To be fair, anybody who's read 2 pages of his character in the book would know he'd sooner put himself in the fire than Shireen. He's explicitly stated how he wants Shireen on the Iron Throne if he doesn't make it, not to mention that at this point in the story he has Asha Greyjoy and Theon both to hand if he wanted king's blood for a sacrifice. Best I can make of this situation is that it gives Davos an excuse to defect and meet up with Rickon and the Manderlys to unite a Northern force seeing as none would follow Stannis now.
Thanks to this shitshow we can also assume Shireen will die in the books, and I reckon it's likely going to be by Melisandre to resurrect Jon Snow seeing as all 3 are at the Wall.
He cannot sacrifice himself, that is the whole point. For you and me and people in the know, we can say that he can eventually fail as well and all this will go to waste, but in his mind, he is THE saviour of this race, and he has to do anything that is necessary to achieve that goal and putting one life, even if that is his daughter, doesn't change that fact "for him". So from his POV, there's nothing but the fact that he very much had to sacrifice his own daughter and the only heir to ensure the safety of every man alive. Many have pointed towards the alternatives, he could have used Aemon, or Theon, or whatever. But did Mel give him those options? Nope. Think of it from his POV for a second, and you'll get it. Mel told him in very simple words - sacrifice Shireen or say goodbye to your goal. So he had two options - tell Mel to go feck herself, take his family back to the wall, and then back to Dragonstone. He won't be the saviour anymore, the Others will finish the Westeros with no one but him being capable of doing anything and now he cannot as well.
OR, he continued towards his goal and sacrificed the dearest person to him as it meant that he would be able to win the "real war". For him, that was the path he took, he kept the livelihood of the people ahead of his family. Again, you can say one shouldn't go that far for something that is promised by some priest etc etc, but he's not in that psychological state anymore, he's fully devoted towards the lord of light, and for him his command is greater than all else. With that in mind, he had to do what he did, and I don't see how one can have anything but sympathy for him right now. Us viewers know that Jon is much more likely to be AA and not him and so he's probably fecked up for nothing, but he doesn't.
@Aldo I think you are right in saying that Stannis felt he had no other option left and had to do it for the sake of the whole realm.That does not mean that his decison was reasonable or the only option.I don't believe Stannis is the best King, he has noble intentions at heart, but his sense of entitlement to the throne(although correct) and his willingness to do anything to get there are slowly turning him away from the respected military leader into an insane, tunnel-visioned sort of character.
Ned Stark was perhaps the most honourable and respected character on the show but he wasn't suited to sit on the Iron Throne and he knew it.I think Stannis is the same but doesn't realise it.
Like I said above, he was told that was the only option. Blame Mel for that, not him. His sense of entitlement comes strongly due to the fact that he believes he is the true king, one who will bring peace and prosperity to the Seven Kingdoms, unlike others who seek power for personal motives. At the end of the day I don't see any personal motive in what he has done whatsoever.
a religion no one gives a flying feck
The one who made the decision does. That is all that is relevant here.
I don't buy the "Ramsay knows this territory" argument, the Dreadfort is a long way off Winterfell and Stannis is stuck between Winterfell and the Wall, most probably a place where Ramsay has never been in his entire life. His 20 good men might know a thing or two about the place but the whole thing was just not very realistic.
Didn't bother me that much though. It's clear to me that the burning of Shireen has got nothing to do with Ramsay burning the tents and food supplies. I hope Martin does it differently in the books because Stannis' whole character development would be undermined because of that.
We cannot conclude anything, the history of Boltons and their expertise of the area is not shown much, but let us not forget that Roose Bolton and his men were Robb's right hand during his rebellion, and the Boltons have fought historically against the Starks afaik so they should definitely know a bit about Winterfell. Wasn't it Ramsay himself who took Winterfell from Theon? The show has surely implied that they know a fair bit about the area and they used it well. Plus, I'd say the weather was a bigger reason here. There's a reason Starks are the only house that has a warning in their motto and not a boast like others, Winter really fecks things up there, to an extent that even a great Southern Commander cannot imagine. With so much emphasis given on "winter" in the show, we shouldn't be surprised by the extent it affects things.
