Video: Stannis Baratheon: ‘The One True King’ documentary

Stannis Baratheon is dead. I know some fans are holding out hope that he survived the Season 5 finale—after all, we didn’t see him die onscreen—but director David Nutter said he was dead, and the HBO-sponsored The Noble Houses of Westeros confirmed it. He’s dead, at least on the show, and there’s nothing to do but eulogize him.

Stannis Baratheon—the YouTube channel proprietor, not the character—has put together a collection of interviews and quotes about Stannis. He draws from the “Behind the Episode” features where showrunners David Benioff and Dan Weiss, along with actors like Stephen Dillane (Stannis) and Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), talk about the character; the Histories & Lore features, where Dillane narrates events in Stannis’ life; and pull-quotes from the novels and elsewhere. The aim of this “documentary” is to understand Stannis Baratheon’s character. Does seeing all this analysis and history laid out from end to end provide any new perspective on the character?

To start, I can’t help but notice that, around 12:45, George R.R. Martin pronounces the name “Staan-iss,” rather than “Stan-iss” a couple of times. Has everybody been saying it wrong?

Getting to the meat of the video, I think it shows a clear arc for Stannis from beginning to end, up to and including his death outside the walls of Winterfell. I know some fans have taken issue with the final scenes of Stannis’ story, starting with his choice to burn his daughter Shireen alive to help advance his military campaign. I disagree, and think David Benioff’s quote around 18:30 is instructive. “Once Stannis makes a decision, he never changes his mind. That’s his strength…and it’s also his weakness.”

I think that’s true of Stannis, and it sets the stage for his choice in “The Dance of Dragons.” Admittedly, it sounds like David Benioff mischaracterizes the conflict a bit when he calls it “ambition vs familial love” around 19:25. Far be it for me to second-guess the guy who co-wrote the episode, but knowing Stannis, I think it’s better to call it “duty vs familial love.” Stannis always claimed that taking the Iron Throne wasn’t a matter of wanting it—it was his, by rights, and he had a duty to take it. Given what he knows about the effectiveness of Melisandre’s powers, I can believe he would resort to sacrificing his child if he felt there was no other way to fulfill that duty.

Even if Benioff garbled his words a bit*, Stannis’ dialog in the episode bears this reading out. “If a man knows what he is and remains true to himself, the choice is no choice at all. He must fulfill his destiny and become who he is meant to be, however much he may hate it.” So far as Stannis is concerned, he is the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, and he has a duty to lead them. If he remains true to himself, as he always does, he will do whatever it takes to fulfill his duty. Even though he hated doing it, the choice to burn Shireen was no choice at all.

I do wish the producers had taken more time to show the details of Stannis’ battle against the Boltons, but I disagree with fans who think it unrealistic that someone called one of the greatest military commander in Westeros could be defeated in the first place. Just because other characters praise his abilities doesn’t mean he’s invincible, and he’s well-aware that he could perish at any time. (“[W]e will march, and we will free Winterfell…or die in the attempt.”—Stannis Baratheon, A Dance with Dragons).

Also, the circumstances were against Stannis during the march on Winterfell. Able commander or not, he’d never dealt with a Northern winter before, and without help from native Northerners, that ignorance took its toll. And even though he might not be as renowned as Stannis, Roose Bolton is no slouch when it comes to strategy, and had the home field advantage.

Finally, on the show, Stannis went in with the extra burden of just having murdered his daughter, an act which not only inspired many of his men to abandon him, but which also may have sapped some of his strength. I don’t think Stannis would have stopped his assault for anything—he’s the guy who keeps going no matter what—but I agree with Dan Weiss that Stannis was probably “ready to be done at this point.” He was prepared to besiege Winterfell, but there was likely a small part of him that knew he could be marching to his death and welcomed the chance. I don’t think that’s bad writing. I think it’s interesting character shading that makes his final arc more tragic.

Anyway, I’m glad this video gives Stannis something of a eulogy. Goodbye, One True King of Westeros. If there’s an afterlife in Westeros, you can Robert and Renly have some awkward discussions ahead of you.

*Benioff also said that Stannis and Melisandre were burning people alive when we first meet them, when really they were burning statues of the Seven. He may have been thinking of the human bonfire at the start of Season 4. I don’t think this indicates he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It’s an interview—he may not have been able to grab exactly the right fact in the moment, and he’s talking extemporaneously rather than writing an episode methodically.