As an unbiased observer who likes Stannis plenty, let me assure you that it's all going to be ok, I swear.

Look I totally understand where you're coming from, and trust me, I truly hope that your assumptions about Stannis' future in the tv series are correct. That being said, I definitely don't think these "slights" are all as minor as you think. I mean hell, I grudgingly gave them the benefit of the doubt and went along with him throwing Davos in the dungeon, humping Melisandre on the beach, and calling one of the poor women Robert took to his bed a worthless "tavern slut". While these all little alterations add up to a negatively charged image of the character, I think you're right to say that thematically speaking we needed to see how broken Stannis was in order for his defeat at Black Water to have sufficient weight within his character arc. The main problems I have with the adaptation revolve around the season finale, in which we see Stannis give into temptation and choose to sacrifice Gendry, and the way in which they reveal his intention to rescue the Night Watch from the Wildling invasion.

Now granted, I realize that because we're not dealing with Edric Storm but rather a full fledged adult whom is a complete stranger to Stannis, you might be inclined to give the show runners a pass on how many dead kings it took to convince Stannis to burn the boy. Personally, I feel that because the arc isn't really given sufficient development, we as viewers don't have enough material to empathize with Stannis or the weight of the moral conflict which lies before him. Stannis literally broods on this choice for half a book, threatens to kill Melisandre at one point over it, and only comes close to finally giving in when he weighs the life of Edric Storm against the life of every child in Westeros, including his own daughter. Maybe the material in episode 8 was enough and I'm just being overly critical, but while some simplification of the material is neccessary for any adaptation, I certainly think they could have done a better job at rendering Stannis in the gray here.

But really, if it were just these problems I think you might be right to say that some of the outrage is a little preemptive. The scene that potentially ruins the character, however, is when Davos finally reads him the Night Watch letter, and he decides, "fuck it, I'm going to execute you anyway." And apparently for no other reason than he's just pissed off. It isn't until Melisandre convinces him otherwise that he chooses to spare Davos and head to the Wall. If anything, the credit for the Wall might as well go to her because it's pretty damn clear he can't fucking think for himself at all in the tv universe. This is literally, the most important moment in the character arc, the moment when Stannis realizes his duty to the realm is more important than gaining the throne. It's the moment when he realizes what being a King actually means, "a King that still cares." His entire motivation for going to the Wall has a different color to it now, and he comes off looking like such a weak and petty man as a result. It also makes his friendship with Davos, a very special part of the books and one of the truly redeeming aspects of his character, look very silly.

And yes, I realize that we don't actually see Stannis reach this conclusion that he needs to save the Night's Watch in the POV, since it ends as a cliff hanger with him holding Lightbringer over Davos' head (something epic as shit and pretty much tailor made for the small screen), but the fact is television has to make subtle things more obvious for the viewers, and if they're going to take all the ambiguity out of him having sex with Mel, while having him doing other evil stuff we never see in the books, I don't really see what harm there would be in showing a little of this "goodness" inside him we keep hearing about from Davos.

Maybe to you this just another minor change, and while I think you're right that the television audience is likely to forget about it when he starts doing awesome shit again, (provided they do him justice) I certainly can't just up and ignore scenes like this, scenes that are immensely important to his character development. Who knows though. I am totally open to being proven wrong, but judging from this track record can you really say that I have absolutely no reason to be sceptical of where his arc is headed in season 4?

[King Tommen]

Look I totally understand where you're coming from, and trust me, I truly hope that your assumptions about Stannis' future in the tv series are correct. That being said, I definitely don't think these "slights" are all as minor as you think. I mean hell, I grudgingly gave them the benefit of the doubt and went along with him throwing Davos in the dungeon, humping Melisandre on the beach, and calling one of the poor women Robert took to his bed a worthless "tavern slut". While these all little alterations add up to a negatively charged image of the character, I think you're right to say that thematically speaking we needed to see how broken Stannis was in order for his defeat at Black Water to have sufficient weight within his character arc. The main problems I have with the adaptation revolve around the season finale, in which we see Stannis give into temptation and choose to sacrifice Gendry, and the way in which they reveal his intention to rescue the Night Watch from the Wildling invasion.

Now granted, I realize that because we're not dealing with Edric Storm but rather a full fledged adult whom is a complete stranger to Stannis, you might be inclined to give the show runners a pass on how many dead kings it took to convince Stannis to burn the boy. Personally, I feel that because the arc isn't really given sufficient development, we as viewers don't have enough material to empathize with Stannis or the weight of the moral conflict which lies before him. Stannis literally broods on this choice for half a book, threatens to kill Melisandre at one point over it, and only comes close to finally giving in when he weighs the life of Edric Storm against the life of every child in Westeros, including his own daughter. Maybe the material in episode 8 was enough and I'm just being overly critical, but while some simplification of the material is neccessary for any adaptation, I certainly think they could have done a better job at rendering Stannis in the gray here.

But really, if it were just these problems I think you might be right to say that some of the outrage is a little preemptive. The scene that potentially ruins the character, however, is when Davos finally reads him the Night Watch letter, and he decides, "fuck it, I'm going to execute you anyway." And apparently for no other reason than he's just pissed off. It isn't until Melisandre convinces him otherwise that he chooses to spare Davos and head to the Wall. If anything, the credit for the Wall might as well go to her because it's pretty damn clear he can't fucking think for himself at all in the tv universe. This is literally, the most important moment in the character arc, the moment when Stannis realizes his duty to the realm is more important than gaining the throne. It's the moment when he realizes what being a King actually means, "a King that still cares." His entire motivation for going to the Wall has a different color to it now, and he comes off looking like such a weak and petty man as a result. It also makes his friendship with Davos, a very special part of the books and one of the truly redeeming aspects of his character, look very silly.

