What do you think of Stannis? <Spoiler>

[SevenHells!]

Its almost a little out of character for him to come to the aid of the Wall....except for the fact that Lady Melisandre seems to have been preparing Stannis for the Others the whole time.

I guess they tried for Kings Landing in hopes of raising a huge army to defend the Wall...and when that failed, they had no choice but to act and goto the Wall with what they had....after receiving the raven.

I liked how Stannis realized the urgency and sees the grave threat thats before him and is willing to give pardons to all Wildlings willing to abide by the gods and laws of the South. This is something that up till this point, Stannis has not been willing to do...show mercy.

[Elder Sister]

Interesting question. Stannis is one of those characters that irritates and puzzles me. He's a major drag, has no sense of humor, and manages to be boring, while running around with some hottie priestess and chopping people's fingers off with a cleaver. You have to be majorly dull not to make any of that seem even mildly interesting. And the fact that he's even willing to entertain sacrificing children to further his own cause is just icky. But there again, he manages to take the drama out of child sacrifice. He's just a wet blanket to me. He nags, he whines...meh. My apologies to the Stannis fans...he just underwhelms me.

I liked that he 'got' the urgency of the Night Watch's situation and responded to it. And it seems that Melisandre's agenda is to fight the white walkers, but does that mean she's on the side of right? She scares the crap out of me, honestly. She's way more interesting (in a bad way) than Stannis ever thought about being.

[LampreyPie]

I like Stannis. I like that he can take brutal honesty as well as he can dish it out. He could stand to be a bit more flexible, yes, but when he says to Davos, "A good act does not wash out the bad, nor a bad act the good," I feel like that's almost a statement of one of the themes of the series. A person who commits one heroic act is equally capable of a terrible one, and vice versa.

About Edric Storm, in Stannis' mind he feels that burning one child could stop the death of thousands of children, so it is a real moral dilemma; it's not just him wanting to burn a child so he can be king. Of course, I think even if Davos didn't manage to get Edric to safety, I think Stannis would eventually have come to his senses about that; Stannis and Davos make a good team.

I don't think Stannis does what he does for his own aspirations. I really think he means everything he says about how it's not important whether he wants the throne or not, but he's next in line and it is what is just. He's doing what is his duty. Despite his prickly reputation I don't think he'd be half bad on the Iron Throne--he'd be far better than Robert, and that he'd be better than Joffrey goes without saying--except for the factor of Melisandre. She's the wild card that makes us hope Stannis never gets to the Iron Throne. But just as a person, although he may not be much fun at parties, I find Stannis likeable and respectable.

[LampreyPie]

Its almost a little out of character for him to come to the aid of the Wall....except for the fact that Lady Melisandre seems to have been preparing Stannis for the Others the whole time.

Is it out of character? I don't think so. I think Davos helped Stannis see the urgency and, just as Stannis explained, convinced him to defend the realm, since it is his obligation if he is to be king. I'm sure Melisandre wanted him there eventually too, but it was Davos who brought the matter to his attention. It's possible that she exerted some sort of mind control or mental influence on Davos to make him so troubled by the letter he read, I suppose. But I think it makes sense that both Davos and Stannis would see how important it was to respond to the letter.

I liked that he 'got' the urgency of the Night Watch's situation and responded to it. And it seems that Melisandre's agenda is to fight the white walkers, but does that mean she's on the side of right?

I have said this in a few other topics--I don't think Melisandre is who she says she is and I don't think she's on the side of good at all. Stannis is not Azor Ahai reborn, nor does she honestly believe he is. She is manipulating him for evil purposes, IMO. She might even be working for the Great Other (who could be the "boss" of the Others, plural).

[Sigrid]

Stannis is just...different. He is so unlikable and yet I feel the need to root for him, to worry about him. I feel his character is the embodiment of justice taken to its extreme as illustrated with Davos and his fingers.

I have said this in a few other topics--I don't think Melisandre is who she says she is and I don't think she's on the side of good at all. Stannis is not Azor Ahai reborn, nor does she honestly believe he is. She is manipulating him for evil purposes, IMO. She might even be working for the Great Other (who could be the "boss" of the Others, plural).

