Fangirl Friday: Stan The Man

By -

My Fangirl Friday is about Stannis Baratheon, the First of His Name, second son of Lord Steffon Baratheon and Lady Cassana of House Estermont, Lord of Dragonstone, the man styling himself King of Westeros. If you are a Game of Thrones (on HBO) fan, you are probably wondering, “Why???” I know, I know…he does seem super boring, lame, and a whiner. He's also like that sibling that pitches a fit when he doesn't get his way. However, in my defense, I’m reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, so I probably have more information than you do if you are only watching the show. Follow me through the jump for some *spoilery* reasons why Stan should be Your Man! (For King of Westeros…not for anything else…he’s not hot…LOL)




I've been reading ASOIAF for about a year now, off and on. I should warn you now, I am not yet finished, but I am SO close. I'm about 65% through A Dance with Dragons. As I've read through each book, I've been rooting for this King or that Queen. Although, never the Lannisters, especially that horrid Cersei. (She makes a great villain, btw, and you can read about her in my Fangirl Friday here.) Truly, I was never interested in Stannis Baratheon. Just recently, I've changed my mind, but I didn't think much about all of my waffling until I saw this post on facebook:

Posted by Jaime Lannister Loyalists facebook page
That is some funny shit. And he's right! 
Look, WE the readers knew that Stan The Man is the true heir to the throne. We’ve always known it. Then, why did “we” not get behind him from the beginning? One guess is because I was sympathetic to the Starks, especially after Ned was beheaded. Also, Robb and Renly were more charismatic leaders. Lastly, I really didn't think that Stannis had what it takes to lead the realm. We knew so little of him; and what we did know wasn't very exciting. He’s a patient man, demonstrated by his victory at Storm’s End (back when Robert was usurping the throne from the Targaryens) merely by waiting out the enemy. He’s not a fighter, and I’ll admit that it’s more exciting to back the men that fight for what they want. 
So, what’s changed? Well, for me, there was one big event that changed my mind. It was when Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, sent ravens to all the “Kings” in Westeros, begging for help at the Wall. Stannis is the only one that took him seriously and responded. During the fight against the wildlings, Stannis swooped in and was instrumental in defeating the wildlings. That done, Stannis is heading South, and he has a plan to gain forces and support along the way. Plus, Jon is behind him now, even though he keeps thinking about how the Night's Watch should take no part in matters of the realm. Jon is one of the most respected and loved characters in the series, so it’s easy to trust his judgement on who is the most capable of being King. When Stannis won Jon over, he won me too. 

 Stan The Man's other attributes: 

  • His always prevalent sense of "justice" that was demonstrated by him cutting off half of Davos' fingers as punishment for smuggling. Yet, at the same time, he inspired undying loyalty from Davos.  
  • The prophecy that Stannis is Azor Ahai come again. Melisandre, a priestess to R'hllor, the Lord of Light, said this:  
"In ancient books of Asshai it is written that there will come a day after a long summer when the stars bleed and the cold breath of darkness falls heavy on the world. In this dread hour a warrior shall draw from the fire a burning sword. And that sword shall be Lightbringer, the Red Sword of Heroes, and he who clasps it shall be Azor Ahai come again, and the darkness shall flee before him."
  

My biggest concern not in favor of Stannis was Maester Aemon telling Sam that Daenerys Targaryen is their only hope. I haven't been too impressed with Danys throughout the series, actually. I think that one day her and Stannis shall meet to battle it out for the throne. Although, Stan The Man has won me over with his latest accomplishments, I will keep an open mind. You know how it goes with this series. The ones you love always die!
 

I'd love to know, who are you backing to be King or Queen of Westeros? Do you watch the show, read the books, or both? 




Comments

Post a Comment

You Might Want to Read...