And yes, I realize that we don't actually see Stannis reach this conclusion that he needs to save the Night's Watch in the POV, since it ends as a cliff hanger with him holding Lightbringer over Davos' head (something epic as shit and pretty much tailor made for the small screen), but the fact is television has to make subtle things more obvious for the viewers, and if they're going to take all the ambiguity out of him having sex with Mel, while having him doing other evil stuff we never see in the books, I don't really see what harm there would be in showing a little of this "goodness" inside him we keep hearing about from Davos.

Maybe to you this just another minor change, and while I think you're right that the television audience is likely to forget about it when he starts doing awesome shit again, (provided they do him justice) I certainly can't just up and ignore scenes like this, scenes that are immensely important to his character development. Who knows though. I am totally open to being proven wrong, but judging from this track record can you really say that I have absolutely no reason to be sceptical of where his arc is headed in season 4?

Hey, fair enough. You can't really judge the adaption portrayal until it's all there for us to see. We're both merely speculating at this point as to where this will all go.

I am all for pointing out differences in the choices made from book to screen and I do agree that there are moments that are played differently. Perhaps because we don't have Stannis' POV in the books, I found the way they portrayed his S3 scenes in Dragonstone to be really interesting. It's certainly taking some liberties but him being a man trying to grasp for something in desperation until finally steeling his resolve and using his only two very different advisors and backers advice to get back on the horse was kind of a cool way to get through his first half of ASoS arc. But I could see how it could rub some fans the wrong way because it doesn't paint him in the best light. Personally, I felt like it gave the audience more insight into where he was coming from and why he's the man that he is. The scenes with both Selyse and Shireen I felt were extremely helpful in giving his background and making him a more three dimensional human as opposed to the mostly removed perspective we get from Davos in the novels. I think when it's all said and done, the S3 stuff will allow for the tv audience to get on board with Stannis more once he gets back on the battlefield. It was a necessary diverson IMO and will help in the long run. But if people were put off by that stuff, again to each his own.

What I really don't like are comments like "they've ruined the character". It's really short-sighted when we have multiple examples on the show of people having this reaction initially only to then see over time that the character has rounded into form as time went on.

My feeling as far as track record goes is that for the most part, the show has earned some latitude with the way they write the characters. It might not go exactly as you want it to but I think we all end up at the same place at the end of the day.

[Thelastactionhero]

Hey, fair enough. You can't really judge the adaption portrayal until it's all there for us to see. We're both merely speculating at this point as to where this will all go.

I am all for pointing out differences in the choices made from book to screen and I do agree that there are moments that are played differently. Perhaps because we don't have Stannis' POV in the books, I found the way they portrayed his S3 scenes in Dragonstone to be really interesting. It's certainly taking some liberties but him being a man trying to grasp for something in desperation until finally steeling his resolve and using his only two very different advisors and backers advice to get back on the horse was kind of a cool way to get through his first half of ASoS arc. But I could see how it could rub some fans the wrong way because it doesn't paint him in the best light. Personally, I felt like it gave the audience more insight into where he was coming from and why he's the man that he is. The scenes with both Selyse and Shireen I felt were extremely helpful in giving his background and making him a more three dimensional human as opposed to the mostly removed perspective we get from Davos in the novels. I think when it's all said and done, the S3 stuff will allow for the tv audience to get on board with Stannis more once he gets back on the battlefield. It was a necessary diverson IMO and will help in the long run. But if people were put off by that stuff, again to each his own.

What I really don't like are comments like "they've ruined the character". It's really short-sighted when we have multiple examples on the show of people having this reaction initially only to then see over time that the character has rounded into form as time went on.

My feeling as far as track record goes is that for the most part, the show has earned some latitude with the way they write the characters. It might not go exactly as you want it to but I think we all end up at the same place at the end of the day.

I'm totally with you on the Selyse/Shireen scene. It was charged with emotion and really deepend him as a character, especially when we see him try to reach out and show affection to his daughter, failing only because he lacks the psychological means to actually say that he loves her. It really offered us something that the books never did, and in the show's defense, I think that episode did perhaps disclose the better angels of his nature, although in a subdued limited fashion. Your point earlier about Jaime is something that gives me tenative hope they can turn this around, because I too remember when everyone went batshit crazy after that scene where he strangles his cousin. If anything, it actually made his redemption arc better, because you don't expect him to have the capacity for kindness and empathy, especially after all these moments that illustrate his brutality, and yet its Jaime of all people that prevents Brienne from being raped, even though it doesn't directly benefit him. I can see why you'd find the changes to Stan's arc interesting, I just think maybe they got carried away showing his dickishness, considering the fact that we do see many examples within the book where he shows concern for the innocent (Crackclaw Point), righteousness, and even a warm friendliness with Davos that I just don't think is there at the moment in the show.

Really, this all comes down to how they portray the battle at the Wall and our journey to get there. If they give Stannis that line about "the cart before the horse" where he praises Davos for helping him see the truth, despite his lowborn birth, I'll be very pleased. Even the trailer seems to be pointing towards a heightened sense of moral ambiguity regarding Team Dragonstone, so we'll have to hang tight and see what happens. My thing is, I realize some fans get carried away, and offer an idealized image of the character that really isn't quite what we get in the text. I'm not one of them. Stannis is a dark character, and if anything, he's a brutal anti-hero, but that's what makes him so fascinating. I just want them to give Stan the treatment they've given all the other characters on the show, which is to say, a fresh coat of grey paint. Time will tell if they get him right or not this season.