"A harmless courtesy, Your Grace -" "A lie. Take it out." Hahaha. You have to give credit where credit is due. Stannis wasn't a bullsh*ter.

"It is not a question of wanting. The throne is mine, as Robert's heir. That is law. After me, it must pass to my daughter, unless Selyse should finally give me a son. I am king. Wants do not enter into it. I have a duty to my daughter. To the realm. Even to Robert. He loved me but little, I know, yet he was my brother. The Lannister woman gave him horns and made a motley fool of him. She may have murdered him as well, as she murdered Jon Arryn and Ned Stark. For such crimes there must be justice. Starting with Cersei and her abominations. But only starting. I mean to scour that court clean. As Robert should have done after the Trident." -Stannis to Davos Seaworth

Stannis is literally doing all of this shit just because he believes it’s his ‘duty’ as the next legitimate heir to the throne. If he was born after Renly I do not doubt that he would have supported him to his dying breath.

Imagine how badass Robyn would turn out if he was fostered with Stannis at Dragon Stone.

Stannis is so brilliant as a character because he is so straight-forward. His motives are known, and he will do what it takes to stay true to his idea of "duty."

"Surprisingly, Stannis smiled at that. “You’re bold enough to be a Stark. Yes, I should have come sooner. If not for my Hand, I might not have come at all. Lord Seaworth is a man of humble birth, but he reminded me of my duty, when all I could think of was my rights. I had the cart before the horse, Davos said. I was trying to win the throne to save the kingdom, when I should have been trying to save the kingdom to win the throne."

I liked Stannis in the show until they butchered him in the later seasons, book Stannis is the only Mannis

The greatest thing about Stannis? “Lord Seaworth is a man of humble birth, but he reminded me of my duty, when all I could think of was my rights. I had the cart before the horse, Davos said. I was trying to win the throne to save the kingdom, when I should have been trying to save the kingdom to win the throne.” Stannis pointed north. “There is where I’ll find the foe that I was born to fight.” -Stannis to Jon Snow A Storm of Swords, Jon XI Stannis appreciates the difference between entitlement & duty, between justice & injustice, & he will perform justice & duty regardless of the personal or public cost. In many ways his character feels like a machine. He performs actions in a strictly logical manner that follows the System of Feudal Law of his day, rather than being compelled by an assortment of personal emotional urges. Nearly every argument which has influenced him to change his mind have been ones where the logic is not perfectly clear. Morally grey areas muddy the waters of his mind & he deliberates over such matters endlessly. He has come very close to committing heinous actions for the sake of “The Greater Good”, but not without expressing his distaste at the cost of the sacrifice. He also displays a vast displeasure towards any actions which are injurious to innocent people, something many other prominent leaders in the books have no sympathy for. He also has the grudging respect of his enemies. Those who understand him, fear his determination to succeed in spite of their efforts. “This is Stannis Baratheon. The man will fight to the bitter end and then some. If he is gone, it can only mean he intends to resume the war.“ -Tywin Lannister to Maester Pycelle A Storm of Swords, Jaime IX

*“...after an epic Season 8, Game of Thrones concludes...”* *“Epic? it wasn’t epic. It was disappointing and irritating, it destroyed everything the first 4 seasons built”* *”A Harmless Courtesy, Your Grace”* *“A Lie, Take it Out”*

I personally think he never wanted to be king. He only did everything he did because he felt that it was his duty to his brother, Robert.

Can't wait for Stannis to whip Ramsay Bolton and the Freys in the books.

Stannis feels its his legal right to do it, he is the legal rightful king

Stannis is the embodiment of House Tully's words if they read "Duty, Duty, Duty".

The show left out that Stannis was previously on the small council. When I first watched it, it didnt quite make sense why stannis knew the Lannister secret.

"An heir that could hold his own in battle is valued more in this primitive world", yet Stannis was a beast of a commander and soldier (the *only* man to ever defeat the *Ironborn at sea* !), and Joffrey couldn't even hold a sword in battle, let alone himself 😟

What I like so much about Stannis is that he is a character you don’t care for at first but you admire and respect the more you learn about him and understand his justified motivations for what he does. He’s the king that cares. He’s really complex like a good GRRM character should be.

