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(Spoilers) Best Stannis scene ever?


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The scene between Stannis and Shireen literally left me in tears. I was shocked both that they actually fleshed out his humanity and also in such a positive fashion.



But more than that, it was just so well written. If Stannis were to ever have a moment like that with his daughter in the books, this is how I would have pictured it.



On the one hand it worries me that Shireen's obviously being set up for some sort of king's blood ritual by Mel and her willing accomplice Selyse, but it also reinforces my belief that if either of them do it, Stannis will not let it go unpunished. This is the daughter he fought tooth and nail to save, unwilling to give her up. There will be more than seven kinds of hell to pay if they touch a hair on her head.


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I was more than a little misty-eyed myself, haha. Go on with yourself, Stannis. But my alarm bells are ringing at full volume for Shireen. There were so many little lines and things in this episode that make me think she's going to end up burned (kings blood, Melisandre looking at Selyse like you know what I mean, the emotional scene popping up now, etc). I get a bad feeling from it. I really hope if that's what's in store, she escapes it somehow... but I have a feeling this might be the shocking scene Liam Cunningham mentioned in one of his interviews.


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Shireen is the cuttest thing, is she not? Sweet, outgoing and kind. Completely opposite of that hateful bitch of a mother but after seeing Stannis, maybe she showed that he is closer to her in personality if it was not for all of that burden of responsibility he constantly bares.


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Yes. This was a great adaptation choice. Loved this scene and great way to get sympathy for both Stannis and Shireen, which will be important going forward is my guess. Definitely one of his top scenes.



In general, just like in the books, Stannis going to the Wall and being paired off with Jon makes him a lot more likable than he had ever been before.


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For a character that can sometimes be a caricature for how rigid he is, this was a perfect way to use that to humanize him. Of course he would be a hardnosed bastard who would tell everyone to piss off when they were saying his heiress was a lost caused because she had greyscale. The awkward hug was amazing.


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Loved the scene for its emotional impact and the humanization of Stannis (who compared to his book character kind of needed it), and as a Stannis scene it was perfect with the awkward Stannis hug and everything.

But it means Stannis or Shireen will be dead within the next few episodes while those emotions are still fresh to the TV audience, so that sucks.

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It was a remarkable scene. Stannis is well-known and disliked for his stubbornness. But from this scene, we can draw an inference that this is the very characteristic that humanises him, that makes him a good father and leader. If not for his stubbornness, he would have given up a long time ago - given up saving his daughter, given up defending Storm's End during the year-long siege of Storm's End, given up his ambition to get the throne and save the kingdom. He does not need to be all smiles and sunshine. He is fine the way he is.



I, too, loved the awkward hug. Getting to see this side of Stannis instead of the usual "Grrr, war, justice, duty, ermahgerd" is refreshing.


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Meh. His scene on the ship with Davos in season 2 was way better. While this scene wasn't offensively bad, it came off as a cheap attempt to make up for the complete butchery of his character in the last two seasons. I would much rather have seen him talk about his motivations for coming to the Wall, or his plan for the Others. Which he still hasn't mentioned.


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Shireen is such a cutie. They really found the right actress.



I'm worried about her, I just hope that burning a little girl onscreen is too much even for HBO. Also, would the Watch let it happen? Sam doesn't seem to be going anywhere and he'd probably interfere (even if Jon is busy temporarily deading).


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Beautifully acted scene. Very touching. Shireen's tearful smile as her father explains how much she means to him -- anyone who wasn't even slightly moved by it must be dead inside.



I found it surprising that many people thought the scene was "out of character" for Stannis. I felt quite the opposite. He wasn't overly emotional, gushy, or touchy-feely. I always got the sense in both the books and the show that he cared for his daughter quite deeply and would be very upset if anything happened to her. I think the only thing that makes the potential impending death of Shireen the slightest bit bearable is being able to see Stannis unleash absolute hell on whoever does it.


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I thought the scene was brilliantly done and I've watched it twenty times at this point, but I still prefer the scene(s) in 3.05 with Selyse and Shireen as they came at a point in Stannis' story when he was really at his lowest. Watching it I could imagine him dragging himself away from his isolation and forcing himself to interact with Selyse and Shireen when it made him deeply uncomfortable to do so (while at the same time showing him having a guarded affection for Shireen). Stannis is never going to be very demonstrative in his love for Shireen and I loved the way her hug in 3.05 took him by surprise but you can just see him soften after a few moments in his presence (I made a gifset about the two hugs because of "all the feelz" :D ). The "you are my daughter" bit in 5.04 gave me goosebumps though and I thought it was very well judged in that he didn't say "and I love you" at the end because that would have been the easy way out, and the wrong thing for someone like Stannis to say.



Stephen is Stannis and Stannis is Stephen. :blushing:


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Probably the best scene in the episode, proof that you don't need boobs, violence or f-bombs to make this show good.



A well thought out and acted scene that shows perfectly how Stannis ticks. He will go to any lengths to protect his daughter but there's also that grim brooding at the start that we are so familiar with.



Also related to this - the doll he bought for his daughter = assassination attempt or no? Sounded to me like the trader was clearly only selling one thing of interest to anyone and that was a toy for the new daughter of the ruler of Dragonstone, seemed he was specifically targeting Stannis for that sale. Did the trader not come from Dorne too, not all that long after the rebellion.


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I genuinely thought this was super in-character. Of course Stannis, the man known for his stubbornness, would live up to that image when his only child is dying. I always got the impression that he cared about his daughter in the books too. The awkward hug at the end was freakin' awesome.


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