Your opinion on Renly

[Terrorthatflapsinthenight9]

What is your opinion on Renly Baratheon ? 

Do you find him to be a likeable/sympathetic character or do you find him unlikeable ? 

Do you think that he was worth following in his bid to become king or not ?

[Alden Rothack]

Olenna Tyrell and Maester Cressen both had Renly pegged

he was a charismatic idiot who had no business trying to be king when he did, if he was smart he'd have backed Stannis against the Lannisters, put the realm in order and then let the Tyrells quietly take care of Stannis

 

[King_Tristifer_IV_Mudd]

26 minutes ago, Alden Rothack said:

Olenna Tyrell and Maester Cressen both had Renly pegged

he was a charismatic idiot who had no business trying to be king when he did, if he was smart he'd have backed Stannis against the Lannisters, put the realm in order and then let the Tyrells quietly take care of Stannis

 

This plus he made fun of a disabled girl’s appearance and called Shireen a “little monster”. Seemed like a young Robert, a douche canoe.

[Alden Rothack]

4 minutes ago, KingEuronGreyjoy said:

This plus he made fun of a disabled girl’s appearance and called Shireen a “little monster”. Seemed like a young Robert, a douche canoe.

of all the people to call a little monster he picks Shireen. yeah hes Robert minus the fighting skills and tactical acumen

[SeanF]

A bit of a shit, really.

All flash and no substance.

[Craving Peaches]

1 hour ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

What is your opinion on Renly Baratheon ? 

Fave.

1 hour ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

Do you find him to be a likeable/sympathetic character or do you find him unlikeable ?

Likeable and sympathetic.

1 hour ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

Do you think that he was worth following in his bid to become king or not ?

Worth following.

[James Steller]

Okay, I'll be fair.

Renly wasn't without his positive traits. He knew how to play the social game, and he was a charismatic guy. We can assume that he might have eventually become a capable warrior, too. And he was progressive in the way he treated Brienne and allowed her a position in his Rainbow Guard.

But at the same time, I really dislike him for being an attention-seeking braggart who thought he could swan around being the next Robert (who was also a terrible role model, but that's another topic). I think he was remarkably ungrateful to Stannis after all Stannis did to protect little Renly during Robert's Rebellion (and yes, Stannis is the reason why Renly wasn't captured and/or killed during that war, but Renly somehow forgets or ignores that). Other people here have said already that he is undeservedly cruel to Shireen. I also think his supporters are often hypocritical in the way they try to vilify Stannis for doing what Renly himself was fully prepared to do had the shadow not killed him. And for all his being Master of Laws, we also get no indication that Renly does any actual administration work, or wants to combat the rampant corruption of Robert's reign. He just wants the kingship because he thinks he's good at it, and he sees nothing wrong with prolonging a devastating war to get what he wants. 

[frenin]

The GOAT of the Baratheon Brothers.

I also loved that he died young and soon, so he can fit in whatever mold, positive or negative, the reader wants to gIve him.

I always was fond of the dude but Stannis's stans made me fall in love with the man lol.

1 hour ago, Alden Rothack said:

of all the people to call a little monster he picks Shireen

He never called her little monster, he called ugly child.

Which is mean but true.

 

45 minutes ago, James Steller said:

I think he was remarkably ungrateful to Stannis after all Stannis did to protect little Renly during Robert's Rebellion (and yes, Stannis is the reason why Renly wasn't captured and/or killed during that war, but Renly somehow forgets or ignores that).

Stannis was protecting his own hide, not Renly's. Renly was tangential to Stannis.

If there's someone in Stannis's camp Renly owes big time is Davos.

 

48 minutes ago, James Steller said:

He just wants the kingship because he thinks he's good at it, and he sees nothing wrong with prolonging a devastating war to get what he wants. 

His death is literally what prolongs the devastating war tho. 

 

Renly is, bar Dany because dragons + genuine good heart, the best solution to the chaos after Robert's death.

Robb is too disruptive, Joffrey is a loose canon and the Lannister are too hated and Stannis is disliked and can't command neither the loyalty nor the support of the barons or commons.

Peake perfomance.

 

[James Arryn]

Has the most modern understanding of politics evident in the books, at least amongst anyone near it. Basically, he’s the best player amongst the potential rulers and of the players he’s the one with greatest opportunity to rule. He’s nowhere near as moral/idealistic as the show made him, but otoh he’s a much, much, much better feudal leader than the show version. 