"but there are some good qualities there" Personally I don't see any bad qualities in Stannis. I don't concider blandness a defect. I think people don't like him because he refuses to play the game like everyone else

Stannis was born and raised without ever knowing that he might become the king of the seven kingdoms one day. The Targaryens ruled while he married Selyse Florent of a small house without any claims to the throne. He then got sucked into Roberts rebellion and did his duty to his family by holding Storm's End against a far superior force. After Roberts victory and the banishment of the last Targaryens Stannis technically was second in line but because Robert married Cersei and had many kids with her shortly after the rebellion Stannis had no more claims to the throne because Roberts succession was save. He then got sucked into the war of the 5 kings because after Roberts death and Ed Starks letter it was certain that Robert didn't have any legitimate successor and Stannis as Roberts brother next in line had all the rights to claim the throne for himself. And he pushed his claim not because he wanted it but because he felt that it was his duty and that he has to protect the people against the morally degenerated usurpers who claim to be the rightful kings.

There was a wonderful quote to describe the Baratheon brothers in the first book which I think sums them up perfectly- “Robert, he was true steel. Stannis is iron, hard and brittle but he'll break before he bends. Renly, that one, he is copper, shiny but not worth much”

Cause he’s the Mannis.

"'i never asked for this, no more than i asked to be king. yet dare i disregard her? we do not choose out destinies. yet we must...we must do our duty, no? great or small, we must do our duty." -stannis to davos, davos v asos

“I was trying to win the throne to save the Kingdom, when I should have been trying to save the Kingdom to win the throne”

Renly knew about the incest, in the first book he was scheming with Loras Tyrell to bring Maergery to court to replace Cersei as queen. This would mean Robert needed to set Cersei aside, without knowledge of the incest there is no chance of this happening.

The Rightful King and grammar-nazi. The best character thus far.

A challenge for me has been trying to divorce book characters from their show counterparts in my mind. The show protrays Renly as being genuine and would've probably been a better king than stannis whereas the canon version in the books isnt like that.

I’ve always found it implausible that lords would back Renly over Stannis just because Stannis is unfriendly. I known they’ve had civil wars in Westeros before over conflicting succession claims, when whole royal lineages were at stake. But Renly had *zero* claim, and yet lords started a civil war just to avoid a capable but unfriendly king who Renly would succeed anyway. No way.

I hate that they left Renly’s peach out of the show for that scene.

Stannis the manis Who else hates him in show and loves him in the books

If only Renly, Stannis and Robb allied against Joffrey.

"I never asked for this. Like I never asked to be King."

I gave him much respect when I saw him lead his men on the beaches of King's Landing.

Stannis definitely does care for the realm, that showed when he answered the nights watch call about the dead. It also showed that Daenerys cared about people in season 7 when she decided to put her desire for the throne to the side and go North, she also went beyond the wall when Tyrion urged her not to she went anyway and saved Jon Snow and others and yet people want to say she was always evil. I know I got off topic lol. I liked Stannis I certainly hope he doesn't burn Shireen in the books, I'm thinking his wife and Melissandre will burn Shireen but not Stannis.

Can you imagine Robin Arryn being raised by Stannis :D

Book Stannis is an incredibly intriguing, complex, and profound character. His plot, motivation, and dialogue, set up one of the most fascinating characters. The fucked up every character they touched... including Tyrion Arya and so many other shown characters, destroyed characters by not mentioning them in the plot (hello Dorne)..: The show is almost pure garbage. When they couldn’t rely on taking 3% of the books and turning into their TV show they wrote utter garbage. Stannis was written as quite an amazing man; he was the epitome of 2nd child psychology. He looked up to his brother and sought to look up to his brother by doing his duty. Remembering how his father died is sympathetic, honorable, decent, and respectable in the books. In the show he was just this cold indifferent fantasy trope. I despise the show runners for how they butchered a book series with more words for reference than fucking Tolkien more or less. The show runners should go down as garbage writers who got the approval to take on what should have been an easy book series to turn into a show.:: but produced pure garbage. FUCK DUMB AND DUMBER. Star Wars saw this and removed them. I just hope dumb and dumber are forever denied the chance to write even a dumb fucking movie. Fuck you D and D. You’ve got so many people thinking they know the song of ice and fire but simply know your garbage representation. I’m happy to know WoW will be out soon and shortly DoS. D and D, Rot in hell. I’ve seen 9 year olds write better fan fiction.

