Is Stannis delusional to even think he can ever win the iron throne?

[John Suburbs]

I think he will "sit" the IT because Mel says she has seen him doing it in her fires. Mel misinterprets a lot of things, but an image of Stannis on the IT is pretty clear.

However, it will probably be a pyrrhic victory where he is king for a short while as either dragons or others are swarming down on him, or that it came at the cost of his family, his honor and anything else he loves. Or he is not king at all but comes to the throneroom and grabs the seat just before someone kills him.

[John Suburbs]

Lol, I wish it was. I was all set for some major dragon action in Dance, and then had to wait until the final chapters, and even then it was pretty lame. I was expecting massive fighting down below with dragons circling in the air and torching entire regiments in one breath.

Maybe in Winds, if what I hear is true.

[Marcus Agrippa]

Lol, I wish it was. I was all set for some major dragon action in Dance, and then had to wait until the final chapters, and even then it was pretty lame. I was expecting massive fighting down below with dragons circling in the air and torching entire regiments in one breath.

Maybe in Winds, if what I hear is true.

Dragon's aren't an end all game. Drogon is the closer to Baelrion the Black Dread but other two still fairly small. We will see. IN the green and the blacks it was man power that won the day- not dragons.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Dragon's aren't an end all game. Drogon is the closer to Baelrion the Black Dread but other two still fairly small. We will see. IN the green and the blacks it was man power that won the day- not dragons.

Wait what? Aren't you missing about 100-something years of growth compared to three or something?

[Marcus Agrippa]

Wait what? Aren't you missing about 100-something years of growth compared to three or something?

This true but from what I heard from a reading (AWOIAF) is that younger dragons grow quickly- so will drogon be Baelrion in size? Nope but he seems to be growing faster then the other two. So this third hand information ( the growth speed) I should have looked it up before stating it like it was fact.

[Señor de la Tormenta]

Patently a reincarnated Jon Snow and his Dragon Steel Blade

Its (I think) Aegon.

Aegon, if he is a blackfyre that is.

This been the second dance of dragons

blue eyed? cast no shadow?

[The Drunkard]

I think he will "sit" the IT because Mel says she has seen him doing it in her fires. Mel misinterprets a lot of things, but an image of Stannis on the IT is pretty clear.

I think Axell saw that, actually. As far as I know, Melisandre confirming an Iron Throne victory for Stannis is show-only.

[Marcus Agrippa]

Hi,

Nobody noticed it...cause he isn't! :lol:

I don't think Stannis is delusional, or autistic. he is just suffering from the insecurities of being a second son. However, I don't want to discuss his social skills.

This guy went from one of the characters I deeply disliked at the beginning of the series to one of my favorites. He has gained my respect as a reader as well as Westeros' I think. At the beginning of the series he used to be a laughing stock but now nobody is laughing.

I greatly admire his determination and grit. Personally, I don't think he will sit the IT but I don't think he will die soon either. His determination to fight the Others makes me think that he might be one of the dragon heads (the dragon has three heads) since he has some Targ blood and I think this might be why Mel is confusing him with being AA.

You know I don't get Daenerys,Stannis, or Jon's fans usual hate for each other's characters. Stannis's grit is one of the more fantastic elements to his character and he usually gets hate for it. Yeah he isn't logical in the way he does things but if we use that for qualifaction process then either LF or varys would be king. LF could be an interesting case since he could push Westeros into decent reform... or destroy it because he is a socio-path.

[SynthFG]

blue eyed? cast no shadow?

The Wrights are blue eyed when they return

And Mels does some very strange things with shadows

Lord Snow's resurrection may well involve both the ability of Corpses north of the Wall to Reincarnate, JS's soul residing in his wolf and Mels bringing them back together

[aFeastForDragons]

It could take him several years to get down to KL with the snow he's buried in at the moment.

[Dolorous22]

I love Stannis. He's moody and dark. But ultimately fair. I want him to be successful. He's learnt to 'bend' before he brakes. Characters who heed good advice tend to live a bit longer then the stubborn ones, Ned, Viscerys, Rickard Karstark, Oberyn etc

For me, it all rests on one thing. Do the Northmen intend to honor their agreement to Stannis and if so do they intend for him to survive? You can promise anything to a dead man walking.

They can swear to fealty to him but if they are facilitating a suicidal attack on WF as a ploy to weaken the Boltons and Freys then all they need do is play out the whole mummers farce until Stannis dies in battle/pneumonia/starvation/others. The commitment to serve him as King is very inconsequential if you're not intending to survive Winter. Plus all those dead bodies 'getting back up and killing people' might be a problem. Looking at the situation this way, he looks doomed.

But maybe...

Stannis intends to sit right where he is and allow the opposition to march on him without committing to taking Winterfell at all. He just needs to sit where he is long enough for the 'Great Northern Conspiracy' to play-out. Using the snowed-in crofters village as a sort of Stoms End. He doesn't have a Castle but in this scenario I can imagine the weather and terrain to act as his walls. His force is made-up of hardy Northmen who are ready to die and are familiar with the conditions. The Boltons I suppose are no strangers to Winter but it is the Freys who are most likely to engage him first. And that's just the ones who survive the march. There is nothing to suggest Manderly will attack Stannis at all. Lots of opportunity to lose men due to traps/Manderly sabotage/cold. Stannis doesn't like the word "if" but if he can survive long enough for the enemy to destroy themselves out in the cold, and doesn't actually 'take' WF, what is he left with?