In short, his presence required the first deus ex machina in the game of thrones for a reason, because absent it he was pretty inevitably going to win, and was going about it in away astute observers like Tyrion and LF admired. 

[EggBlue]

3 hours ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

What is your opinion on Renly Baratheon ? 

Do you find him to be a likeable/sympathetic character or do you find him unlikeable ? 

Do you think that he was worth following in his bid to become king or not ?

smart kid , a bit of an asshole but among Renly , Joff and Stan , I prefer Renly . he's more flexible than Stan and has Margery by his side . two great advantages . still , it would be better to move North to King in the North's freezing domain ; or better yet for a commoner , South, under Doran Martell's governance . 

[King_Tristifer_IV_Mudd]

I think Renly would’ve been another Robert. Just as corrupt, more interested in pageantry and feasting then actually being a good ruler. And whatever children or heirs be he manages to have will almost certainly end up fighting over the throne causing another civil war.

[Gilbert Green]

3 hours ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

What is your opinion on Renly Baratheon ? 

His murder is a sin that will eventually catch up with Stannis, and that Stannis will have to pay for.

3 hours ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

Do you find him to be a likeable/sympathetic character or do you find him unlikeable ?

There's nothing to like.  Stannis should not have murdered him.  That's all.

3 hours ago, Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 said:

Do you think that he was worth following in his bid to become king or not ?

No.  Power tests the best of us, but Renly was vain and selfish to begin with.  15 years of kingship would have transformed him into a far worse villain than King Robert ever was.  It is only because his bid failed that we can remember him as a harmless twat with no character.

[Raksha 2014]

Renly is all style and no substance.

Plus he betrayed his liege-lord (Stannis) by claiming the kingship for himself when Stannis had the better claim as the oldest son after Robert's death.  Stannis had the lawful right, in my opinion, as Lord of House Baratheon, to execute Renly for such treason; he had given him time to back down and join him.  Renly had become a Tyrell stooge.

And even if Renly had managed to win and defeat the Lannisters and Stannis and set himself up as King Renly, First of His Name, and triumph over Daenerys and White Walkers, etc., he would probably face the same difficulty as Robert in that he would not have heirs of his own body (he doesn't seem to show any sexual interest in Margaery and there is no sign of her becoming pregnant during the months of their marriage).  

[Nathan Stark]

Well, I do appreciate Renly for his willingness to let Brienne join his new boys club. That and his relationship with Loras is humanizing. Otherwise, Renly is, as Donal Noye put it, "copper. Nice to look at, but not worth much at the end of the day." I always got the impression Renly was better at acting like a man of the people than actually putting work in to help the people. Certainly bringing war to Westeros in the form of raising a massive army and letting the Tyrells close the Rose Road and starving Kings Landing is a pretty callous and underhanded thing to do. And it was all done in the name of making Renly King, leapfrogging the line of succession and gaurenteeing that even if he won, his own heirs would never have a stable succession themselves. Renly's ambition clouded his judgement, leaving him blind to the fact that he was making his more dangerous and experienced older brother an enemy. Renly ought to have backed Stannis's play, married his Tyrell girl and gotten a few heirs, and waited for Stannis to die as king. But like so many Gen Z kids, he wanted it all, and he wanted it NOW!

[Hugorfonics]

Who?

[Canon Claude]

11 minutes ago, Nathan Stark said:

But like so many Gen Z kids

Really? 

[frenin]

1 hour ago, Nathan Stark said:

But like so many Gen Z kids, he wanted it all, and he wanted it NOW!

Kinda poetic that a Stannis's stan spews boomer nonsense.

[Nathan Stark]

4 minutes ago, frenin said:

Kinda poetic that a Stannis's stan spews boomer nonsense.

Lol. Okay man. I'm actually a millennial, but whatever.

[Nathan Stark]

58 minutes ago, Canon Claude said:

Really? 

Yes. Really. If Renly had given his support to his brother, the way he was legally obligated to do, he would have been next in line after Stannis. All he had to do was be patient. But he was not patient. He wanted it all, and he wanted it immediately.

[Canon Claude]

2 minutes ago, Nathan Stark said:

Yes. Really. If Renly had given his support to his brother, the way he was legally obligated to do, he would have been next in line after Stannis. All he had to do was be patient. But he was not patient. He wanted it all, and he wanted it immediately.

You mistake me. I got all that. But did you really have to drag generalized barbs against a generation of people into this conversation about a fictional series? Do you really have to bring your own political agenda to the fore?