Summary
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Stannis chose power over his daughter’s safety, leading to a heartbreaking and unnecessary death for Shireen Baratheon.
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Shirin’s tragic death was more extreme than the previous deaths in Game of ThronesSparking controversy among fans.
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Despite its shocking impact, Shireen’s death does not serve a significant purpose in advancing the overall plot of the series.
Shireen Baratheon has one of the most heart-wrenching deaths in Game of Thrones. The young daughter of Stannis and Selyse Baratheon was played by Kerry Ingram in three seasons of the series. Shirin wore gray hair and kept it hidden. Even though Stannis was often busy gaining the power to get the Iron Throne, he had a soft spot for his daughter. Shireen befriended Ser Davos Seworth from a young age and even gave him reading lessons. Given how sweet and innocent Shireen was, fans are still wondering why Stannis burned his daughter alive.
As Stannis and his army marched on Winterfell to take it from the Boltons, they were delayed by a snowstorm. Melisandre’s powerful magic can melt the snow but only with a sacrifice of King’s blood and the Red Priestess recommended Shirin. After internally debating the decision, Stannis agreed to the sacrifice and handed over his only child to Melisandre for the sadistic ceremony to the Lord of Light. Shireen Baratheon’s death scene saw her tied and burned at the stake – and it turned out to be in vain.
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Stannis cares more about the Iron Throne than keeping Shireen safe
His ambition led to him allowing his daughter’s death
There were many Game of Thrones Dead before Shireen Baratheon was burned alive, including many children. Many young characters are killed throughout the series, including Rickon Stark, Lyanna Mormont, and all of the Barathon children. The series didn’t even avoid killing direwolves, which usually hurt more than seeing people meet their ends.
However, Shirin’s death was made worse by the fact that her father exploited her love and loyalty. Before sacrificing her, he met with his daughter and explained that a man must find his destiny. Stannis Baratheon’s daughter claimed that she would do anything she wanted to help her father, and he manipulated her faith in him for his own personal gain.
Stannis and Selyse blindly followed a religion they did not understand, which saw a child burned alive in Game of Thrones. Shirin’s sacrifice turned out to be an independent decision, because it all led to more misery. Not only did it not give Stannis a better chance to claim the Iron Throne, but it also caused hundreds of his soldiers to abandon his efforts. In addition, Selyse commits suicide, and Melisandre leaves Stannis after realizing that she misinterpreted the prophecy.
Stannis and his army were easily defeated, and he was later killed by Brienne of Tarth. His selfish actions finally caught up with him, but it came at the cost of his family. Shirin Barathon had a perfect life to live and did not deserve what happened to her. Her excruciating death was not at the hands of an enemy or a personal sacrifice for the greater good. Her own father exchanged his young life, and it was the hardest death Game of Thrones to accept.
God may have gone too far with Shireen Baratheon’s death
The moment pushed boundaries even for Game of Thrones
Shireen Baratheon being killed was stretched out in a series known for its shocking deaths, and it’s one of those moments that even the most loyal Game of Thrones Fans admit that may be too far. The majority of deaths at the Red Wedding alone caused a huge shockwave when members of the Stark clan met their end in the terrible bloodshed. Oberyn Martell’s death at the hands of the Mountain was hard to watch as his head almost literally exploded. Ned Stark saw the wrong end of a sword in the most shocking death of season 1. Even Hodor’s death caused quite a few tears.
However, none of these deaths, no matter how cruel or extreme, compare to when a child is burned alive on Game of Thrones. Shireen Baratheon’s death scene is almost unwatchable, with the young child’s fruitless screams acting as the soundtrack to what is a truly senseless murder. Game of Thrones Watchers had strong feelings about the scene when the season 5 episode aired, with many taking to social media to air their views on how the show went too far this time.
Of all the dead in Game of ThronesShirin Baratheon’s was by far the most tragic and difficult to witness. Many people blame the series for being too misogynistic towards its female characters since the same season also saw the sexual assault of Sansa at the hands of Ramsay Bolton.