Roose Bolton's allies weakened.
The support of the Iron Bank.
The support of the North.
An imminent arrival of sellswords.
Manderly's fleet of 30 odd war galleys.

And possibly, the northmens liege Lord smuggled in by good ol' Davos.

All of that could well help him plop his butt on the IT.

That is one of many angles and as I can see the story focusing less on some chair in the south and more on the impending doom from beyond the wall and various Targaryans arriving from...everywhere its all too close to call.
It's all a bit mental and I love it.

[John Suburbs]

The Wrights are blue eyed when they return

And Mels does some very strange things with shadows

Lord Snow's resurrection may well involve both the ability of Corpses north of the Wall to Reincarnate, JS's soul residing in his wolf and Mels bringing them back together

Wow, Synth, this is almost poetic

[Bastetcat]

When the war started there was four other contenders, who are all dead now, two without successors. He's not really delusional, since soon Westeros might not have another option.

 

How pathetic is that. Just like when Jon won the sword fight in AGOT
Jon : "I won"

Thorne: "No. They have lost."

It is a really big difference. 

[Bastetcat]

It is precisely because Stannis is fighting for right-even if a rather rigid and limited idea of right--that people want him to win the IT. He has a fighting chance. No more than 30 percent, but a fighting chance. The comment on another board by ember"George48", that Stannis was just the sort of leader who emerged during this sort of struggle in this sort of period, is pertinent I think. 

My opinion of Stannis is that he is more of an admiral than a king. Even hand of the king, but no more. If you want to be a king and STAY king, you have to have a lot of qualities. He doesn't have the charisma. Doesn't know how to stand people to his side. So even if he ands up on the iron throne, he wont be capable of persuading the opposite sides. Lords, paramounts, who is against him.  

[Little Bird Sansa]

Stannis has always been delusional with his supposed right to the throne. Arguably, Robert Baratheon didn't have a right to the throne, but he took it from the Targaryens. The Targaryens also didn't have a right so to speak, but they took the liberty when they found they could take it.

Both had means of ruling a kingdom because of the way they got the people to be loyal to them. As Stannis has never had much loyalty from the people, and furthermore he didn't understand why. Even Joffrey understood that he could rule with fear, and he did, for a time.

Later, under a broken kingdom, Stannis has even less of a right to the throne as he has even less support. And unfortunately he makes so few efforts at winning the people himself. Instead he preoccupies himself with attempts to use a boy lost for years as an ally to gain the North, going into the far North to inevitably kill off his people who are not used to such harsh conditions (a climate which is even hard on the Northerners), and blindly following a woman who believes Stannis to be the savior.

GRRM displays a huge theme in which characters believe all sorts of things, songs, stories, heroic deeds. Stannis has his own delusions just as many other characters have, mainly as he is overly ambitious with his desire for power.

[Bastetcat]

Stannis has always been delusional with his supposed right to the throne. Arguably, Robert Baratheon didn't have a right to the throne, but he took it from the Targaryens. The Targaryens also didn't have a right so to speak, but they took the liberty when they found they could take it.

Both had means of ruling a kingdom because of the way they got the people to be loyal to them. As Stannis has never had much loyalty from the people, and furthermore he didn't understand why. Even Joffrey understood that he could rule with fear, and he did, for a time.

Later, under a broken kingdom, Stannis has even less of a right to the throne as he has even less support. And unfortunately he makes so few efforts at winning the people himself. Instead he preoccupies himself with attempts to use a boy lost for years as an ally to gain the North, going into the far North to inevitably kill off his people who are not used to such harsh conditions (a climate which is even hard on the Northerners), and blindly following a woman who believes Stannis to be the savior.

GRRM displays a huge theme in which characters believe all sorts of things, songs, stories, heroic deeds. Stannis has his own delusions just as many other characters have, mainly as he is overly ambitious with his desire for power.

 

Mostly I agree with you, but not with the last sentence (I made it bold)

Stannis is delusional, yes, but not because he wants power - like Cersei. I think he - being the 2. child - have been living his whole life in the shadows. His older brother had charisma, looks, braveness to win the throne, but lacked the sense of duty. Robert was - as the Lannisters - growing up knowing he has the right to be "the boss", he never understood the responsibility like Ned did. Stannis recognize duty and right, but lack charisma, don't know how to make friends, how to inspire (loyalty). He also doesn't realize he has to earn to be a good king, he believes, he has the right, because he was borne to the right family.Also he has a younger brother who has the charisma, but not the sense of rightness and duty. 

Stannis wants to be recognized beyond being "Robers't stern brother". This is his main goal I think: to be more than his brother, who was wrong is a lot of sense to Westeros, and everyone loved him anyway. This unjust can't stay unanswered. 

(I think the Baratheon's are very complex and unique family. Lot of interesting family members. You can catch the "Barateonness" in all tree of them, while they are complete opposites of each other. They are fun to read. So Stannis for the small council, nowhere else.)


// Sorry, I am not native, feel free to correct me or ask if I was unclear. //