Could you make a new video about why the sparrows were afraid of Tywin Lannister and why they didn’t come to the capital when he was alive

Him killing Renly didn’t diminish his cause it proved its worth. He proved he has an honourable cause but isn’t so self centred to believe that he can win by being merciful and weak, He did a hard thing for the greater good.

Whether he wants to or not doesn't even matter. He knows he's supposed to be king so that's just the way it has to be. Want has nothing to do with it.

I would love it if he actually turned out to be azor ahai. I think that might be the best possible outcome for that minor plothread

All men know me for the trueborn son of Steffon Baratheon, Lord of Storm’s End, by his lady wife Cassana of House Estermont. I declare upon the honor of my House that my beloved brother Robert, our late king, left no trueborn issue of his body, the boy Joffrey, the boy Tommen, and the girl Myrcella being abominations born of incest between Cersei Lannister and her brother Jaime the Kingslayer. By right of birth and blood, I do this day lay claim to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Let all true men declare their loyalty. Done in the Light of the Lord, under the sign and seal of Stannis of House Baratheon, the First of His Name, King of the Andals, the Rhoynar, and the First Men, and Lord of the Seven Kingdoms.

As a second son it is the duty to hear and obey what the older brother says also it is his duty to take the banner after the older brother go away. Thoughts by a second son

It's wild because I've asked myself "would I follow Stannis?" ...yes, yes I would. Not only because it's his RIGHT as King Roberts brother (seeing as though the bastards aren't bis) but because he IS a good leader. I think about it in another way as well...I'm a prior service U.S. Marine and in the Corps you see terrible leadership, decent leadership, and then there are those you follow not only because you are ORDERED to BUT because you WANT to. The leadership the teachers by example, that'll never ask a man to do a thing that will dishonor him. Fair dealing. I really enjoy Stannis' character. All of the "he doesn't laugh, charm, and entertain" is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things...can you lead and rule?!

Thank you ever so much for the Stannis analysis! Please stay safe!

Haha, great ending. I greatly appreciate your content, I'd have to say about 15% of my love of the whole ASOIAF saga comes from your channel. I've seen so many fascinating topics covered on here, most from the books and since I haven't read them (yet) its all fresh to me. There are other great channels out there but I appreciate your concise 10-20 minute take on things.

Solid video! There is a lot of information and thought in this vid.

Plz keep giving us these great game of thrones content. I luv it

4:00 am gang

Whenever these videos come out im reminded that this series is a long way away from seeing a finale and conclusion to all arcs.

Great video, I’m reading A Dance of Dragons for the first time. It’s interesting seeing Stannis and Jon interact in the books.

Stannis was a man who's actions were speaking louder than his words. He wanted the Iron Throne.

Thank you for this 👍👍

Robert was the true steel. Stannis is pure iron, black and hard and strong, yes, but brittle, the way iron gets. He'll break before he bends. And Renly, that one, he's copper, bright and shiny, pretty to look at but not worth all that much at the end of the day. ~Donal Noye

He will break before he bends

Really interesting how you brought up how Stannis conflict with Renly was a stupid distraction he participated in

Well...robbs death wasn’t coincidental as it was planned out by Tywin way before the war of the 5 kings started when Tywin sent a scroll to the Bolton’s.

Stannis will always be my king!

Stannis is the hero we need, best character

Need to respect stannis

Honestly one of my top 5 favorite characters from the books and the show!

«The most important qualification for any leader is not wanting to be leader» Plato

Surely he was only doing it out of what he felt was duty. Didn't see him wanting the throne when Robert was seated on it.

I can’t wait to continue reading the books. I am so glad that Stannis is still alive.

I feel like stannis couldve easily won over the wildlings, instead of saying ‘bend the knee and join my army to fight my wars’ he shouldve given them land but say that he recieved word the boltons are planning to slaughter them hence the only way to stay safe was to help him defeat the boltons, after that some of the wildlings would likely consider joining his army anyway for either riches or the ability to move further south but stannis would have the north.

