Stannis in Season 5

[James Steller]

At long last, Stannis is really getting his due. He's still ruthlessly stubborn and unsmiling, but for the first time in a while we're getting to see Stannis's sense of justice and his humanity. It started with episode 1 where Mance compliments Stannis as a man who'd be a great King, and Stannis urges Mance to serve him rather than die. And even when Mance refused, Stannis was impressed because he knew he would have done the same thing.

And from there it's been great scene after great scene. His interactions with Jon, his nod of respect when Jon cemented his leadership, and most of all, his scene with Shireen. It's honestly one of my all time favourite scenes from this show. Of course it means that D and D have something horrible in mind for him, like having Brienne kill him, and I'll be livid then. But for now I'm enjoying this positivity towards one of the best characters of the series.

If season 1 belonged to Sean Bean, 2 belonged to Peter Dinklage, 3 belonged to Charles Dance, and 4 belonged to Pedro Pascal, then 5 thus far belongs to Stephen Dillane.