I think that is very interesting and gives me something to think about. I don't trust Melisandre at all, but my discomfort with her was more to do with her being a religious zealot. I do think that she is a devoted follower of R'hllor, but I don't think that Stannis is Azor Ahai, and I think she will realize that too and change her attention to someone else. For the record I theorize it will be Jon.

[Lord Tyrion]

Not sure how Stannis is "boring".

Maybe he acts boring in the actual book, but his character is far more interesting than many others.

I honestly love reading his parts of the story, and I actually wouldn't mind him as king. I just hate Melisandre

[Elder Sister]

Not sure how Stannis is "boring".

Maybe he acts boring in the actual book, but his character is far more interesting than many others.

I honestly love reading his parts of the story, and I actually wouldn't mind him as king. I just hate Melisandre

It's just a matter of taste, I suppose. IMO, Melisandre is the only thing that makes him remotely interesting, and I abhor her. He literally makes me grind my teeth together. He has no sense of humor, and whines and cries like a baby, all while pondering burning up children, and actually following through with burning up people. He sucks. How do you make chopping people's fingers off, blood magic, red witches, insane daughter and ugly wife boring?

I just want to nod off every time I read about stupid Stannis.

Sorry - just my opinion - but I cringe every time I get to Stannis material.

:)

[Lord Tyrion]

It's just a matter of taste, I suppose. IMO, Melisandre is the only thing that makes him remotely interesting, and I abhor her. He literally makes me grind my teeth together. He has no sense of humor, and whines and cries like a baby, all while pondering burning up children, and actually following through with burning up people. He sucks. How do you make chopping people's fingers off, blood magic, red witches, insane daughter and ugly wife boring?

I just want to nod off every time I read about stupid Stannis.

Sorry - just my opinion - but I cringe every time I get to Stannis material.

:)

Good points; I think he could be a little more interesting, especially with the stuff surrounding him.

[Elder Sister]

Good points; I think he could be a little more interesting, especially with the stuff surrounding him.

Thanks for not crucifying me for not lovin' on Stannis. :)

I think he's supposed to be 'stoic', and I know many fans admire his austere personality...I just don't.

[Lord Tyrion]

Thanks for not crucifying me for not lovin' on Stannis. :)

I think he's supposed to be 'stoic', and I know many fans admire his austere personality...I just don't.

Oh no, I don't crucify, only Stannis does :)

But really, I like hearing others' opinions. I'm not one of those nasty fellas

[Lady Meera Reed]

Oh no, I don't crucify, only Stannis does :)

Uhm Stannis doesn't crucify people. I think you meant Daenerys.

[Lord Tyrion]

Uhm Stannis doesn't crucify people. I think you meant Daenerys.

Just playing :D

King Stannis

[LuisDantas]

I love Stannis for the straight villain that he is and am quite puzzled by his popularity. Many people seem to think that he is some sort of hero. A classic Draco Malfoy if I ever saw one.

He is cut from the same cloth as Theon, only with far better luck and far less self-honesty.

My take on him when it comes to ASOS is that he has run out of options and, being the weak willed man that he is, had to sort of flip a coin to decide between Davos' counsel and Melisandre's. Except that Melisandre had also run out of options since Edric was sent away from her power, so for once her goals do align well with Davos'.

[TwoHeadedSnake]

I don't trust fundamentalist zealots, or those who allow themselves to be used by the same in order to promote their own self-serving agenda. His pretense to duty is a mask for his ambition he can't admit to. I like Davos, though, but find his loyalty to him blindly misguided. But then again, Davos is going to be Azor Ahai against his own will after he kills his son Devan (who has definitely drunk the Kool-Aid) in an effort to get to Mel, or so my current craqckpot theory holds....

[Aphrum the Dwarf]

Stanis has to be one of my least favorite characters as he is incredibly boring. He's my least favorite of the Bartheran (sp?) brothers and I wish he would of died in place of Remly.

I'm still incredibly torn on whether to get behind the Lord of Light. I like Thoros the priest but can't stand the red woman. I can't nesscarily see if her motives are pure.