This honestly just shows me how hyped i am for the next book. It is very possible that GRR Martin has his plot going differently than in the show. He is known to be temperamental, Martin I mean

I've always liked stannis, more than almost any other king. Not because he was the collest (he actually is), but because he was competent. Along with robb, he was the only King in the war who knew what he was doing and why. Also he is a good man like Robb, but is also a good ruler and general like tywin

Yeahh the books made me have a great respect for stannis that I didn’t from the show. He’s so complex I love it

Spot on.

Stannis is a man of honor and duty.

Had Ned fled to Dragonstone immediately after Robert's death, things might have been different, but then again, with Mel there, and Stannis' disdain for Ned; it likely would have ended any alliance before it began.

I’m glad people are still making content about Game of Thrones. Its almost officially the one year anniversary of the atrocious finale. But I’ve been watching seasons 1-6 and I gotta say the show was still the most epic and interesting show on TV. GoT and Breaking Bad, the best this century has offered so far.

The idea of how nobody loves Stannis or wants to support him feels Al the more sweeter by how many readers support him and his claim

I would really like to see Stannis almost succeed at taking the iron throne. Before deanerys gets there. And maybe sansa will influence the Vale to join him. It's cute reading about sansa taking her first baby steps in the game, maybe she will grow up to mont the heads of her enemies on the walls of winterfell.

This is beautiful we need a jon snow video

Can’t help but feel In the show Stannis is that one character you couldn’t help but respect but didn’t want to see win and knew he wouldn’t

Hey man i was wondering if you could make a video on who would be in jon snows kingsguard if he ended up king in the books? I know you made one for Bran but id like to see how it would be different!

Wow, I was actually early out on this video

You should make more videos on stannis

5:30 As good lord Eddard stark used to say "everything said in a sentence before the word but is horseshit"

The only man who can say: *I'm a straight shooter* and owns up to it

I think Stannis really did want to be king. He spent his whole adult life serving loyally and well. He held Storm's End against a siege for a year, he rebuilt the royal fleet & took the last Targaryen stronghold in a naval landing and defeated the Iron Fleet in a decisive naval battle. And it's only human to want some recognition for that. But the only recognition we know of Stannis getting was cheapened by the delivery. Robert gave Stannis a castle and a seat on the Small Council, so that would seem to be recognition, but he basically gave Renly the same things (actually better, Storm's End is a better castle, with wealthier lands and more vassals and subjects, with more meaning to the Baratheon family, while in the US & UK Renly's equivalent job [master of Law/Attorney General/Home Secretary] outranks Stannis' [Master of Ships/Secretary of the Navy/First Lord of the Admiralty]), so it looks like Stannis' appointments and benefices are just nepotistic gifts, instead of recognition of his ability or service, or that Robert values Renly more. Stannis wants recognition and he was rewards for all he has done for Robert. Maybe he can't make Robert love him or treat him like a valuable member of the administration, but if he takes the throne, everyone HAS to give him respect. He wants the brother Robert preferred, Ned Stark, to bow and call him king. He wants to punish Robert's in-laws who disgraced and shamed and killed him, because that's one-upping Robert. Of course, he's never going to say any of this, just like Cersei would never admit she's a horrible parent. Because he's so focused on his own issues and grievances, he's tone-deaf and in denial about other things. That's why he insists on taking out "beloved" with regard to Robert. He can't admit his own love for Robert, because that would make him seem a chump, loving this guy who slighted him and failed to recognize his value. He alienates Catelyn at their meeting, despite A. initially offering condolences for Ned's death, B. promising justice for his murder and C. when Cat mentions that she really wants her daughters back, immediately promises to send them back to her with no caveats or conditions. Catelyn is sharp and perceptive. She sees the hollowness of Renly's public gestures of sympathy and friendship and similar expressions of A & B, but Stannis is so abrasive and so clearly fixated on his own issues, that she is unable to even appreciate the substance of his promises, which even at Stannis' worst are worth a lot more than Renly's grand gestures. Catelyn heads home utterly convinced of the futility of trying to reason or make peace with Stannis, because it's all about HIS injustices and HIS grievances that he can't appreciate the legitimate problems the Starks and Tullys have with the Iron Throne. He asks "What did the Starks ever do for me, personally, that I should consider their cause?" and does not think to wonder what he ever did for the Starks, at all, that they should consider his. But the thing about Stannis is that he is capable of learning to move past it, to put his grudges, if not entirely behind him, at least on a back burner to the needs of the realm. The Stannis of book 2 would come North and call everyone a traitor who did not immediately hail him as king and bend the knee. He would not prove himself or accommodate their desires, he would insist that they give him what he wants before he did anything for them. He wanted people to say they needed him, because Robert never admitted he needed Stannis, because the rest of the kingdom hailed Robert and flattered him and praised him while Stannis & Jon (who actually listened to Stannis where the rest of Westeros would not) was doing actual work and they never gave Stannis' military victories the respect they give Jaime's or Loras' tournament championships. Stannis might have deserved the crown by the laws of the land. He might be one of the best candidates to the sit the Iron Throne. He might legitimately perceive the duty of ruling well to be the paramount issue. But that does not change the fact that for perfectly understandable and natural human reasons, Stannis REALLY wants to be king, and he becomes most worthy of it, when he manages to confront that aspect of himself and work past it.