Black Dagger Brotherhood: Scenes That Left us Begging for More

By -
Image
Created by Olga Daniels What better way to prepare for the impending release of the next Black Dagger Brotherhood novel, Lover at Last by J. R. Ward, than to relive some of our favourite scenes in the previous books?! Some of these scenes were selected by multiple Wenches, others are just personal favourites. One is. Clearly. The. Wench. Favourite. It won't be hard to tell which one! After the jump, see which scenes made us ooh, ahh, and pant for more.
Keep reading »

A Tribute to The Fiery Cross

By -
Image
Or How I Learned to Stop, Smell the Pig Shite, and Fall in Love with the Fifth Book in Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander Series A young White Sow dreams of all the food she’ll be eating to grow into her role in this book As the wait for the new Outlander book and television series drags on (and oooooonnnnnnnnaaaarrrggghhh), many fans have been rereading the first seven books in the series. Fascinating online discussions abound as to the motivations of the characters, the nuances of meaning within various scenes, and future possibilities and foreshadowing. Amongst enthusiastic effusions about all things even remotely associated with our beloved series, I’ve seen one recurring subject of complaint. People like to pick on The Fiery Cross . “It’s too slow.” “It doesn’t have enough action.” “Where’s the mystery?” So during my recent reread, I set out to take a few notes about memorable moments. But I gave that up early on. There were far too many. Because the book was like a beautifu
Keep reading »

When The Music's Over

By -
Image
A SUPER Spoilery Discussion of Feversong by Karen Marie Moning by: Zee the Terrible and Barbara Bones By Olga. It's now been two weeks since we got our hot little hands on Feversong , the final book in the Mac & Barrons part of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series. It's almost all we can talk about in the Saucy Wenches hallways (which is really online, but you get the drift) and we have lots of thoughts and opinions so we aren't putting off our Super Spoilery Recap Extravaganza any longer!  Zee told you about how much she loved it in her Wench review, here , and it will surprise exactly no one that Barb did, too. Loved it to pieces. Thought it was pretty much perfect, exactly the kind of conclusion KMM has been promising us since she gave us Iced , leaving everyone precisely where they need to be. That said, we have lots and lots and LOTS of thoughts. So come with us through the jump where we're dishing all the dirt, in filthy, spoilery detail. We menti
Keep reading »

Dani Mega O'Malley: Superstar

By -
Image
Giddy with anticipation for the release of Karen Marie Moning's Iced , a lot of the Wenches have been thinking about Dani "Mega" O'Malley, the young sidhe -seer we first met in Bloodfever , who is poised to step out of the shadows behind Mac and Rowena and take center stage. Though Moning has recently said the three books she is writing for Dani will continue the story we've been following in the Fever books, the POV will shift to reveal the next chapters through Dani's eyes. With our heads firmly buried in Shadowfever in a frenzied effort to finish our rereads before the new release, we Wenches have been wondering what's in store for Dani. But no one has wanted to stop reading long enough to write a proper tribute to our young heroine as she prepares to take the leap to leading lady. Though we all think she's pretty awesome and deserves a big ticker-tape parade to show our support. So a sneaky Wench tried the stealth approach and asked us
Keep reading »

Review: Annihilation (Book and Movie)

By -
Image
When I read Annihilation last fall, I was intrigued, repulsed, mystified, enchanted, horrified, compelled, absorbed, and ultimately so unable to articulate what had happened that I didn’t attempt a review. But it has never stopped growing on me, new insights twining around in my brain. It’s insidious. Then the movie happened. I. Had. To. Go. I didn’t think anyone could film the book, and I was on Cloud 9 when I saw the abundance of rave critical reviews. It got compared to Apocalypse Now and 2001: A Space Odyssey ! It got called “stunning” and the “Best Sci-Fi Film in Years” that “ranks among great philosophical sci-fi”! And though there were many differences from the book, it sounded almost as batshitcrazybrilliant as the book!! Which means there are now two equally haunting versions of this story for me to wonder WTF happened. I might not have all the answers, but I’ve certainly enjoyed replaying scenes in my mind and pondering the possibilities. And I suspect that’s
Keep reading »