For fans of ‘Game of Thrones,’ death has become a regular part of their viewing experience. It’s no longer a matter of who is going to die. At this point it’s when they will die. Although even when someone’s favorite character dies, people come up with some wild theories to justify some way that the death never occurred. It’s a little harder to do with a character like Ned Stark or Joffrey Baratheon, but we’ve all seen the theories about the states Jon Snow or Sansa Stark since the season five finale. Now, it seems that George R.R. Martin is adding fuel to the fan theory fire concerning a certain “true and rightful king”.
If you’re not caught up on season five of ‘Game of Thrones’, there are most certainly SPOILERS ahead.
Among the many deaths in the most recent season finale of HBO’s acclaimed fantasy drama, one of the most significant was that of Stannis Baratheon. The brother of the late King Robert Baratheon and follower of the Lord of Light fought to rule the Seven Kingdoms, but ultimately after a series of unfortunate circumstances and terrible decisions, the Lord of Dragonstone fell at the hands of Brienne of Tarth following the Battle of Winterfell against House Bolton. However, we don’t actually see Stannis’ dead body after Brienne presumably makes the fatal cut. Because of this, many might believe that the king may not actually be dead, but ‘A Song of Fire and Ice’ author Martin has recently released some new information from the books that could further support that theory.
Just like in the show, Stannis is killed off-screen (or off-page) and the death is only mentioned in a letter from Ramsay Bolton to Jon Snow. However, the accuracy of the report is definitely in doubt. So does that mean that Baratheon has truly perished? Well, Martin revealed in a post on his LiveJournal that the character is actually still alive:
Does this mean that Stannis Baratheon is still alive and kicking in the show too? Though the series is still based on the books, that aspect may not necessarily carry over. After all, when Catelyn Stark perished at the Red Wedding, we didn’t see her return as Lady Stoneheart like she did in the books. It’s definitely too late to go back to that storyline, but there’s still a chance that we could revisit Stannis’ whereabouts when the sixth season premieres.
As we wait and see the true fate of Stannis Baratheon, do you think that he’s really dead in the live action version of Westeros? Do George R.R. Martin’s comments about the story that he’s telling in his books make you think otherwise? And did you know that anyone still used LiveJournal? Sound off in the comments below.