Stannis made a common-born man his Hand. That is enough for me to trust that he has the best interest of the common people at heart and I truly believe he would be a good king. He considers kingship his duty but I think there is a part of him who wants it.

I'm not sure if you've done so already but could you do a "What if" the Baratheons had changed the tradition of housing the successor at Dragonstone. Storm's end is a significant place for them so it kinda surprises me that they kept this tradition after removing the Targaryens from rule.

It's actually Balon who wanted glory--that, and a chance to erase the shame of his previous defeats at the hands of Robert Baratheon and company years prior. "Greed" implies that Balon was motivated by gold and riches and owning more land, but he seems more interested in burning, reaving, and sticking it to the man. He wanted to be a bad-ass warrior king! That's glory in a nutshell. Renly wanted adoration.

He does his duty. That's why he is epic

This is actually a good point most people missed. Jon Arryn loved Robert but it seemed as time went on Arryn was turning mire and more to Stannis to help him run the kingdom. I'm sure that contributed to the dislike that the Baratheons had for each other.

I hope stannis gets his fair shake in winds if it ever comes out.

Great video!!! While not 1 of my fav characters in book or show...i will admit his story in both show and books(i like his story in books better...but...despite the actor stating he hated the role...i prefer the way the show presented him personally...prolly cause despite hating the role....stephen delane(i think is his name...not sure) did a GREAT job)...its interesting...very interesting...technically by the rightful laws...as far as the the nobles and commonfolk who know the royal children's true parentage...stannis is the rightful heir...of course in the books nobody knows of jon snows true parentage...and that is a storyline from the show i feel will have ran VERY close to the show...we all know i dont gotta get into that...the whole jon was never a bastard...he was a "lawful trueborn" targaryen...not just a targaryen but the prince...heir to the throne...i must admit a lotta parts in stannis part in the books interest me mainly because of red priestess mel and onion knight ser davos and shereen(poor lil girl)...without those characters...stannis would be very boring in books and show....in the books he is depicted as a much more serious...boring person than even the shows depiction...i liked the shadow babies...how davos stayed so loyal yet fought against(not literally) melisandre from day 1...i like how iron bank did as they do and threw him their support cause genius bitch cersei basically said go f!@# yourself to them on the crowns loans...i liked his story at the wall...while the show left it out...melisandre's power is amplified while at the wall...not sure why...but its in the books...1 reason why she stayed at the wall just like stannis wife and daughter did in the books when stannis marched on to winterfell...i do not think ramsey or roose bolton will crush stannis way ramsey did in show...at that point with the show stannis died and they had already began blending jon and stannis' stories(battle of the bastards...my fav episode ever...yet hasnt happened in books yet...and im not sure will...it could...but book 6 seems to be more about the others and eurons crazy ass...so far)...martin said winds of winter would reveal stuff about the others/whitewalkers...while in season 5 finale stannis was soundly defeated...while his army still wiped out a decent amount of Bolton soldiers(especially for how outnumbered they were)...it wasnt much of a fight...stannis had no cavalry...all infantry....i think maybe 1300 men...ramsey had like 4000 to 5000....with a decent cavalry...i dont see stannis losing that badly in his book storyline....while i do believe ramsey and/or roose(not 100% ramsey will kill roose...its ramsey snow...its a 50/50 in the books...id say he will...prolly not till after stannis is defeated...ramsey is a prick times 10 but isnt stupid...and roose is an experienced commander...im saying if ramsey kills roose bolton and he prolly will...he won't till stannis is done)...i just dont