Shirin’s death is ultimately pointless
The shocking moment did not do much to advance the plot of Game of Thrones
The Shireen Bartheon death in Game of Thrones is even harder to take because of how pointless it was for the rest of the series. This is due to the fact that the show fails to properly place the characters before this horrific event, and fails to follow the key character arcs to the Game of Thrones Ends once Shirin is killed. The first major failing comes from how the show handled Stannis Baratheon. Despite a standout performance from Stephen Dillane, the show never truly understood the character.
In the books, Stannis is a man burdened by a sense of duty. He doesn’t really want to be king, but since Robert Baratheon’s heirs are false Baratheons, it makes him the rightful heir to the throne and he feels it is his duty to serve the people of Westeros by placing the true heir on the Iron Throne. . The show portrays him more as a power-hungry man who gets frustrated when he doesn’t get his way. If he was more like his book counterpart, Shirin’s death would have been more of a moral dilemma than he would have been faced with killing his daughter in order to save the kingdom.
Shireen’s death also meant nothing for Melisandre’s arc that followed. It was meant to be a pivotal moment for her, as the magic she was once so sure of wore out. This led to her embracing her magic once again to resurrect Jon Snow. However, this achievement has no real impact since Jon’s resurrection feels pointless in retrospect as well. Looking back on Shireen’s death, it feels like the main goal was simply to end the ongoing Stannis storyline.
Is Shirin’s death different in the book?
The death of Shireen Baratheon is still right in the novels of George RR Martin
The death of Shireen Baratheon took place in Game of Thrones Season 5, Episode 9, “The Dance of Dragons”. Almost immediately after the episode aired, viewers had a key question – did the shocking and heart-wrenching scene happen the same way in the A Song of Ice and Fire novels. Hearing a child scream while being burned alive rattled many audience members, so the need to find out who is responsible for including it in the story is, for some, a question of who to blame out of author George RR Martin or Game of Thrones Showrunner David Benioff.
However, those for whom the death scene of Shireen Baratheon was difficult to swallow, found the answer to their question somewhat frustrating. So far, Shireen Baratheon has not been killed off in any of these A Song of Ice and Fire novels. The revelation excited some viewers, as they saw it as an example of the HBO show gratuitously shocking and violent for the sake of creating a talking point. It must be noted, however, that even though Shirin’s death does not occur in the novels, it was not added to God Arbitrary.
It has long been known that although he has yet to finish his book series, George RR Martin has a rough plan for how the rest of the story will play out. Showrunner David Benioff admitted that George RR Martin was the one who suggested that Shirin face her death in this manner, meaning it will probably appear somewhere in the novels. How many daughters of Bartheon died in the book of conversation, and did not come back alive. The difference is in the context.
Stannis Baratheon in the books is a very different character to the show, and is nowhere near as ambitious. Melisandre, on the other hand, is just as loyal to the Lord of Light in both versions. From what Martin and Benioff revealed, Melisandre will ultimately burn Shireen Baratheon alive. The difference will come with Stannis Baratheon’s involvement and reaction. What’s more, it is implied in the novels that the reason why Melisandre inflicts such a painful fate on Shireen is to stop the White Walkers, rather than to remove a blizzard that stands in the way of Stannis’ goals.
How Shirin’s death helped set up House of the Dragon
Shireen’s version of the show has a lot of important exposition
Shirin’s death may have been in vain in the great world of Game of Thrones – But her character stood up House of the Dragon. House of the Dragon is the God Prequel series, which focuses on the Targaryen line and chronicles the infighting leading up to the Targaryen Civil War, known as the “Dance of the Dragons.” The show has made multiple connections to its parent series, most notably through the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy. However, it was Shireen Baratheon who greased the wheels for audiences looking into the Targaryen story.
Shireen was a huge Targaryen history buff, and often taught Davos to read through the histories. She passed on random tidbits of Targaryen history throughout Game of ThronesAnd could arguably be deemed responsible for generating audience interest in the dragon clan. Shireen’s passion, intelligence and kindness are what made the character so endearing and her death all the more heartbreaking. A child burned alive in Game of Thrones It’s not the way she should have gone, and the series has arguably gone too far with her means of death.