Jump to content

Is Stannis sane?


The Sleeper

Recommended Posts

thats just wrong. a boring character is someone you are apathetic to. if you hate a character that much, that means he is interersting.

Not if you are drawn so one-dimensionally as a prick, the way Joffrey is. Diito regarding Gregor. There's nothing controversial about their loathsomeness- they're meant to be incontestably vile, and as such, are boring on their own.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find myself wondering where these conclusions regarding Stannis's supposed competence comes from. To me he seems barely functional.

His actions during the books:

After Jon Arryn's murder, despite having vital information that can seriously undermine if not outright destroy his political rivals, he retreats to Dragonstone and does nothing. He proceeds in his selected course of action until he sends that ridiculus letter. His next action after all hell has broken loose and to which he has failed to react, including a good opportunity to attack King's Landing, is to attack a castle he has no hope of taking, risking retaliation he cannot hope to survive, for no tangible strategic benefit, because someone told him in of what she saw in the fires. That someone being a seer of a religion he does not believe in.

After all that plays out, remarkably to his benefit, he loses time to gain aforementioned castle again with no tangible benefit in sight. As we are going to see later that delay cost him dearly. Enter another shadowbaby. The castle falls. Davos has managed to piece out what had happened with Renly. Stannis, still manages to delude himself.

Come the Blackwater. He fails to anticipate or counter the obstacles thrown in his way. Most importantly he fails to bring along what has proved his most valuable asset: Melissandre.

After the Blackwater he retreats back to Dragonstone. He broods. After a long time of pondering sacrificing his nephew he is finally shamed into action by Davos. Politically this is a long shot. He has no ties to the region and so far all he has managed is to make himself even less relevant.

There he fails to coax what he wanted from the Night's Watch and is convinced on marching to a deathtrap, until Jon buys him off with an offer of tripling his army. Remarkably he manages to accomplish something by following someone else's plan.

Then we come to the march on Winterfell. Jon thinks to himself that he should march at once or not at all. I think the logic in this is obvious. If he could get to it while it was unoccupied it would have been a great asset to him. Once it's manned he has no hope of taking it. Predictably, Stannis does neither, is forced into marching by the two thirds of his army, he delays and finds himself stranded and starving, which might be the thing that has kept him alive, so far. Again he finds himself a tower to brood in.

The pattern I see from this, is brooding broken by irrationa,l spasmodic actions with incosistent motivations, in each and every case prompted by third parties.

There are literally zero competant points in this post.

The characters in the book that deal with Stannis know him a lot better than you, and he is respected by everyone, especially his enemies.

Roose, Tywin, Cersei, Varys all respect the threat that is Stannis Baratheon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

stannis. his too rigid and straight views are repetitive. They could have given him a couple of mistresses. They could have have given him a fistfight with robert just as real brothers do.

Obviously you weren't touched by his wounded hawk story.

He has one mistress allegedly, and i think stannis' rigidness is overrated (no homo). Dude is more openminded than people believe in the books.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Obviously you weren't touched by his wounded hawk story.

He has one mistress allegedly, and i think stannis' rigidness is overrated (no homo). Dude is more openminded than people believe in the books.

Sorry, was just messing with you. Was trying to defend my earlier post, "Stannis is boring. He is sane. Insane men are not boring. See Joffrey." Was trying to keep it lighthearted, because for all intents and purposes without looking at POVs and backstories, people would see Stannis as the boring guy, Renly told that as much, or at least in TV. Can't remember all details. But people tried to say Joffrey was boring, and that isn't really the case. For all the nutcase that he is. The guy can induce feelings not called boredom. I can remember throwing a book sometime ago. And I have a lady friend who is TV only, threw a remote control at the wall. You see guys like that are not boring and they are clearly insane. Thus I say Stannis is sane. LOLZZZZZZZZZ OMG....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I should have included the entire exchange to clarify what I was getting it. It started with this:

From the full exchange, I ascertained that Just an Other was implying that there is more to being a good king and a protector than simply having the force and tools to beat enemies into submission, especially in the case of Stannis v Mance at the Wall where the Wildlings had inferior weapons and were taken entirely unaware. That's what I was responding to.

But then, you also have to have the tools and force to beat enemies into submission for a start. Which Mance lacked. Which is why I'd pick Stannis to hold the Wall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not to nitpick, but...

thats just wrong. a boring character is someone you are apathetic to. if you hate a character that much, that means he is interersting.

I hate sweet pickles. They are still not interesting. Or tasty...

Tywin considered him the biggest threat to house Lannister. Whether that is because he was a sane and competent enemy, or a dangerously insane one, is really beside the point. Somebody else on here once said WWTD? If it's good enough for Tywin it's good enough for me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I honestly think, as someone with a family member having the same condition, that Stannis has some form of mild autism and or Asperger's Syndrome. Or he's just an iron-willed middle child of history squabbling for his birthright throne.

I love Stannis, and Jon Snow, but they might have been better off just letting Mance take the Wall and letting a guy that knows how to live with Others handle it. They are way out of their element, prophecies and swords be damned. Jon or Stannis wouldn't last a summer north of the wall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thats just wrong. a boring character is someone you are apathetic to. if you hate a character that much, that means he is interersting.

I understand what you are trying to say, but your wording is a little funny.

I seriously disliked Joffrey, and whether I want to admit it or not he was a fascinating individual, and an entertaining read. It was amazing to read how dirty the little prick could become.

So yes, I found him quite interesting...in a bad way. ^_^

Link to comment
Share on other sites

He is alive.

He actually is capable of thinking and judging unlike some of the pretenders.

He is respected and feared by sane and insane men.

He is respected and feared by sane and insane women

He is Sheldon’s Westeros counterpart

Hm... Yes he is sane

Not sure he is capable of thinking and judging without mel, davos n so forth beside him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...