know if we will have time for jon to gather an army and take winterfell in the last books...not with others coming...dany is coming...sansa is still in the vale(never left yet in books)...ramseys wife was never sansa...was an arya look a like...sansa best friend jeyne poole i think....i know the poole's were winterfells stewards before the starks separated at the very beginning...so jon wanted to march nights watch with the wildlings to take winterfell and save "arya" who isnt even in westeros...and he got killed for it....sorry for the length....i like the stannis story in both versions...and i just wanted to state my theories on how his march on winterfell will end...again i believe he will lose and die...i dont think ramsey will kill roose till the stannis threat is done...like in the show....we know the umbers wont turn rickon in....he is on skagos...well so they say in the books...suppose a northern family could have him...i dont think it will be house umber...maybe barbry dustin...who really didnt like ned stark all cause he brought his sisters bones back from dorne and not her husbands...well only he and howland reed survived out of 7...lyanna and 4 others woulda been a lot to pack literally from the deep South to the far north...add the war they just got done fighting and the lifting of storms ends siege before going to dorne...well i can see how ned either chose to leave them or just forgot...but she is a bitch in the books...so i would suspect her to have rickon and turn him over to ramsey...i think personally she is the 1 who planted the story of him being on skagos...if she dont have him she knows where he is...she always talking shit about house stark any chance she gets...white harbor(house manderly) and barrowton(house dustin) r not that far away from each other given the vast size of the north...so she easily coulda planted that seed...cause wyman manderly still supports the starks while feigning loyalty to the boltons...he sent ser davos to skagos to retrieve rickon...its a theory is all...maybe he is really there...im sorry its just 1 of if not my favorite storylines in the books and show....and how it seems they blended a lotta stannis stuff in with jon...just makes me curious how its gonna go in the books...great video

Stannis Baratheon, first of his name, king of the andals and the first men, lord of the seven kingdom and protector of the realm. That is the proper way of adressing your king!!

100% Perturabo energy from Warhmmaer 40k. I love it

I love him in the books🤣

He didn’t want to be king but he was a solid man and believed it was more his duty to rule!!!! All hail King Stannis

About the Shadow Baby, I think Mel took advantage of Stanis, similar to the show, and used Stanis to kill Renly. Stanis definitely killed Renly, and he knows it, but he also doesn't know if he's innocent or guilty. It's an interesting concept, if you someone while sleepwalking, are you guilty of the crime?

Stannis was the man

best got channel bro, keep doin it forever

Thank you for this, Stannis was my favorite character in the show until he left the wall and by then I didn’t care about the show. I really hope we get to see Stannis serve a heroic purpose

Stannis says it is all about duty, but his alliance with the Red Woman betrays his motives. Religious duty was one of the most important duties in a medieval setting. The concept of freedom of religion had yet to be invented. For Stannis to break that duty is extremely telling for a man who is supposedly all about duty. To betray the gods of your ancestors was one of the worst things you could do in a premodern world. And Stannis did it, for a woman who promised him power.

The scene in the books with renly and stanis meeting before battle. When renly eats a peach. That scene explains Stanis better than anything.

Yes

The Stannis shown at the beginning resembles the real Stannis in the books not the frail bald guy in Game of Thrones.

Yes! And I haven't even watched it yet.

I only watched the show but not even once did stannis do something because he wanted to, to him everything is about duty. The throne is his by right, he has a duty to take it. Reminds me of Randall Sams dad. Stannis wouldve been great as a Lannister learning from Tywin.