Although Comic-Con has wrapped up, there are still a few bits and pieces of Game of Thrones information leaking out of there. Io9 snagged this excellent interview with Liam Cunningham, who plays the long suffering Davos Seaworth on the show. Cunningham admits that he hasn’t yet read the scripts for Season 6, but he talks thoughtfully about Davos’ thought process concerning Shireen’s fate, his stormy relationship with Melisandre, and the value of the show in general. Let’s watch.
When I watched “The Dance of Dragons,” I enjoyed how writers David Benioff and Dan Weiss kept Davos’ exact motivations regarding Shireen slightly ambiguous. It was clear that, as Cunningham says, Davos knew “something wasn’t right,” but I didn’t know whether he actually knew that Stannis was going to burn his own daughter. If Cunningham can be believed, Davos didn’t think Stannis would go that far. If he had, Davos would have pulled a Gendry and gotten the little princess the hell out of there. It’s nice to have that cleared up.
I also liked his insight into Davos’ relationship with Melisandre. Obviously, the two share some antipathy, but I can also see Cunningham’s point that they have a “weird need for each other.” Beyond the fact that Melisandre sort of saved his life back in Season 3, there’s no one else Davos can turn to in order to mourn his king. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if his rage over what she did to Shireen overcomes any of those feelings.
Really, we’re pretty in the dark as to what Davos will do next season. The show seems to have skipped over some of his material from A Dance with Dragons, which finds him searching for Rickon Stark in a bid to gain the support of the North. Although I suppose it’s still possible for him to go on the hunt if, as speculated, the show dives into the Northern resistance storyline next year.
Whatever happens, I’ll look forward to seeing Davos next year. With upstanding characters dying off left and right, Game of Thrones needs people like Davos—someone who’s “loyal and decent,” not to mention level-headed—more than ever.